Bhutanese Food You Shouldn't Miss If You Are In Bhutan

Bhutan is an adventurous place for all nature lovers. Bhutan provides us with things that very few countries have to offer. A country that has a negative carbon footprint and is the happiest place on earth deserves at least one trip to it. Is Bhutan famous for anything other than its naturistic landscapes? Yes, it's food! Bhutanese food is one of its kind and will remind you of the Tibetan culture that you might have just read in books or watched on television until now. In this post, I bring to you Bhutanese food that you absolutely cannot miss if you are visiting Bhutan! Let's see our specially curated list of Bhutanese food:

1. Ema Datshi

We will start our list with one of the most famous Bhutanese dish called Ema Datshi. Ema Datshi is also recognized as the national dish of Bhutan which makes it worth trying when you are visiting Bhutan! So, Ema Datshi is the combination of two words: Ema which means chilli and Datshi which means cheese. Chilli can be of any type in Ema Datshi while the cheese is made from the cow's milk or yak's milk. The curd which is used for making the Ema Datshi is fat-free and the remaining liquid can also be used with rice along with the dish.

2. Phaksha Paa

Phaksha Paa is another famous Bhutanese dish and made to our list of worth trying Bhutanese food. Phaksha Paa is not for vegetarians though. It is made from pork sliced and fried until it smoothens out. Other ingredients used in Phaksha Paa are radish, chilli, ginger and other mountain vegetables. Phaksha Paa tastes great with rice and is one of the most common Bhutanese food among the Bhutanese people.

3. Momos

Ah! Something that you might have heard or eaten since childhood is one of the most popular dishes in Bhutan. Momos or dumplings are eaten with great fascination in India, Nepal and Bhutan. In almost every Bhutanese restaurant, you can find momos being served with varieties, Since Bhutanese people love pork, they serve momos with pork fillings often. Other varieties include vegetable momos, cheese momos etc. You can also get fried momos or steamed momos as per your wish.

4. Gondo Datshi

Another popular Bhutanese dish for egg lovers is Gondo Datshi. By now you must have guessed the meaning of Gondo which is egg and Datshi as I told earlier is cheese. Gondo Datshi is Bhutanese scrambled eggs that taste like heaven because of its ultimate seasoning and variety of ingredients. Gondo Datshi uses eggs with a large amount of cheese and they are fried together. Along with cheese, other ingredients may also be used such as chilli or other vegetables. Gondo Datshi is very popular and worth trying Bhutanese food.

5. Jasha Maru

Jasha Maru is also called spicy chicken among fellow travellers because of the chicken in it which is quite spicy. Jashu Maru is a popular Bhutanese dish that makes it the staple Bhutanese food. Jasha Maru is prepared by dicing the chicken and preparing it with chilli, garlic, tomato, ginger and coriander leaves. Jasha Maru is served popularly with rice in Bhutan.

6. Jaju

Since Bhutanese people love meat and a few of the dishes in this list also consists of meat, we have a bonus here for all the vegetarians. Jaju is a popular Bhutanese food that is made from Bhutanese milk and vegetables. The vegetables may consist of spinach and turnip etc. Butter is also added to the soup to make it more delightful for the travellers. When in Bhutan, Jaju is a worth trying Bhutanese dish.

Alright! This brings us to the end of the Bhutanese dishes you should eat while in Bhutan. If you have any other Bhutanese food in mind that you experienced during your stay in Bhutan, do mention in the comment section and we will add it to our list here. If you are looking for a mountainous stay away from the summer heat in India, do look out for our blog on McLeodgunj and Dharamshala.

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