Tsampa, roasted barley flour, is one of the staple foods in a Tibetan diet. It is eaten several times a day in Tibet usually with butter tea and/or meat. While barley isn't a traditional food in India, the Tibetans continue their tradition by growing and roasting it. The family we rented an apartment from roasts their own, to ensure a pure rock-free quality. Here are a few pictures from their rooftop roasting operation:
The barley grain is put in a wok of sand. The hot sand becomes the roaster!
After a few minutes of heating the sand, the barley needs to be mixed in order to roast all of it. It sounds a little like popcorn popping.
After the barley is roasted, the sand is sifted out and reused to roast the next batch. The roasted barley then needs to be cleaned (de-shafted) and taken to a mill to be ground. It is a labor intensive process, but an absolute necessity for many of the Tibetans living in Dharamsala.
The barley grain is put in a wok of sand. The hot sand becomes the roaster!
After a few minutes of heating the sand, the barley needs to be mixed in order to roast all of it. It sounds a little like popcorn popping. 
After the barley is roasted, the sand is sifted out and reused to roast the next batch. The roasted barley then needs to be cleaned (de-shafted) and taken to a mill to be ground. It is a labor intensive process, but an absolute necessity for many of the Tibetans living in Dharamsala.
1 comment:
cool!
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