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Sikkimese cuisine
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Sikkimese cuisine
Sikkimese cuisine is a collection of dishes representative of the Indigenous peoples of Sikkim. Rice is the staple food. Millet and fermented foods traditionally constituted a significant portion of the cuisine.
Nepalese cuisine is popular, as Sikkim is the only state of India with an ethnic Nepali majority. Many restaurants in Sikkim serve various types of Nepalese cuisine, such as the Limbu, Newa and Thakali cuisines. Tibetan cuisine has also influenced Sikkimese cuisine.
The Lepchas and Limbus are the earliest inhabitants of Sikkim who probably arrived in the 13th century CE. The Bhutia people from Tibet arrived later and established the Kingdom of Sikkim. During the British colonial rule in India, labourers from Nepal were encouraged to settle in the state. For many decades now, they have become the largest ethnic group in Sikkim. The British also encouraged Marwaris and Biharis to settle for trade and labour. The cuisine of these communities, with variations to incorporate local realities and availability, is considered Sikkimese cuisine.
Sikkim is part of the Eastern Himalayas Biodiversity hotspot.
Traditional cuisines of the Lepcha, Limbu, Magar, and Bhutia peoples in the state incorporate the rich biodiversity of the region. The Buddhist saint Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, who passed through ancient Sikkim in the eighth century noted the rich produce of the place in his writings,
There are about 155 varieties of fruits with different tastes and nutritional values. [These include] a walnut that tastes like butter; a fruit known as wallay … and a grape with the taste of wine. There are fruits called tingding with the taste of meat, and sedey, which can be eaten as the equivalent of an entire meal; turnips, and thirty-seven other types of root vegetables are available. There are twenty different varieties of garlic. Altogether, among the edible plants, there are 360 varieties available. There are wild radishes, along with tsolay, nyolay, and grapes in the valley. In the trees, among the rocks and hanging from the cliffs there are beehives.
Sikkim is also part of the Kangchenjunga Landscape which spreads from Nepal, India to Bhutan.
Sikkim lied on the ancient Silk Road connecting China via Tibet. Centuries of inter-kingdom trade relations and commerce, migration, and political annexation emerging from the road has influence the state's cuisine. British colonial and Indian post-colonial culture has also influenced local food cultures.
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Sikkimese cuisine
Sikkimese cuisine is a collection of dishes representative of the Indigenous peoples of Sikkim. Rice is the staple food. Millet and fermented foods traditionally constituted a significant portion of the cuisine.
Nepalese cuisine is popular, as Sikkim is the only state of India with an ethnic Nepali majority. Many restaurants in Sikkim serve various types of Nepalese cuisine, such as the Limbu, Newa and Thakali cuisines. Tibetan cuisine has also influenced Sikkimese cuisine.
The Lepchas and Limbus are the earliest inhabitants of Sikkim who probably arrived in the 13th century CE. The Bhutia people from Tibet arrived later and established the Kingdom of Sikkim. During the British colonial rule in India, labourers from Nepal were encouraged to settle in the state. For many decades now, they have become the largest ethnic group in Sikkim. The British also encouraged Marwaris and Biharis to settle for trade and labour. The cuisine of these communities, with variations to incorporate local realities and availability, is considered Sikkimese cuisine.
Sikkim is part of the Eastern Himalayas Biodiversity hotspot.
Traditional cuisines of the Lepcha, Limbu, Magar, and Bhutia peoples in the state incorporate the rich biodiversity of the region. The Buddhist saint Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, who passed through ancient Sikkim in the eighth century noted the rich produce of the place in his writings,
There are about 155 varieties of fruits with different tastes and nutritional values. [These include] a walnut that tastes like butter; a fruit known as wallay … and a grape with the taste of wine. There are fruits called tingding with the taste of meat, and sedey, which can be eaten as the equivalent of an entire meal; turnips, and thirty-seven other types of root vegetables are available. There are twenty different varieties of garlic. Altogether, among the edible plants, there are 360 varieties available. There are wild radishes, along with tsolay, nyolay, and grapes in the valley. In the trees, among the rocks and hanging from the cliffs there are beehives.
Sikkim is also part of the Kangchenjunga Landscape which spreads from Nepal, India to Bhutan.
Sikkim lied on the ancient Silk Road connecting China via Tibet. Centuries of inter-kingdom trade relations and commerce, migration, and political annexation emerging from the road has influence the state's cuisine. British colonial and Indian post-colonial culture has also influenced local food cultures.