 The Bhutanese diet is rich in meat, dairy, grain (particularly rice) and vegetables. Emadatse, made with green hot chilies and cheese stew, is considered the national dish with many interpretations to this recipe throughout the kingdom. Meat dishes, mainly pork, beef and yak, are lavishly spiced with chilies, and it is common to see bright red peppers drying on rooftops in the sun. Salted butter tea, or suja, is served on all social occasions. Though there is plenty of white rice, Bhutanese prefer a local, slightly nutty, red variety. At high altitudes, wheat is the staple. Several Tibetan-style dishes are common, including momos (dumplings), and thukpa (noodles). Pork fat is popular in the wilds because of its high-energy content. Chang, a local beer, and ara, a spirit distilled from rice, maize, wheat or barley, are also common and widely favored. Doma or betel nut is offered as a customary gesture of greeting.
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