FOOD HABITS

KHAN PAN

People of Lahoul have three meals a day, 'sud' in the morning, 'shod' in the noon and 'yaag' at night.  Their main food is wheat, barley,kathu and buckwheat. Amongst the vegetables potato has become the main vegetable. People relish meat and before the beginning of winter they get it dried to keep it for the winter. Potatoes, peas, turnips and other vegetables like cabbage, radish, carrot etc are used in summer. Sweet dishes are not common but milk and curd are sweetened and consumed by people with delicacy.

A description of some of the food preparations common in the villages is given below:

1. LOWAD:- Buckwheat flour [braffo] is diluted with water and fermented with sodium bi carbonate or homely made 'maleda' [a fermenting local material]. Once flour is fermented a portion of it is retained for use as yeast for subsequent preparations. The liquid is spread on iron griddle and is baked into lowad. People eat 'lowad' with tea, chutney, tshati and all other vegetables or pulses. 

2. DEGDEG TSHATI:-  A small quantity of barley flour added to boiling water is stirred with a bundle of siski or sticks. Salt is added. Sometimes it is fried in vegetable oil or fat. The cooked preparation is taken with lowad.

3. TISHKORI:- Hush of buckwheat or grains of barley are powdered into flour which is kneaded and baked into tishkori, a thick cake. It is taken with some vegetable, soup, sauce or salted tea.

4. AKTORI:- Green leaves of buckwheat are boiled in hot water and then mixed with buckwheat flour. Salt is added to this mixture which is kneaded and aktori cakes are baked on the iron griddle. 

5. GANTHUR:- Green leaves of buckwheat, cabbage, turnips etc are boiled in hot water and then fried in ghee or sarson oil. Condiments [spices] are then added. When the vegetables gets cold, a large quantity of butter- milk is mixed with it to make it a soup which is generally taken with lowad.

6. TSHATI:- Flour, some rice and potatoes and peas are boiled in water to make a hotch- potch soup. Salt is added and the preparation is fried in oil. It is taken with itself or with lowad.

7. TUR TSHATI:- Some quantity of rice is boiled in water. Pieces of potatoes and cheese are added. The hotch-potch soup is fried in vegetable oil and condiments are added. It is taken with lowad. 

8. DOO-MARR:- Coarsely ground grains of barley are boiled in water and stirred with a bundle of sticks. Salt is added. The cooked preparation called doo is taken with ghee  [marr].

9. BOTI KULU:- Buckwheat flour is boiled in butter milk and salted. It is taken with different soups. Boti kulu is mainly a substitute for lowad. 

10. MANNA:- Rice flour is mixed with water and condiments like kala jeera and salt is added to it. Then it is baked on iron griddle with very thin layer. It is taken with ghee on special occasions like fagli.

11. KHWALAG:- It is roasted barley grain's flour, taken with tea and mixed with ghee and sugar. It is specially taken when people are busy in working their fields and they don't have time for preparing meal.  

12. PINN-E-MARR:- Barley flour is kneaded with curd and sugar is added to it. It is formed in to a solid balls and taken with ghee [marr].

13. SALTED TEA:- Stik tea is boiled in water and then, mixed thoroughly with butter and milk, in a vessel called 'dongmo'. Salt is added. It is taken hot, once in a day generally in the morning. Salted tea is taken to entertain guest.

14. JHEET:- Wheat flour is mixed with milk or water and sugar is also added. It is fermented  and then fried like jalebi or pakoda.

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