Thukpa is a generic Tibetan word for any soup stew combined with noodles. But for me, like for many others, thukpa is synonymous to best comfort food ever. Have a bowl of freshly stewed hot thukpa and make all your worries vanish.
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I am yet to find a more popular immigrant food than thukpa and momo. The Tibetans in India too hold this dish very close to their heart. Perhaps this reminds them of their roots and brings the cosiness of having a hot bowl of soup doused with hand-made noodle in the icy Tibetan Plateau. In fact, a new year in any Tibetan’s life is incomplete without a bowl of hot thukpa.
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Thukpa is more popular in colder regions of India and in Northeast, particularly in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Darjeeling in West Bengal. The Monpa community living in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh loves their Thukpa which they have for lunch and dinner. It is a staple and the popular version here is Putang Thukpa which means noodles made from buckwheat and flavoured with yak meat or dry fish and seasonal veggies.
While in Sikkim the thukpa is often paired with momos. And of course, the dumplings and the soupy dish is heavily garnished with chillies, garlic and coriander for flavoring. Going all the way to Ladakh the dish is staple there with variations such as thenthuk (noodle soup), gyathuk (dry noodles topped with meat curry) or simply ngamthuk (soup of barley flour made in veg/meat stock).
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Thukpa is also very popular in Darjeeling. It is made the same way with seasoning, veggies and meat (optional) but over a slow fire. Perhaps it one of those dishes in India that binds all people together. You will seldom find a person not liking or knowing this delicious soupy dish.
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