As the aroma of barley wine rises in the highland air, so does the Tibetan New Year (Losar). This is the most important festival in the snowy region of Tibet. Starting from a bowl of steaming hot Guttur Soup, to the sweet ginseng rice and fragrant barley wine, each dish carries prayers and blessings. Let's walk into the flavor of the Tibetan New Year together and taste the warmth and faith from the plateau.
Traveling, should not be just a horse to see the flowers, CITS China International Travel Service (CITS) Global brings you to understand the depth of Tibet.
The Tibetan New Year begins with a bowl of soup!
On the night of Nyi Shu Gu, the eve of the Tibetan New Year.Every family cooks a pot of food named"Soup of GuthukThe soup is a ritual dish for Tibetans to welcome the new year. This bowl of soup is a ritual dish for Tibetans to welcome the new year - the soup is filled with barley flour, beef and mutton, ghee and vegetables, and even more special is that it is wrapped with small objects with different meanings:
Charcoal means "bad year", cotton symbolizes "soft heart", chili pepper means "blunt and hot", and coins mean "good fortune".
While eating, everyone laughs and guesses what omen they have drawn, and whatever they bite into, they spit out, symbolizing that they have left their bad luck behind in the old year.
That night was known as the Night of the Grotto.It is the most ceremonial moment in the hearts of the Tibetans. Laughter and smoke are intertwined by the fire, mothers are busy at the pot, and children are waiting for their own little prophecy. Taking a bite of the fragrant Gutu is like unloading the reserve of adulthood and becoming a naughty child in the arms of their parents again.
II. Qianggu - the first meal of the new year
When the dawn breaks over the snowy mountains.The morning of the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendarEvery family prepares a steaming bowl of "The Bowl".Qianggu-This is the first bite of the New Year and the beginning of blessings.
It is made with barley wine, mixed with milk residue, ginseng and brown sugar. Tibetan moms always wake up early and bring the fragrant Qianggu to the table before the whole family rolls out of bed.The slightly astringent ginseng fruit and the sweetness of brown sugar blend together to create a warmth that slips from the mouth into the heart after the first bite.
Qianggu is a sweet soup eaten "only once a year", symbolizing purification and rebirth. Tibetans believe that drinking this bowl of Qianggu is like welcoming a fresh start - letting the fatigue and worries of the previous year dissipate with the hot air.
Three,Losar（藏曆新年）Losar - Tibetan New Year Rituals
The Tibetan New Year (Losar) usually falls in February or early March and is the most important festival of the year for Tibetans.On the eve of the festival, houses are thoroughly cleaned and replaced with white blankets and colorful curtains. On the eve of the festival, houses are thoroughly cleaned, white blankets and colorful curtains are put on, and the walls are hung with pine boughs and barley spikes to symbolize new life and a good harvest.
Every family has to prepare.Cutting Box"When the guest comes to the door, the host will offer it with both hands and say, "Zahidlal! --- Auspiciousness.
Whether it's sweeping the dust, honoring the Buddha or serving tea, the heart of it all is "gratitude and blessing". Food is the central language of the ceremony.
Four: Chokma Setsai - The Most Popular Auspicious Rice
Choma Dresil is the name of the sweet rice that is eaten by Tibetans during Losar. It is the most popular and auspicious food during the festivals.
The cooking method seems simple: a glutinous rice base with ginseng, raisins, sugar and nuts, and a final drizzle of piping hot ghee sauce. The aroma is rich and creamy, with a slight acidity in the sweetness.
This sweet rice is not only a treat for the palate, but also a blessing - "Sweet New Year".
Early in the morning on the first day of the year, the older members of the family will first honor the Buddha with sweet rice and then distribute it to their family members. The children eat the sweet rice with their faces full of ghee and their voices full of laughter. The sweetness of this moment is not only the taste in the mouth, but also the expectation in the heart.
In short, this is ginseng rice.
V. Air-dried Beef: Flavors Grown in the Wind and Snow
In the harsh highlands, the way food is preserved often determines the character of the flavor.Tsasha Gampo (dried beef) is one such product.
Every winter.The herders choose the strong yak.After the meat is slaughtered, it is cut into strips and hung on the eaves of the house or next to a tent, where it is exposed to the cold winds and the sun. After a few weeks, the meat becomes dry, hard and dark in color, with a recessed aroma, but crispy and tough in the mouth. This texture, somewhere between beef jerky and meat floss, is a flavor unique to the Tibetan region.
Air-dried beef has no seasoning added, and is only dried naturally to preserve its freshness, but it contains the pure flavor of the meat. For Tibetans, it symbolizes "toughness and endurance" - just like their lives, which are simple, direct and full of strength.
When served with a little Tibetan chili sauce, the pungency of the spice and the salty aroma of the dried meat are intertwined, and the layers of taste open up in an instant. Many travelers frown at the first taste, but become addicted after a few sips. It's a wild flavor that comes from the land, bold, sincere, and hard to imitate.
Six: Cake and Tsampa: Everyday Life at the Tibetan Table
In addition to the above mentioned representative foods, theThe Losar period is also characterized by the use of shortbread (Khapse) and Tsampa..
KasaiA transliteration of the Tibetan word ཁ་ཟས་ (meaning "mouthful"), it is a deep-fried pastry made of flour, ghee and sugar. There are many different shapes, some resembling butterflies, some flower knots, spirals or long strips. It is an auspicious snack for welcoming guests and offering sacrifices to the gods, and every family fries it in advance and stacks it on the offering table during Chinese New Year. The golden and crispy kasai is not only food, but also a decoration for the festivities, with a fragrant aroma that symbolizes a good harvest and good fortune.
tsamba, Tibetan barley breadIt is a staple food for Tibetans, made from fried barley flour mixed with ghee tea or water, and eaten by squeezing it in the hand. It looks simple on the outside, but it is the most direct source of energy in highland life. In Losar, people will sprinkle colorful powder (called "tsampa color") on tsampa, which symbolizes the abundance of grains and cereals, to signify that everything will go well in the new year and that good luck will come.
The Tibetan Philosophy of Taste
The essence of the Tibetan diet is the wisdom of coexistence with nature.
Barley, ghee, dried meat - limited ingredients in this land are transformed by Tibetans into life-giving flavors.
Every bite of rice and every glass of wine is a prayer and a practice.
A sip of barley wine, a whole year's blessings
When the fireworks of the festival dispersed, the scent of biscuits faded, barley wine bottles empty, but the temperature remains in the wind of the plateau.
Tibetans believe that the significance of the New Year lies not in the time, but in the state of mind.
When people raise their glasses, smile, and share a meal, that's when happiness begins.
The fresh aroma of barley, the sweetness of ginseng, the salty toughness of beef - these flavors are the interpretation of life by Tibetans for thousands of years, and the gentlest blessing of the Snowy Plateau.
The Beginning and Continuation of Taste and Faith in the Tibetan New Year
The Tibetan New Year is not only a festival, but also a ceremony of dialoguing with heaven and earth.
From the laughter in the Kutu soup to the blessings in the barley wine, these foods have strung together the memories of the years, and also connected people with the faith of the gods.
When the ghee lamps sway in front of the windows and people join hands and whisper "Zahidlal", it is not only a greeting, but also a tribute to life.
In the Snowy Plateau, food has long surpassed food and clothing; it is the carrier of culture, the symbol of faith, and the most simple poem in the hearts of Tibetans.
Every bowl of soup and every bite of rice is a reminder:
No matter how much the world changes, as long as you have gratitude in your heart and can still sit by the fire with your loved ones, life will still be warm and bright.
The Tibetans don't say "Happy New Year" on New Year's Eve, they say - "Lhasa Zahidlal!"
The phrase means "Auspicious and Prosperous Tibetan New Year", which is like the softest blessing on the snowy plateau.
