SC - Curdled tea

[Jennifer D. Miller]

>Kinda reminds you tof the

>Tibetan dish of tsampa (sp?) which is barley meal, tea, and yak 
butter.


Last semester I took a cultural anthropology class in which we read the
excellent book "Nomads of Western Tibet" by Goldstein and Beall.  Many
things stuck in my mind, especially food info.  The book describes things
like cooking techniques, how they make  tsamba and how they get enough
calories to live at such high altitudes and harsh conditions.  Some
quotes:


<paraindent><param>left</param>"Tea made with salt and butter is one of
Tibet's most unusual foods.  Nomads and villagers drink tea throughout
the day, and contrary to what one might imagine, it is very tasty." 
(22)

</paraindent>

<paraindent><param>left</param>"A handful (of Chinese brick tea) is
crumbled into a pot of water and boiled until it takes on a deep brown
color....although the nomads do drink this tea plain with 	just salt,
typically they pour it into a small wooden churn together with a handful
of salt and a lump of butter and aerate the mixture with a small
plunger...the oft-	repeated comment that Tibetans particularly appreciate
rancid butter is one of the ridiculously untrue myths about Tibet." 
(22)

</paraindent>

They go on to say that they use fresh butter when available and oil when
it is not.  



<paraindent><param>left</param>"Tsamba...is ground barley that looks and
feels like flour, although it has been popped (like popcorn) and is thus
edible." (28)

</paraindent>	

<paraindent><param>left</param>"As a light snack, tsamba is eaten dry by
pouring a spoonful on the tongue where it gradually becomes wet from
saliva.  Until we became used to this style of eating, we often
embarrassed ourselves with fits of coughing after accidentally inhaling
some of the dry tsamba.  We quickly learned not to talk or even breathe
until the dry tsamba became wet.  To make a more filling meal, Tibetans
mix a little tea into their tsamba and knead it with their right hand,
all the while turning the bowl with their left.  The result is a stiff
dough-like ball called ba.  Tsamba is also mixed with enough tea to make
a concoction the consistency of cooked oatmeal." (28)

</paraindent>

<paraindent><param>left</param>"The barley flavor is often enhanced by
the addition of butter, dried cheese, and even a dried molasses imported
from Nepal known as gurum.  Or a layer of yogurt may be added on top of
the tsamba and then licked off and another added, until the tsamba is
finished." (28)

</paraindent>

Whew, that was wordy.  Sorry about  that, but it was quite interesting
information to me!  I am glad I didn't sell back the book.  Beautiful
pictures too, by the way.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ilyana Barsova (Yana)  ***mka Jennifer D. Miller

jdmiller2 at students.wisc.edu *** http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~jdmiller2 

Slavic Interest Group http://vms.www.uwplatt.edu/~goldschp/slavic.html
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