MULKARKHA DELIGHTS

MULKARKHA DELIGHTS

RICE, DAL, SABZI, PAPAD & Homemade GHEE

Imagine yourself amidst the virgin mountains, shrouded in greenery, with the cold mountain breeze lightly carrying your body and soul away from the maddening city life. We found our abode of peace, where the people welcome you with an open heart and a beaming smile. There they will accept you as one of their own, sharing their homes, food, experiences and their lives with you.

They will feed you till you burst with gratitude and happiness. The food there is organic, farm fresh, grown and cooked right in front of your eyes. Each morsel is fresh and delicious straight from the lap of Mother Nature. From being bountifully filled with the beauty of nature, this place also offers you with its local specialties when it comes to food.

From the creamy and spicy Churpiko Achaar that will complement your morning Aalu ka Paratha, to the rustic and sweet Dhakane which will end your evening dinner on a sweet note – the people of Lingsey, Jhusing, Tagathang and Mulkarkha has a lot to offer. A specialty of this region is Rai ka Saag, a leafy green from the mustard family. They either serve it stir fried with your breakfast roti or in the form of Gundruk, a soup made with fermented Rai ka Saag which they serve as a side dish with rice. This leafy green is a great source of vitamins and rounds of your meal. 

GUNDRUK

After having this nutritious, slightly bitter and sour greens you won’t even feel guilty about loading your Rotis with dollops of freshly churned homemade ghee or clarified butter. The Ghee was exceptionally creamy and flavorful, nothing like we have ever tasted before. If you are lucky they might also serve you with fresh homemade Dahi or Curd, sprinkled with sugar after your afternoon lunch.

Dinner was often rounded off between 8 pm to 9pm in the evening and our dinner at Jhusing Home Stay ended on a sweet note with the rustic Dhakane. 

DHAKANE

DHAKANE

It is a sweet dish made with rice, ghee, sugar and milk. As told by Mr. Bedu Dhakal of Jhusing Homestay, the rice is first fried in ghee till it turns reddish in colour. Then it is cooked in milk and sugar till the liquid has evaporated and the rice is cooked fluffy and sweet. Each spoonful was light and warm with a lingering aftertaste of the delicious homemade ghee.

Churpiko Achaar is another specialty which is often served with breakfast or lunch, made with light curd and red chilies; it offers a hot and creamy aftertaste. The organic curd or cream is boiled and then the top layer of the curd is skimmed and hung in a cloth till all the liquid runs out. The light curd thus formed is ground with tomatoes, red chilies and seasoned with salt and sugar. We got a taste of this deliciousness both at Jhusing and Mulkarkha Homestay.

CHURPIKO ACHAAR

Along with the Ghee and the Churpiko Achaar, no meal was complete without their salads, made with an assortment of farm fresh vegetables and tossed with light curd or cheese and seasoned with spices. Mr. Lalit Poudyal’s family at Golsimal Homestay, Lingsey made sure that we consume enough of the nutritious veggies in the form of those delicious salads. No meal at Lingsey was complete without those tasty and crunchy veggies. Be it rice, roti or chicken - Salad was a must.

One of the things which intrigued us most was the local alcoholic beverage called Chhaang. It was offered to us at Tagathang by Mr. Tikaram Chettri who is the elder brother of Mr. Raju Chettri. Along with the warm hospitality and tasty food he also offered us this heart warming and thirst quenching drink. Chhaang is a local beverage made with Rice, barley or Millet. The one offered to us was made with semi-fermented seeds of millet and was filled with red coloured seeds of some local fruit. It is generally served in a Dungro and is drunk with a narrow bore bamboo tube which acts as a straw. It is repeatedly topped off with warm water and consumed at room temperature. It has a very low alcohol content and tastes like a cross between Beer and Wine, never the less, yumm. Mr. Tikaram Chettri even filled up a bottle with the strained liquid and told us to consume it during our trek to replenish our energy levels.

CHHAANG in Dungro

We will never forget the taste of the fresh and delicious local produces which were offered to us, ever so generously. We extend our thanks to everyone at Lingsey , Jhusing, Tagathang and Mulkarkha who made our adventurous and gastronomic journey so memorable. 

MILLET

LOCAL BEANS

TREASURE of LINGSEY ECO TOURISM