Dish of Dry Tsampa
(click to enlarge)

Tsampa


Tibet   -   Tsampa

Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
2+ cup
**
10-1/2 hrs
Yes
Tsampa is the most important staple used by the Tibetan people. It is filling, healthy, and easily transportable, fully cooked, and needs only a little Butter Tea and a touch of salt to make it ready to eat.




2

c

Barley (1)  

Our recipe is adapted from The Lhasa Moon Tibetan Cookbook, and is suitable for making small quantities in a modern kitchen, rather than preparing huge quantities outdoors (see Note-2).

Do Ahead   -   (8 hrs)
  1. Soak BARLEY overnight with plenty of water.
Make   -   (2-1/2 hrs - 50 min work)
  1. Drain the Barley very well. Spread it out on paper towels on a baking sheet or similar and let it dry until it is just damp, not wet. You can pull the paper towels at about half way.
  2. Heat a kadhai, wok or spacious skillet over high heat. Stir in 1/4 of the Barley. Fry it, stirring, not quite constantly, but every few seconds. A surface temperature of about 440°F/230°C is good. The Barley will eventually start to sound like sand. You can chew a couple grains, and they should be crisp all the way through. Let it darken a little, but no more than to a dark blonde color. You may want to turn the heat down to moderate at this point as the color darkens quickly, and you definitely don't want any burn. Pour it out to cool, and Repeat with the other 3 quarters. You will notice the toasted barley tastes really good.
  3. When the Barley is completely cooled, grind it fine in a grain grinder or coffee mill. If you use your regular coffee mill, clean it by grinding some rice before and after.
  4. Store in a sealed container away from heat and sunlight.
NOTES:
  1. Barley:

      This needs to be light brown, very lightly pearled barley, not the white excessively pearled barley found in North American supermarkets. For details see our Barley page.
  2. Comments:

      The traditional method of making Tsampa (still widely used today) takes all day. After soaking 25 pounds or more of Barley, it is mixed in batches with hot fine sand in a large wok over a hot wood fire and stirred continuously. The sand assures even toasting in a large batch, and is sifted out and returned to the wok for the next batch. The Barley is then sealed into a big cotton bag and severely abused with sticks. After this, it is sifted in the wind so all chaff is blown away. Finally, it is ground in an industrial grinder. Full details are found in Tibetan Cooking, Elizabeth Esther Kelly.
  3. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste, lrg=large
zig_tsamp1 190318 lmtc95   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.