THUKPA with TS-JA, ADAS BIS SILQ with KHOUBIZ!

HUH? WHAT?! That's what you are thinking, I know! It was all "Greek" to me too until I tried these tasty dishes from Arunchal Pradesh and Lebanon! :D

(Some of you are waiting for a particular post, check out the links way below!)
Well..today I am taking you all to a culinary tour of Arunachal Pradesh as a part of RCI-North East of India, one of the lesser known states in North-east region of India, to have a delicious Noodle soup and salt Tea.
After we are done touring North-east of India, I thought I would fly you to Middle East and visit Lebanon to taste one of their soup and bread too! How does that sound? Pack your hungry tummies and let's go buddies!

Arunachal Pradesh, North East India:
North East India covers these states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Arunachal Pradesh in one of the states in North east of India I am choosing to explore and cook from. The name Arunachal Pradesh means "land of the dawn lit mountains" in Sanskrit. It is also known as "land of the rising sun" because of it's location in the easternmost state of India.
YAKS!!
Have you ever seen one before? There are plenty in Arunachal Pradesh and the local population uses it's sweetish milk for making Tea, cheese, Butter, Yogurt etc. Aren't they beautiful?

Most of the people living in Arunachal Pradesh are either of Tibetan-Burman origin or indigenous tribal origin, speak Tibeto-Burman languages and their cuisine is very much influenced by these cultures as well as China which borders the state. Most Arunachalis belong to 19 major tribes and 85 tribes, who has a tradition which is diverse and of rich culture, language and beliefs, including immigrant Bengali, Bodo, Hajong and Chakma and immigrants from neighboring Assam, Nagaland and other parts of India. The most major tribes include the Adi, Galo, Nishi, Khamti, Monpa and Apatani. Most popular festivals are Sangken,Solung,Nyokum,Longteyalu,Khan, Dree Etc which they celebrate with dance, song and food.
OPO, a fermented rice beer is made everyday in most homes and very much enjoyed by the people of Arunachal Pradesh!
The earliest references to Arunachal are found in the era of Mahabharata, Ramayana and other Vedic legends. Several characters, such as Princess Rukmini, King Bhismaka and Lord Parashurama, were referred to as people from this region in the Mahabharata. (Info from WIKIPEDIA.)


Thukpa with Ts-Ja are my two dishes for "Regional Cuisine of India", a event started by Lakshmi from "veggie cuisine" and Bhags from "Crazy Curry" blog is hosting RCI event this month choosing the beautiful region of North-East India. I am choosing Arunachal Pradesh to show case.Thanks for hosting Bhags!:)


Thukpa/Gya-Thuk with Ts-Ja!
These recipes (with my own few additions) come from "The essential North-East cookbook" by the author Hoihnu Hauzel and book is available at www.indiaclub.com.
Thukpa is a popular noodle-based soup with vegetables (or meat) in this region. The Buddhist Monpa and Sherdukpa tribes are more inclined to Burmese or Chinese influenced food and their popular dishes are Momos, Chowmein and Thupka. Oil and spices are sparingly used, chillies and ginger and sometimes fermented Bamboo shoots and fish are used for flavoring the soup.
This lightly flavored Thukpa was very tasty. Even my kids liked it, similar to American Chicken Noodle soup with loads of veggies. YES! You need a fork too for the Noodles!:D

Ts-Ja is a tea made of Yak's milk or it's butter, tea leaves and salt is added instead of sugar!! DO NOT ask me how to to pronounce Ts-Ja and DO NOT ask me whether I used Yak's milk and drank this salted Tea! Ain't tellin' ya! ;P
I am just giving you the recipe exactly as the book says they make this tea in AP! Have fun making it if you can find Yak's milk! :D

To make these:

To make 2 cups of Ts-Ja:
1. Boil 2 cups of water, add 1 cup Yak's milk or 1 tsp unsalted Yak's butter and 1/2 tsp salt.
2. Bring to boil again with 2 tsp tea leaves. Take the pan off of the heat.
3. Cover the pan and let it sit for 5 mins. Strain the Tea and serve. Enjoy!:)

Delicious Thukpa:
1. Cook 1 fistful of dry Egg noodles or Spaghetti pasta in boiling water with salt and bit of oil until cooked, strain, cover and keep aside.
2. Boil 5 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock or water, add 2 cups of mixed vegetables of your choice, 1 garlic (my addition), 1 green chilly sliced and boil for 5 mins.
(I used 1 carrot, chopped, 1/2 cup Green beans chopped, 1 can sliced Bamboo shoots, few baby Spinach, 1 small Potato cubed, 3 tbsp Green onions,1 small tomato,chopped.)
3. When veggies are almost cooked, add 1 breast of chicken, chopped (optional), cook for 2-3 mins untilcooked. Take the pan off the heat.
4. Add 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 tbsp Cilantro and pepper pd, cover and let it sit for a minute. Stir the soup, add cooked Noodles and enough salt if needed and garnish with chopped green scallions. Serve hot.


I am also sending Thupka since it's a one dish meal to Archana of "Archana's Kitchen", for her event called "One D", which is one dish meal event. Enjoy hosting Archana!:)
That's it from me for Arunachal Pradesh cuisine! :)

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Adas Bis Silq with Khoubiz from Lebanon are my contribution to "A.W.E.D.-Middle East" event which is launched by DK of "Culinary Bazaar" blog and being hosted by Siri of "Siri's corner" this month. We are visiting Middle East!! Thanks for hosting Siri, enjoy!:)


Lebanon:
Lebanon is a religiously diverse, mountainous country in the Middle East. Before the civil war, Lebanon was considered the banking capital of the Levant and was widely known as the "Switzerland of the East" due to its financial power. Lebanon also attracted large numbers of tourists to the point that the capital Beirut became widely referred to as the "Paris of Western Asia".
Gibran Khalil Gibran is known to be one of the world's famous writers, particularly known for his book "The Prophet", which has been translated into more than twenty different languages is from Lebanon.
The Lebanese Cuisine is considered to be a Mediterranean, basically Levantine Arabic delicacy consisting of a variety of fresh vegetarian recipes, salads and stews all seasoned with a flavorsome combination of herbs and spices, is considered to be a very balanced, healthy diet. "Mezze", which are appetizers and also a Lebanese parsley salad known as Tabbouleh are the most popular. (Info from WIKIPEDIA)

Adas Bis Silq with Khoubiz:
These recipes come from the author Tess mallos, with my slight changes or additions. Her comprehensive cookbook is called "The complete Middle East cookbook".
Adas Bis Silq is basically a vegetarian lentil soup with Sliverbeets or red chard greens as we call it in US and flavored with light spices, makes a delicious soup full of protein and fiber. I added some cumin pd for taste and used a bunch of my first ever yield of baby red chards from my own veggie patch. YAY! :)
Khoubiz is a soft Lebanese flat bread similar to Italian Focaccia or a thick Naan if you make them smaller, baked plain or with spices sprinkled on it, great for dipping or mop up the Lentil soup.

To bake spiced Khoubiz:



First, let's make the Lentil soup:
1. Soak 1 cup brown lentils or whole red lentils(whole Masoor) or Egyptian lentils as they are sometimes, in water for 2 hrs, then wash and drain it.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups of water or stock or veg broth to lentils and Microwave for 10-12 mins on high or until soft but not to a mushy mess.
3. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan, add 1 shallot,chopped, 1 garlic chopped,fry until softened.
4. Add 1 cup of washed and chopped red chard leaves, 1 tsp Cumin powder, salt, pepper, 2 tbsp cilantro leaves, cover and boil for 3 mins.
5. Take the pan out of the heat and add 2 tsp lemon juice, mix. Serve with a slice of Khoubiz and lemon slices.



Now the Bread!
I have the cut the original recipe into half since we didn't need too many Khoubiz. Mine is almost like rustic deep dish Pizza crust with spices on it! You can sprinkle cheese on top too and eat like a snack, great for kids to munch on or with any soup.

To bake one big or 4 small round Khoubiz, you need:
3 cups flour, more or less,
1 1/4 tsp or half packet of dry active yeast,
1 cup water,
3/4 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp sugar,
1 tbsp oil.
Spice mix: if you like it spiced, sprinkle chilli flakes, Garlic pd, Sesame seeds, Onion seeds, mixed herbs etc or Zatar mix.
How to bake:
1. Mix yeast, 1/4 cup warm water(110F), sugar and let it foam for 5 mins.
2. Add yeast mix to a mixer bowl with 3 cups of flour mixed with salt gradually , 3/4 cup water, oil. Mix and knead well for 4 mins until you get a smooth dough. Add more or less flour as you need.
3. Brush oil on the dough, cover and let it rise for an hour or until doubled.
Preheat the oven for 500F.
4. Punch down the dough. You can divide this into 4 smaller round breads or roll into one flat round about 1/2" thick like Focaccia, make dents with your fingers on top of the bread. Place them on the oiled baking pan, cover and let it rise a bit for about 10mins.
5. Sprinkle the spices if you are using. Bake in the oven for about 10 to 15 mins or until golden on the bottom and slightly golden on top. Use your judgment for exact timing but don't let it bake too long.
6. Take out and cool on the rack. Slice into wedges to serve.

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Book and Movie?
I just started to read a book called "Tamarind Woman" by Anita Rau Badami and watched "Dances with Wolves" again last Sunday.
I was too busy to finish the book, what with all the kids' last 10 days of school activities, field day, field trip, pep rally, Trisha's NHS Induction ceremony, Tushar's Guitar concert etc. School ends on the 11th. YAY!!
More work for me cooking lunch for 3 people everyday during the summer break and all but still YAY! :D

Dishes I tried last week:

Bhinda Ni Kadhi from Coffee's blog.
Dabeli Masala from Trupti's blog.
Dabeli from Rricha's blog.
Phulko Luchi ar Aloor Dom from Sandeepa's blog.
Cheesy Dal bread from Sunita's blog. Used this (spicy Butternut squash stir-fry instead of dal)
Methi Shag Bhaja from Jayashree of "spice and curry" blog.
Thank you Prajusha, Sireesha, Jayashree and JZ for your awards. I always appreciate it! Remind me if I have forgotten to mention any of you! :)
A big hug to Anamika for passing on a very beautiful 'Arte y Pico' award (photo on the sidebar)! What a beauty!! Thank you Anamika.
I am passing this beauty to "Bee", "Happy Cook" and "Sig", my dear blog buddies. Enjoy!:)



Have a great rest of the week, see you all later!:)