Food in Bhutan

Bhutanese dishes usually would not be there if chilies are not there. All most all the dishes are cooked with spicy chilies either with dry chilies or fresh. Some of the dishes are:  Ema Datsi ( Chilli with cheese), Kewa Datsi ( Potato with Cheese),  Shamu Datsi (Mushroom with Datsi), Sha Kam Datsi ( Dry beef with Cheese). Delicious Indian, Chinese and Continental dishes are easily available in Bhutan and few vegetarian restaurants are available for vegetarian tourist in some part of the country.

Rice people use largely as red rice and few use white as well. Red rice is slightly sticky after cooking and taken with some of the dishes meat or vegetables cooked with chilies. Pork, Beef, Chicken, and fish are eaten regularly while vegetable includes spinach, potatoes. Also, buckwheat pancakes and noodles are very famous in Bumthang valley.

Food for Tourists

Most of the Bhutanese cousin is Indian, Tibetan and Chinese. The main dish is generally rice with seasonal vegetables mixed with meat and cooked with spicy chili or cheese. If you like Chinese, Indian and Tibetan food than, you should like the Bhutanese food as well.  However, you can get continental dishes as well in main city like Thimphu, Paro and Punakha in some of tourist standard restaurant. Always inquire available fresh vegetable to eat since vegetables produce in Bhutan are purely organic.

Traditional Bhutanese Dishes you must try:

  1. Ema Datshi – A vegetarian dish made of chili and cheese.
  2. Kewa Datse – Potatoes with cheese and chili.
  3. Momos – Chicken, pork, or cheese dumplings.
  4. Suja- Butter tea.
  5. Shi Kam  Paa- Dried Pork slice  cooked with vegetable and chili .
  6. Sha Kam Paa- Dried beef cooked with vegetable and chili.
  7. Bja Sha Maroo – Chicken in garlic and butter sauce.
  8. Dal Bhat – Simple rice and lentils.
  9. Barthu – Fried noodles or noodle soup. (Veg as well as non Veg)
  10. Ezays – Spicy dips containing chopped onions and chili with cheese or red chili paste.
  11. Khur-le – Buckwheat pancakes
  12. Thueb – Porridge made from rice or flat noodles, topped with fried meat.
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