Tibetan Taboo Treats

Today is Ash Wednesday in the Catholic and the Protestant churches.It's a time when we forego meat for today and every Friday until Easter.In some ways this practice reflects the Buddhist belief of going vegan. This is no more evident in Tibet a culture that does frown at times on meat eating. However , surprisingly enough Tibetans love to sneak this forbidden fruit , especially for Losar ,their New Year festivity starting today.

This was the subject of an article in today's New York Times Dining section. The piece, written by Dining regular, Julia Moskin, tells of that Tibetan treat momo.These  dumplings are made with two rarities to the Tibet region - wheat and beef. Yak meat is used here in the States to give it more flavor however most momos are made with just regular beef. . Onion and cilantro are added to make it more flavorful a nd juicy. After the first bite, the dumplings are  then dipped into a hot , fiery chili paste and are eaten as either an appetizer or as a regular meal..

Tibetans also celebrate Losar by having chicken too. (although, again this is frowned upon by the strict Buddhists monks and nuns who follow the religion),It is usually stir fried along with peppers, purple  onions and red chili paste.It is eaten with a puffy white steamed bread.Other dishes for Losar include deep fried dough twists called Khapse (not unlike some of the pastries that the Europeans made for yesterday;s Carnevale)..it;s drunk with Po Cha a kind of tea broth made with strong tea, yak butter sugar and salt.Rice is never used, because of it;s association with China.

Tibetans , like us have religious beliefs that they usually adhere to. Once in a while however they do enjoy a forbidden treat like a plump juicy momo. After all their celebrations,, like ours revolves around food and what better than a steamed and spicy dumpling!