We all know that the north is rich in wheat, so pasta is the main food; the south is rich in rice, and the staple food is mostly rice. And in the alpine Qinghai-Tibet region, what kind of crops can become the staple food? This is the gift of the plateau - highland barley, which is not only the raw material of the staple food "tsampa", but also can be used to brew highland barley wine, which occupies an important position in the life of Tibetans. Today, Xiaomei will introduce to you an important product brought by highland barley: tsampa (pronounced "zanba")
The Legend of Highland Barley Seeds
Highland barley is a crop of the genus Barley in the Gramineae family, also known as naked barley, barley, and rice barley. It has been planted on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for about 3,000-4,000 years. Highland barley has a special sacredness in the minds of the Tibetan people, so there are many myths, legends and songs about the origin of highland barley seeds in Tibetan areas. After harvesting the highland barley every year, when people try the tsampa made from the new highland barley, they first pinch a ball of tsampa and feed it to the dogs to show their gratitude to the dogs for bringing the highland barley seeds to people. When celebrating the New Year and tasting new barley, first respect the dog, do not kill the dog, and do not eat dog meat.
The staple food of the Tibetans - tsampa
Tibetans have tsampa for three meals a day. "Tsampa" is the Tibetan transliteration of fried noodles, and the raw material is barley. If you are a guest at the home of a Tibetan compatriot, the host will definitely bring you fragrant buttered tea and tsampa with both hands. The production of tsampa is divided into two processes: one is to fry the highland barley, and the other is to grind the tsampa. For people on both sides of the Lhasa River and in the entire agricultural area, making tsampa is a big event, and it is divided into two seasons a year, summer and autumn.
Step1: Fried barley
The family first carried enough highland barley for half a year to the real estate speculators in the village. Put fine sand in the iron pan, wait for the fine sand to heat up, pour in the highland barley and keep stirring. The highland barley fried in this way ripens quickly and is not easy to be mushy. When the highland barley bursts and blooms in the pot, the fine sand is removed with an iron sieve, and the rest is white and ripe highland barley.
Step2: Grinding tsampa
After the highland barley flower is fried, the next process is grinding. The ground barley flour is tsampa. Most people's tsampa does not remove the skin. It is actually a good whole grain food, which is not only good for digestion, but also has a certain effect on preventing diabetes.
When eating tsampa, put some ghee in a bowl, pour in tea, add some tsampa noodles, and keep stirring with your hands. When eating tsampa, generally use buttered tea and tsampa noodles to stir, and if possible, add sugar and milk dregs, which can add delicious taste and increase appetite; when Han people eat tsampa, if there is no buttered tea, pig oil can be used Or cooked clear oil instead, add boiling water and sugar and stir to serve.
Rich Nutrients:
Calories (kcal) 257, fat (g) 13.1, dietary fiber (g) 1.8, carotene (microgram) 1, thiamine (mg) .05, niacin (mg) 1.9, vitamin E (mg) 2.68, Potassium (mg) 123, Calcium (mg) 71, Iron (mg) 13.9, Zinc (mg) 9.55, Phosphorus (mg) 176, Protein (g) 4.1, Carbohydrate (g) 30.7, Vitamin A (μg) 0 , Retinol Equivalent (µg) 49.3, Riboflavin (mg) .15, Vitamin C (mg) 0, Cholesterol (mg) 73, Sodium (mg) 8.9, Magnesium (mg) 61, Manganese (mg) .64 , copper (mg) 6.26, selenium (microgram) 7.5
Delicious recipes for tsampa
Zanba porridge (fried barley noodle porridge)
Scoop an appropriate amount of tsamba powder into a bowl, pour boiling water or milk tea or milk, and a bowl of tsampa porridge with a very fragrant fragrance of whole grains is OK. You can add sugar or raisins according to your own taste.
Tsampa cake (highland barley cake)
1. Add water and sugar to tsampa powder (highland barley powder), and knead the dough into a smooth dough
2. Fermentation in a warm place for 1 hour
3. Take about 75 grams of dough, make a ball, press it flat, and stick some black sesame seeds in the middle.
4. Put a little oil in the pan, add the cake, fry on low heat, after 2 minutes, turn it over, and cook for another 2 minutes
5. Put it in the baking tray, 200 degrees, middle layer, 15 minutes, ready to eat.
Tsampa Noodles (Highland Barley Noodles)
Mix tsampa powder (highland barley powder) and all-purpose flour, and knead them into round noodles. There are two kinds of long and short kneading. The long one is about a chi and the short one is three or four inches. Dry water, served with green vegetables, mashed garlic, spicy oil, mustard, etc., it tastes smooth and delicious.
