Today's weather was chilly again, so it was really nice to come home to thookpa. Thookpa (pronounced with an aspirated t) is a traditional Tibetan noodle soup often eaten in the winter. It's pretty heavy and filling, but it really warms you up, which was why I was happy to see it tonight.
Amala makes fresh skinny noodles for thookapa on her very own hand noodle crank that lives on the porch. After they dry, she makes the soup with mutton, onions, carrots, cabbage, and celery (Dane- there may be other things that go into this but I am not allowed to help make dinner). From what I can tell, everything goes into a pressure cooker, and comes out piping hot. The broth is yellow and thick, but not creamy, and the meal is always served in a bowl with chopsticks and chili. Chili is my favorite part of every meal: amala pounds the chili's herself, then adds onions, sometimes cheese (the best with eggs and fried bread in the morning), and this huge black spice that looks like a peppercorn but is apparently some type of Tibetan herb.
Since I can't help with dinner, pala and I usually talk before the meal. Often we talk about Buddhism or politics or current events, and he tells me that education is the most important thing one can have. Like most Buddhists, he doesn't see the value in material things, but thinks education is the key to all locks, first and foremost the Tibetan independence issue. He also likes to talk about current events and had me explain how a tsunami occurs and shared his thoughts on Lybia and Egypt.
Amala brings dinner and the chili (the chili has its own special bowl, and she makes fresh chili about three times a week) to the table. I often sit on my bed, which doubles as a couch, and Amala and Pala sit on the couch or the chair. Sometimes during dinner we continue to talk with Amala, and sometimes we watch television. Pala likes to watch the news, both Indian news programs and BBC and CNN, while amala likes Hindi soap operas. Indian commercials are totally ridiculous and fascinate me. Amala always tries to feed me a second helping. I try to clear the table, but amala never lets me wash the dishes because she thinks the water is too cold. I hate leaving dirty dishes in the sink (thanks, dad! ) but I agree with her because it is pretty cold by this time (we eat between 8 and 9 pm). After dinner amala and pala always encourage/force me to eat fruit, so I normally have a banana. If the tv wasn't on before, amala tunes in to the soap at this point, except when her brother David Copperfield (no joke) visited, because he doesn't like soap operas.
Any leftover food is either eaten for breakfast or given to the dog, Khatook, who found his/her way back to the ranch tonight. As pala put it, "our mission was not a success." I'm kind of happy to have the fluffball back.
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Yay! I've been waiting for this post. Question: have you yet had yak milk tea? Is this something people actually drink? Or is it something the Tibetans in Massachusetts laugh about while white people drink it in their restaurant?
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