Episode 8 - Bad Table Manners

Beyond Momos: Imaginary Homelands and Tibetan Food in India

 Beginning with a brief history of Tibetans in exile, this episode explores how food can create imaginary homelands, even if it means that authenticity itself needs to be invented and reinvented. Three Tibetans in the diaspora, Jamyang Phuntsok, Tencho Gyatso, and Nima Dorjee, are the guests on this episode. Through conversations that range from personal histories to current food interests, we will talk about gastronomy and memory, tsampa as a potential political tool, and what role food can play for a community in exile.

In this episode of Bad Table Manners, Meher chats with:

• Jamyang Phuntsok, a screenwriter and podcaster

• Tencho Gyatso, a blogger who runs Simply Tibetan

• Nima Dorjee, an engineer

Episode highlights:

Tibetan Food in India

• Meher begins by explaining that when China invaded Tibet in 1959, the action spawned an uprising that, to this day, is still gaining traction. Many Tibetan exiles migrated to India where, as Jamyang explains, they found work building roads and settled along those routes.

• These Tibetan communities are known throughout India for having delicious, affordable food. One dish commonly associated with these communities is the momo, a steamed dumpling filled with vegetables or meats.

• Meher cautions that reducing these communities to simple definitions of good food erases both the struggle that produced them in the first place and the negotiations exiled Tibetans had to undertake as they attempted to create their own ideas of food culture.

The Authenticity of the Momo

• Momos became staples in India because of their adaptability, practicality, and ability to feed large numbers of people. Momos similarly became popular restaurant menu items in Tibetan settlements, Tencho says, because they were easy to make, sell, and serve. 

• Authenticity then, Meher argues, is always being invented, particularly as adaptation becomes necessity. She wonders if the “Indianization” of momos sowed aversion in Tibetan consciousness, but Jamyang responds that all food eventually evolves, and that he doesn’t see the adaptation or introduction of ingredients as tainting a recipe.

• The greater challenge to authenticity in Tibetan communities, he states, is that many Tibetans have no memory of Tibet, so these notions of authenticity are much more difficult to navigate.

The Politics of Tsampa

• “Tsampa eater” has become a convenient label for Tibetans. Nima thinks the term is an easy way to identify people, particularly in political spheres. Even though he didn’t grow up eating tsampa, and when he did it wasn’t pleasant, he has learned to enjoy it.

• Once considered a food of survival, tsampa has now become trendy because of its low rating on the glycemic index. It is often marketed and sold as a wellness food, and while Jamyang is not surprised that it has become commercialized, he is critical of the process. Words used to describe it in the market, such as “ancient,” have no meaning other than brand value. They’re put upon Tibetan identity by external Western forces, he says.

• Tencho says that tsampa is not only a staple but a great food for protest. It’s filling, she says, and would last political protestors who ate it throughout the day.

Returning to Ideas of Authenticity

• Meher returns to the idea of authenticity in the context of exile. The creation of authenticity, her conversation with Jamyang reflects, is a low priority when life itself is in flux.

• “I really don’t think authenticity was a concern,” he says, “because Tibetans, in a way, are pretty practical people. They made do with whatever they had.”

Orientalizing Tibetan Cuisine

• Tibetan food has been more influenced by China than India, Jamyang goes on. Meher then wonders if there have been any attempts to eradicate Chinese influences from this cuisine in the struggle for autonomy.

• Jamyang explains that it is not a contradiction to eat Chinese food and then join a protest against Chinese colonization. Our issue is not with Chinese culture, he says. “What they did to us as a colonial power, those ideas we will always find objectionable and try to resist.”

Food and Solidarity 

• Jamyang then talks about White Wednesday, which has emerged as a grassroots global movement that encourages Tibetan solidarity. On White Wednesdays, Tibetans all over the world eat Tibetan food, wear Tibetan clothing, and speak Tibetan languages. 

• Making food together is one of the most powerful forms of solidarity, Meher adds, and making momos is perhaps one of the most potent examples of this process. The preparation is the part that you enjoy, Jampyang says. “It’s a very communal thing.”

SIMPLY TIBETAN - Tsampa

Ingredients

2-3 pounds hulled barley

Directions

1. Put the barley in a large container and wash it under running tap water until clean. Gently scrub to get the loose hull off.

2. Put the washed barley in a strainer and let the water drip out.

3. Fill a large pot with water and heat it until it is completely boiling. Gently pour the hot water over the strainer with the barley. Immediately, cover with a clean cloth and let stand for about 15 minutes. The steam will slightly cook the barley and make it better for roasting.

4. Spread the barley out on a clean cloth and let dry slightly for 15 minutes.

5. Heat a large wok or big pan. Once it’s very hot, add the washed, dried barley and keep stirring until all of the barley is roasted. (It’s like making popcorn.)

6. Once it’s cooled, transfer the roasted barley to an airtight container. Grind small quantities, as needed, in a coffee grinder. Or, if you eat a lot of tsampa, a flour grinder is a must-have to grind it all at once.

Original recipe by Dolkar-La. Shared, with permission from Tencho Gyatso of Simply Tibetan.

https://simplytibetan.com/2014/03/19/tsampa/