Barely blessed

Coming into the high mountain desert region of Spiti and Ladakh we feel blessed to have become so acquainted with the traditional staple grain of barley.

From getting into Kinnaur through to Ladakh all the villages are surrounded by green fields with these tall grains waving in the wind.
These fields are nearly always dotted with one or two women, moving water through the channels for irrigation and weeding out unwanted grasses.

There are several different types of barley grains in the valleys here, each with slight different charaterstics in growth and flavor and some suited better for certain foods than others.

For all barely through the main way of consumption is in the form of 'tsumpa' or 'satu'. To make tsumpa you take the grain and dry roast it, sometimes with a little salt. The grain is delicious just like this as a crunchy snack or topping but here is usually then ground into a flour.

Since the grain has already been roasted the flour doesn't need to be cooked again and can be readily added to a variety of things.....
Such as:
- sweet tea (mitti chai)
- salt butter tea (namkeen chai)
-curd (dahi)
-chang (local light beer made from fermented barley)
-thukpa (soup made with vegetables, yak cheese, and either tsumpa or wheat noodles)
-liquid dal
-breads
.... the possibilities are endless!

Alcohol is also commonly made with the barley grains:
Chang is a light beer made from the fermented barley that is often had in the villages as a refreshing drink and pick me up by both men and women. People here also talk of wedding parties and celebrations where families each bring barrels full of chang to share as they dance sing and enjoy.

It can be made more light or strong depending on the occasion as the desired level of intoxication. 'Sahi' is the chang that is fermented for the least time and is mostly a probiotic drink. This variety is what is most commonly had during work, mixed with some tsumpa for extra energy.

A stronger chang would be had after work or a distilled barley liquor called 'eirik'.
Home made liquor here is often called wine, often confusing many foreigners when they accept it for the first time, expecting a nice sippable drink but then getting a taste of this strong spirit.

We have been calling ourselves 'barley blessed' as we carry a bag of tsumpa with us along the road/trail. Always finding it easy to refill from the ample supply in everyone's homes.
We have tsumpa porridge or make sweet energy ball laddus with local ghee, honey, and dried fruits. Add it to dal or soups that we make and add it to curd when we can find some in the villages. 

Our enthusiasm for barley has us excited to share the many uses of this nutritious grain back home and grow it ourselves!

Harvest season is coming up in a couple of weeks. We are keen to learn the rest of the process bringing this grain from the field to our mouths and plan to stay with a family and help harvest, process, and store. Being one of the busiest times of the year it should be very easy to find a village where there is the need of extra hands.
Hands harvesting barley with energy powered by barley.
Simplicity at its finest.