Thukpa – food from the hills

Noodle is one of the most widely recognized and internationally accepted foods. Now that is obvious, of course, but the reason we said that is, there are more than one ways noodle is served around the globe. One of the most delicious and famous ones comes right from the foothills of the great Himalayas. 

Thupka – the soup with the noodle, or is it otherwise? Who knows? There are a lot of ways you can prepare Thukpa, and since it has a large number of ingredients, so there are a lot of permutations and combinations you can try with them, explore and create a variant that suits your tongue and apatite.

Thukpa Family

Talking about variants, as it turns out, there are some of them already. According to the places of origin, Thukpa has a few cousins. Let us have a look at them:

·        Nepali Thukpa: This is one of the major modifications in traditional Thukpa. It is a cross of traditional Tibetan food of noodle soup and Indian flavours. This dish is different because normally Thukpa is not very spicy as this one is. It gives you the health benefits of a veg thupka recipe along with the spicy flavours of India.

·        Gyathuk: This noodle soup is more Chinese in flavour and preparation than Tibetan, though Thukpa is basically Tibetan food. This is because in Gyathuk, Chinese noodles are used in place of traditional Tibetan noodles, and it is boiled with different ingredients.

·        Thenthuk: This is proper Tibetan Thukpa. This consists of noodles that are hand pulled and made in local industries or homes. This, argued by many, is the best form of Thukpa, as Thenthuk can be found in more abundance than any other variant of Thukpa.

·       Pathug: Now this is a rare delicacy. This special form of Thukpa is not easy to get your hands on, unless you are in a very local area. What makes it so special, is that the noodles used to make it are hand-rolled from dough. Makes it an exclusive Thukpa recipe veg, right?

It’s all good, but is it really healthy?

Now let us see how good Thukpa is for health. Tracing the anecdote, we find that it comes from the Himalayas, and is a staple food in Ladakh, Tibet and north-eastern India. Now, it is not unknown that to survive in the difficult terrains and troublesome weather conditions of the Himalayas, one needs something that provides enough strength and supplements. And since we know that Thukpa is one of the most popular dishes in the Himalayas, makes it obvious that it is, indeed, a very healthy food. The ingredients contain a plethora of green vegetables that provide the necessary nutrition and noodles that provide the much needed carbohydrate. And let’s face it; Thukpa has not gained its widespread popularity just because it is healthy, right? It tasted amazing as well.

So now that we know all that is to know about Thukpa, the food from the hills, you can prepare your own versions of this recipe and have this healthy dish in our own tasty ways. Thukpa is undoubtedly one of those rare dishes that are tasty as well as healthy.