Maybe the best part of traveling is getting introduced to new cuisine. While some crave the familiarity of their own comfort foods and tastes, it’s always interesting to try something new. Eating local cuisine adds to the experience of traveling to new destinations.
Up in the mountains where the oxygen levels vary, the temperatures are much cooler than what I am used to and the lifestyle is far more physical than urban life, the diet changes dramatically. In order to take on this environment one must eat much healthier foods than the inorganic diet that has become the fashion of urban life. So on a blustery cold evening after a nice long trek, I was served a nice hot bowl of tro ballay. Tro ballay is a traditional Himalayan soup, a winter specialty of Baltistan. It is essentially a wheat soup made from multiple grains, dried black peas and yak trotters. A wholesome soup that is like a power meal all in itself. When you are done with this soup you aren’t simply full but you are properly nourished as well.
Similarly, another Balti soup favorite is Balay which is a noodle soup with meat. Balti soups are not liquidy thin soups but rather gravy-like in texture. On a cold day what better way to warm up than with some satisfying whole wheat noodles in a thick meat broth.
To date the cuisine of this region continues to remain traditional in nature. While some influences of global cuisine do appear in restaurants as tourism grows, even in the best of establishments, the crowd favorite still remains the local soups. Until relatively recently Gilgit-Baltistan is a region which has remained cut off even from its own country. The construction of the main highway, which was one of the most difficult roadways to construct at such high altitudes and through such challenging mountain ranges, began as recent as 1962 and was completed and open to public in 1978. This explains why the region has maintained traditional practices and culture to such a large degree.
So the next time winter calls and the snowflakes fall, try a new recipe. Go the Balti way…
Yak paya ! 😦
These soups are very healthy and filling and taste of this world...as commented by my wife who is a certified chef.