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Foraging For Flavours In Ladakh

Ladakh’s food culture makes it a departure from the kind of Indian cuisine we’ve come to understand, writes chef Prateek Sadhu. 

A valley in Ladakh. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque) 
A valley in Ladakh. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque) 

Sometimes, to be a chef, you need to leave the kitchen. Even before Aditi Dugar and I launched Masque over three years ago, we knew that we wanted to represent lesser known ingredients on our menus. Our tasting menus shift with the seasons, precisely for this reason - so that we can pivot and celebrate what’s seasonal. Plus, there’s an element of surprise for our patrons!

Ladakh is one place I’ve gravitated to, over and over again since Masque was born. Its unique terrain, micro-climate and food culture makes it a departure from the kind of “Indian cuisine” we’ve come to understand.

There’s so much more to it than momos. Nettle soup? Sea buckthorn juice? They simply don’t get enough spotlight, or even make it to our plates as often as they should.   

My trip in August, last year, was a reminder of how every corner, every stretch of the road, can be full of new discoveries.

Day One

We made Ladakh Sarai (on Saboo Village Road) our base, after my friend pointed us to it on Twitter. It was only 20 minutes from Leh, and just what we needed to get around with ease. As we acclimatised, we made our first trip to Namza Cafe. With Namza, its founder Padma Yangchan hopes to preserve Ladakhi food, art and culture in a way few have done before. The menu here goes way beyond thukpas and momos, which might be your typical gateway to Ladakhi cuisine.

It also offers a new take on Ladakhi food. We were introduced to Namphey (roasted barley flour) mixed into a dough called Kholak. Sharjen which is essentially frozen, raw mutton tartare with Tsamik (a local spice mix). We devoured Za-thuk (nettle soup) with sundried cheese. Nettle, locally known as zatsot, has a sharp iron-y taste. These greens grow in the wild, and are harvested by foraging.

 Za-thuk - nettle soup, with sundriedcheese. (Nettle is locally known as zatsot.) Mok-thuk - mok (steamed dumplings) in a clear, meaty broth.  (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)              
Za-thuk - nettle soup, with sundriedcheese. (Nettle is locally known as zatsot.) Mok-thuk - mok (steamed dumplings) in a clear, meaty broth.  (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)            

The Tibetan sausage, Gyuma, is a blood sausage that neatly falls at the intersection of religion and our dependence on nature. It’s made with tsi.lam, a roasted mixture of blood and fat, and pan-fried for a fatty-rich finish. Because Buddhist culture is against the slaughter of animals, gyuma is typically made with bloodletting animals. It’s a process wherein the blood is drawn to maintain a yak’s good health or a healthy weight.

Ingredients we typically bracket under ‘exotic’ in our hyper-connected cities, grow here plainly in the wild.

Padma handed me a bottle full of local capers. They thrive in the wild bushes, without much water. The residents forage them for pickles, and sometimes even use the shoots and leaves of the plant for cooking. Namza’s organic garden was also home to sweet, aromatic chamomile flowers.

Chamomile, at the organic kitchen garden on site at Namza cafe. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque) 
Chamomile, at the organic kitchen garden on site at Namza cafe. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque) 

Day Two

The surprises didn’t end there. During our stay, Naropa fellow Rigzin Angmo reached out and offered to show us around. She knew we were on the lookout for lesser known ingredients, and also knew just where to find them. On the Shang Sumdo via Martselang route we went on a treasure hunt of sorts - digging for wild rhubarb! Slip-sliding our way through, we did make some progress and scored some bright pink stems.

When we head out on foraging trips, we don’t revisit the same regions over and over again, to let the wilderness do its thing - replenish and recover. 

We also don’t uproot the produce, so that the roots remain and strengthen.

 On the Shang Sumdo via Martselang route the Masque team went looking for wild rhubarb, guided by Naropa fellows. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  
On the Shang Sumdo via Martselang route the Masque team went looking for wild rhubarb, guided by Naropa fellows. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  

The following day we went in search of Chhaang, a Tibetan fermented drink, typically made at home. It’s made of fermented barley (dru-chhaang) and fermented rice (dre-chhaang). In the village called Fiang we met the Lakrooks, who were kind enough to take us through the entire process.

Barley used to make Chhaang. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque) 
Barley used to make Chhaang. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque) 

Barley is cooked, cooled, mixed with dried yeast -- called phup -- and left to ferment in a covered container, wrapped in blankets for warmth. Dried yeast (aka phup) is crushed into a fine powder and mixed with cooked barley to set the fermentation in motion. I’d say it’s like sake’s close cousin. In fact, we brought back some of the phup (culture) to continue our experiments with fermentation in the Masque Lab.

 Dried yeast - aka ‘phup’ or ‘chanzi’ - which is crushed into a fine powder and mixed with cooked barley, to ferment the grain. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)    
Dried yeast - aka ‘phup’ or ‘chanzi’ - which is crushed into a fine powder and mixed with cooked barley, to ferment the grain. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)   
Lakrooks help Chef Prateek and team sample Chhaang in Fiang village. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  
Lakrooks help Chef Prateek and team sample Chhaang in Fiang village. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  

Day Three

Another adventure we had pencilled in was a trip to Turtuk. Mainly for sea buckthorn - an ingredient we’ve had on the Masque menu every Spring from 2016. Getting to Turtuk requires you to get across the Khardung-La Pass - the world’s highest motorable pass.

Scouting for seabuckthorn in Turuk. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  
Scouting for seabuckthorn in Turuk. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  

On our way, we noticed shrubs with the smallest orange berries, so I asked the driver to pull over. Our guide Mehdi informed us that they are locally known as ‘sifat’ and the bushes are usually burned for warmth. But further digging on our return to base revealed that these weren’t rubbish. These were perfectly edible cloudberries!

 Cloudberries are locally known as ‘sifat’ and it’s usually burned for warmth. Incidentally, ‘sifar’ in Urdu also translates to ‘zero’. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)   
Cloudberries are locally known as ‘sifat’ and it’s usually burned for warmth. Incidentally, ‘sifar’ in Urdu also translates to ‘zero’. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)   

Cloudberries are typically found in marshes towards the northern part of Scandinavia, Siberia and Canada - going towards the North Pole. It’s also called the “Gold of the Arctic” since it’s priced high and difficult to procure. Cloudberry is a cluster of small fruits with stones, and packs four times as much vitamin C as an orange. Elsewhere in the world, you could easily expect to pay up to €20 (approximately Rs 1,600) per kilo because they can only be found in the wild, and have to be foraged with great difficulty. On our return to Mumbai we promptly preserved them to test recipes.

Finally, we spotted the fiery orange bushes we set out for: sea buckthorn! It goes by various names... sea buckthorn, sandthorn, sallowthorn, seaberry... The best way to collect the berries remains labour intensive, because the branches are needle-sharp.

 The best way to collect the berries remains labour intensive, you have to beat the bush and collect the berries that drop because the branches are needle-sharp. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  
The best way to collect the berries remains labour intensive, you have to beat the bush and collect the berries that drop because the branches are needle-sharp. (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  
Stop to imagine how this tiny tiny berry packs 12 times the amount of vitamin C as an orange, and you’ll understand our fascination with its flavour.

(As with every menu, our obsession with sea buckthorn eventually trickled into our three-year anniversary celebration – we served a broth of sea buckthorn, with squid and homemade xo sauce.)

Sea buckthorn juice paired with 3 elements: a housemade veg XO sauce, roasted pineapple and squid, with a drizzle of fresh green pepper oil. Sour, sweet, spicy and savoury! (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  
Sea buckthorn juice paired with 3 elements: a housemade veg XO sauce, roasted pineapple and squid, with a drizzle of fresh green pepper oil. Sour, sweet, spicy and savoury! (Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/Masque)  

Day Four

Since Ladakh is synonymous with apricots, we made a trip to Mehdi’s aunt’s orchard in Turtuk village. A thirty minute trek revealed the most perfect apricots we could lay our hands on. They’re locally known as khubani; the smaller ones are sweet and best had fresh, while the bigger ones are used for jams and preserves.

Apricots, locally known as khubani.( Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/ Masque)  
Apricots, locally known as khubani.( Image courtesy: Athul Prasad/ Masque)  

(Eventually, on our anniversary menu, we explored all textures of the apricot - apricot kombucha, apricot ‘leather’, fresh apricot, apricot kernels.)

But before we could call it a day, there was to be yet another surprise: wild onion flowers. A delicate ingredient whose flavour hits close to that of scallions. We found it growing sporadically around the trees. We scooped up about 500 grams. (We’re so glad we spotted this, because it made fine garnish for our turnip course).

Snails, turnips custard and broth, with onion flowers from Ladakh. (Image courtesy: Masque) 
Snails, turnips custard and broth, with onion flowers from Ladakh. (Image courtesy: Masque) 

Towards the end of this whirlwind trip, we were sure of one thing. It wasn’t Masque’s first time in Ladakh, and it certainly isn’t going to be our last.

Chef Prateek Sadhu is the executive chef and co-founder of Mumbai’s @MasqueRestaurant.

The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of BloombergQuint or its Editorial team.