Hi, after reading Tilman/Shipton books and their use of Tsampa as food i fancied trying it out, after some searching on internet i found Tsampa (staple diet of Tibetans) is barley flour and tea mixed into a paste, i had difficulty in getting some barley flour but eventually got some from a health-type store, interestingly on the packet it said for uses ''ideal for bannocks'', anyway i made a paste with it mixing it with ordinary PG Tips tea, the taste was different to other flours and not really satisfying to my own taste buds, i also made a bannock out of it as it said on the packet ideal for that purpose and the texture was completely different to my more usual white/wholemeal mix. Obviously the Tibetans don't use Pg TIps (i presume) so i was wondering if anyone knows the correct way to make Tsampa and what type of ''Tea'' is traditionally mixed in with flour to make the paste?, also is their barley flour different to the stuff sold in shops here in England?, also if Tsampa is no more than barley flour mixed with tea then couldn't it be made in the same way but with a different flour to suit one's own taste buds?, anyone tried Tsampa, or know the correct ingredients and preparation (in case i've got it wrong), anyone tried using barley flour in bannocks, what's your opinion/verdict on Tsampa/barley flour.
Opinions/thoughts - anyone tried Tsampa / Barley Flour
- Thread starter Joonsy
- Start date
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_tea
Good old wikipedia.
I've had tibetan tea or kalmyk tea (same thing) in Kalmykia in southern Russia. It's very specific. Hope you find some.
Oscar
Good old wikipedia.
I've had tibetan tea or kalmyk tea (same thing) in Kalmykia in southern Russia. It's very specific. Hope you find some.
Oscar
I make barley flour (barley is grown on the farm). It makes a very fine textured flour - like a fine wholemeal. PLeasant especially in a sweetened fruit loaf (or bannock).
Don't forget that tea in Tibet is often served with rancid butter. Sounds awful but is actually pleasant.
Red
Don't forget that tea in Tibet is often served with rancid butter. Sounds awful but is actually pleasant.
Red
Barley flour is called Bere meal in Scotland. It is traditionally used to make bannocks. These aren't the thick scone like ones the are commonly made with wheat flour, but think of them like a chapatti.......or one of the Northern English Oatcakes, not the crisp Scottish Oatcakes.
They're very good, and they can be made crisper too, more like the oatcakes I'm familiar with.
Lots of recipes under Bere meal I'm sure. I've certainly got dozens.
No idea about making them with Tibetan tea though
cheers,
Toddy
They're very good, and they can be made crisper too, more like the oatcakes I'm familiar with.
Lots of recipes under Bere meal I'm sure. I've certainly got dozens.
No idea about making them with Tibetan tea though
cheers,
Toddy
Found the recipe book 
Two handfulls of beremeal.
good pinch of fine salt
A knob of fat or butter or use buttermilk to bind
A little cold water to bind if not using buttermilk
Stir the salt with the beremeal, rub in the fat.
Add enough water to just bind the mix together.
Cover the bowl with a wetted and very well wrung out cloth and leave aside for at least two hours.
Divide into eight pieces.
Either pat out in the hands or roll out on a floured board to about a 6" circle.
Cook on a hot girdle until they start to brown underneath, turn and repeat.
Keep warm in a clean teatowel while cooking the rest.
Serve warm.
No tea in this one I'm afraid. Oh, and my cast girdle actually says Girdle on the bottom, and Made in England It's not something your granny used to wear to flatten her tummy
cheers,
Toddy
Two handfulls of beremeal.
good pinch of fine salt
A knob of fat or butter or use buttermilk to bind
A little cold water to bind if not using buttermilk
Stir the salt with the beremeal, rub in the fat.
Add enough water to just bind the mix together.
Cover the bowl with a wetted and very well wrung out cloth and leave aside for at least two hours.
Divide into eight pieces.
Either pat out in the hands or roll out on a floured board to about a 6" circle.
Cook on a hot girdle until they start to brown underneath, turn and repeat.
Keep warm in a clean teatowel while cooking the rest.
Serve warm.
No tea in this one I'm afraid. Oh, and my cast girdle actually says Girdle on the bottom, and Made in England
It's not something your granny used to wear to flatten her tummy cheers,
Toddy
You know me - I have a passion for old iron
I have a modern truly flay gridle pan (in iron) that is grand fro crumpets, tortillas and chapatis.
But one of my earliest "reclamations" was this old piece that was abot half an inch thick with rust
Cam up nice though
Red
I have a modern truly flay gridle pan (in iron) that is grand fro crumpets, tortillas and chapatis.
But one of my earliest "reclamations" was this old piece that was abot half an inch thick with rust
Cam up nice though
Red
I have two of those frying pans that we use at a settled camp One is kept veggie and the bigger one for meats.
The iron girdle I use is about two handspans across and the handle folds down to pack away.
My cast iron pots have really good lids and I can bake in the space between them if I use two over a stewing pot.
They are all very good, in fact excellent, on an open hearth, but my cooker at home is electric and just not big enough for these pans on a daily basis. The problem is to stop them rusting when stored in the shed.
In the end I clean them thoroughly when I get home, redo the seasoning on them and then store them in home made dry bags.
cheers,
Toddy
One is kept veggie and the bigger one for meats.The iron girdle I use is about two handspans across and the handle folds down to pack away.
My cast iron pots have really good lids and I can bake in the space between them if I use two over a stewing pot.
They are all very good, in fact excellent, on an open hearth, but my cooker at home is electric and just not big enough for these pans on a daily basis. The problem is to stop them rusting when stored in the shed.
In the end I clean them thoroughly when I get home, redo the seasoning on them and then store them in home made dry bags.
cheers,
Toddy
Hi, thanks for your replies folks --- ''Toddy'', thanks for the recipe i'll give that a try, i know what you mean about those ''northern oatcakes'' and i love those, completely different to those crunchy ones more usually sold and nicer for my own taste buds, sound like the ones sold around Leek/Stoke that they add various fillings to, never seen em' cooked in ''''girdles'''' though, new one on me ha ha!!!! but it does make a granny all hot and bothered if not full cooked !!!!, --- ''British Red'', nice pot, that would ''''gridle'''' a granny very nicely with a bit of seasoning, rancid butter doesn't sound a delight but as is often the case needs to be tried out first hand --- Anyone any more thoughts on eating actual '''Tsampa''' itself.
Hi Featherstick, thankyou for supplying that link, very informative answering some of my thoughts, thanks.
I believe that they barley is roasted before it is ground and it isn't ground as fine as we know flour its more like fine oatmeal or home ground coffee. It is perhaps the Tibetan equivalent of parched corn or pinole. (Kephart). I have not tried it myself but a friend described it as similar in taste and texture to eating weetabix. No idea what Yak butter - rancid or not tastes like. But I recall a description of the Tea as being made from the twigs as well as the leaves but I don't know if it is fermented (black) tea or not. Living at altitude the Tibetans can boil their tea (lower temperature at higher altitude) with less of the risk of it tannins coming out.
might have to try butter tea wit hthe Mongolian tea brick I was given.
Have to use a cleaver to any tea of the damn thing
Have to use a cleaver to any tea of the damn thing
From what little I know of the subject, it seems to be a foodstuff the traveller either loves or hates.
Traditional tibetian tea is supposed to be absymal quality, well adulterated, and of indefinite age.
But as a travel diet it seems a good thing, lashings of barley meal, tea, unidenifiable and inedible dried friut, rancid butter, and whatever meat you can get hold of.
Traditional tibetian tea is supposed to be absymal quality, well adulterated, and of indefinite age.
But as a travel diet it seems a good thing, lashings of barley meal, tea, unidenifiable and inedible dried friut, rancid butter, and whatever meat you can get hold of.
"it seems to be a foodstuff the traveller either loves or hates"
Yup, sometimes both on the same day - usually hate it after about the 10th cup.
Actually it was mostly drinkable, at least before the extra pat of butter was added to the cup.
Yup, sometimes both on the same day - usually hate it after about the 10th cup.
Actually it was mostly drinkable, at least before the extra pat of butter was added to the cup.
From what i've gathered it was a readily-available hence convenient food source on route, favoured by the Bill Tilman and Eric Shipton expeditions as it could be eaten hot or even cold if circumstances dictated and it seems they were only concerned with the goodness the food provided and not the taste of it, apparently their basic approach to food rations caused arguments with their fellow travellers who liked to '''enjoy their food'''. aslo Tilman was missing teeth so probably found it easy to eat.
If you mean the barley/ oats bit then, maybe. But our protein requirements were heavily fish based.
Salmon was common food, as it was in England, until Industrialisation poisoned the rivers.
Lots of dairy, but only in season, salt beef and mutton after the cheviots came in. Until then sheep were kept in kennels at night, valued animals.
Lots of seabirds and eggs, again in season. Oats and bere were staples all year though.
cheers,
Toddy
Similar threads
