A STORY FROM HIMALAYA...

... AND THE FOOD CONNECTION WITH ITALY.

Not just the shape of her eyes, but rather the sweetness and the calm of her smile reveal her oriental origin, together with her deep sense of respect for Others and for Nature.

 Yangchen comes from Himalaya. She was born in the region of SIkkim, India, right at the border with Tibet, where her father comes from. 

SIkkim used to be a kingdom; now it has being part of India since 1974.

The King Tashi Namgyal of the Chogyal dinasty married Hope Cooke, an american girl.

"Cooke" sounds like "cook".... and cooking is a big part in the culture of Sikkim.

The national dish is a stew of beef in which they cook a home made pasta. The dough is made with flour and eggs, just like Italian pasta. The shape is a kind of "gnocchi", named KAURI. They also make a type of "tagliatelel", which are called THENTHUK or MEH-TSEN-TSE, depending if they shape them directly over the boiling pot or if they first roll the dough, then cut and dry.

Thus, it seems that two so far away countries like Italy and the ex-Kingdom of Sikkim in Himalaya, have some culinary tradition in common.

                                          This is Yangchen enjoying the Italian Gnocchi



Yangchen, in her home in Himalaya, prepares her Kaori using more often the whole flour (atta) as she feels that the white flour (maida) dumplings, as they contain more gluten, are heavier to digest. 




THANK YOU YANGCHEN, FOR FINDING ME AND SHARING YOUR STORY.