Tsampa
Encyclopedia
Tsampa is a Tibet
an staple foodstuff
, particularly prominent in the central part of the region. It is roasted flour
, usually barley
flour and sometimes also wheat
flour or rice
flour . It is usually mixed with the salty Tibetan butter tea
.
Tsampa is quite simple to prepare; indeed, it is known as a convenience food and often used by sherpas, nomads, and other travelers. While traditional tsampa is prepared with tea, water
or beer
are sometimes used in its place. It may also be prepared as a porridge
.
Making Tsampa is quite easy to do at home, but requires time - and a good-quality Barley grain. Organic semi-hulled is fine.
You will need:
A large flat iron skillet.
250g organic barley.
A wooden utensil (Fork, spatula, spoon).
A large flat surface, covered in a clean cloth.
A coffee/spice grinder.
Take the organic pearl barley, place in a bowl, cover well with cold water and soak for 12 – 24 hours.
Drain the barley in a sieve (discard water) and leave to drain well for 10 minutes.
Heat a good, solid, flat, cast-iron skillet (as large as you have), over a medium heat.
Take a couple of handfuls of the soaked barley, and put them into the heated skillet.
Stir well with your chosen wooden utensil.
You’ll notice the following, happening.
The barley goes from white/opaque to translucent, and pearl-like in colour.
Keep stirring, to keep the grains from sticking together (or to the pan). Gradually, as they cook, they will turn to white again.
Keep stirring until they go a nice nutty brown colour. I suggest the same colour of hazelnut skins.
When roasted to your satisfaction (they will flow very loosely around the pan and sound “Gravel-y”) transfer them onto your flat surface, on which you’ve put a clean cloth. Spread them out to cool.
Proceed as above with the remaining barley, until it’s all roasted, and on your cooling surface.
When cold, transfer to a clean jar.
You can use the barley in its solid state, by putting it into soups, stews and casseroles, about 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Because it’s already roasted and cooked, it only needs softening and heating through.
You can also add it to salads, by soaking it in water for an hour. I have, before now, soaked my barley in a mix of water and white wine. It gives a nice flavour, without being intoxicating.
To grind it into tsampa flour, I have found that food whizzers and processors are just not good enough, and will not give nice, fine flour.
You really do need a spice grinder or electric coffee grinder to make the flour.
Use as indicated in the main article.
rituals. It is believed that tsampa throwing actually predates Buddhist beliefs in the area, originally used as an offering to animistic gods to request their protection. The tradition was consequently incorporated into Buddhism as a "mark of joy and celebration" used at celebratory occasions such as marriages and birthdays. Today it is particularly known in that regard for its use in New Year celebrations, where it is accompanied by chanted verses expressing the desire for good luck in the forthcoming year, for both oneself and others. Tsampa-throwing also occurs at most Buddhist funerals, where the action is intended to release the soul of the deceased.
Tsampa is used in a number of other ways. Mashes of tsampa and cumin
are sometimes applied to toothaches or other sore spots. Tsampa is also known among Tibetan sportsmen for its ability to provide rapid energy boosts; the roasting of the flour breaks it down to an easily digestible state, allowing the calories therein to be quickly incorporated by the body.
Reflecting its foundational role in Tibetan culture, "Tsampa" is also the name of a Tibetan typeface.
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an staple foodstuff
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
, particularly prominent in the central part of the region. It is roasted flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, usually barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
flour and sometimes also wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
flour or rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
flour . It is usually mixed with the salty Tibetan butter tea
Butter tea
Butter tea, also known as po cha , cha süma , Mandarin Chinese: sūyóu chá or goor goor in local Ladakhi terms, is a drink of the Tibetans and Chinese minorities in southwestern China. It is also consumed in Bhutan. It is made from tea leaves, yak butter, and salt.-Usage:Drinking butter tea is a...
.
Preparation
- "Apart from tea, tsampa is the staple, indeed often the only, diet of the Tibetans. It is a kind of flour made from roasted barley. This is how you eat it. You leave a little buttered tea in the bottom of your bowl and put a big dollop of tsampa on top of it. You stir gently with the forefinger, then knead with the hand, meanwhile twisting your bowl round and round until you finish up with a large dumplinglike object which you proceed to ingest, washing it down with more tea. The whole operation demands a high degree of manual dexterity, and you need a certain amount of practical experience before you can judge correctly how much tsampa goes with how much tea. Until you get these proportions right the end product is apt to turn into either a lump of desiccated dough or else a semiliquid paste which sticks to your fingers. Sometimes you lace this preparation with a form of powdered milk, made from curds which have been dried in the sun."
Tsampa is quite simple to prepare; indeed, it is known as a convenience food and often used by sherpas, nomads, and other travelers. While traditional tsampa is prepared with tea, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
or beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
are sometimes used in its place. It may also be prepared as a porridge
Porridge
Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...
.
Making Tsampa is quite easy to do at home, but requires time - and a good-quality Barley grain. Organic semi-hulled is fine.
You will need:
A large flat iron skillet.
250g organic barley.
A wooden utensil (Fork, spatula, spoon).
A large flat surface, covered in a clean cloth.
A coffee/spice grinder.
Take the organic pearl barley, place in a bowl, cover well with cold water and soak for 12 – 24 hours.
Drain the barley in a sieve (discard water) and leave to drain well for 10 minutes.
Heat a good, solid, flat, cast-iron skillet (as large as you have), over a medium heat.
Take a couple of handfuls of the soaked barley, and put them into the heated skillet.
Stir well with your chosen wooden utensil.
You’ll notice the following, happening.
The barley goes from white/opaque to translucent, and pearl-like in colour.
Keep stirring, to keep the grains from sticking together (or to the pan). Gradually, as they cook, they will turn to white again.
Keep stirring until they go a nice nutty brown colour. I suggest the same colour of hazelnut skins.
When roasted to your satisfaction (they will flow very loosely around the pan and sound “Gravel-y”) transfer them onto your flat surface, on which you’ve put a clean cloth. Spread them out to cool.
Proceed as above with the remaining barley, until it’s all roasted, and on your cooling surface.
When cold, transfer to a clean jar.
You can use the barley in its solid state, by putting it into soups, stews and casseroles, about 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Because it’s already roasted and cooked, it only needs softening and heating through.
You can also add it to salads, by soaking it in water for an hour. I have, before now, soaked my barley in a mix of water and white wine. It gives a nice flavour, without being intoxicating.
To grind it into tsampa flour, I have found that food whizzers and processors are just not good enough, and will not give nice, fine flour.
You really do need a spice grinder or electric coffee grinder to make the flour.
Use as indicated in the main article.
Cultural significance
Tsampa is sometimes called the national food of Tibet. Besides constituting a substantial, arguably predominant part of the Tibetan diet, its prominence also derives from the tradition of throwing pinches of tsampa in the air during many BuddhistBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
rituals. It is believed that tsampa throwing actually predates Buddhist beliefs in the area, originally used as an offering to animistic gods to request their protection. The tradition was consequently incorporated into Buddhism as a "mark of joy and celebration" used at celebratory occasions such as marriages and birthdays. Today it is particularly known in that regard for its use in New Year celebrations, where it is accompanied by chanted verses expressing the desire for good luck in the forthcoming year, for both oneself and others. Tsampa-throwing also occurs at most Buddhist funerals, where the action is intended to release the soul of the deceased.
Tsampa is used in a number of other ways. Mashes of tsampa and cumin
Cumin
Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.-Etymology:...
are sometimes applied to toothaches or other sore spots. Tsampa is also known among Tibetan sportsmen for its ability to provide rapid energy boosts; the roasting of the flour breaks it down to an easily digestible state, allowing the calories therein to be quickly incorporated by the body.
Reflecting its foundational role in Tibetan culture, "Tsampa" is also the name of a Tibetan typeface.