Sikkim -like never before

24/11/2020

HERE ARE SOME IMAGES WHICH WILL LURE INTO THE BEAUTIFUL STATE OF SIKKIM.

24/11/2020

There are many places to visit in Sikkim, but this one is way more precious than others.

BABA HARBHAJAN SINGH TEMPLE.
so here's an overview.

Situated on the road passing between Nathu La and Jelepla Pass, at a distance of 64 km at an elevation of 4000 meters, Baba Mandir is the shrine which was built at the Samadhi of Harbhajan Singh. It is the local belief that every person visiting the Nathang Valley and crossing through this enchantingly beautiful terrain has to pay their respects to Baba Harbhajan Singh. Don't think of it as an ordinary temple, for you'll be mistaken! As you climb the stairs to the concrete construction, flanked with bells on both side, you'll be rewarded with the most ineffable samadhi you'd have ever visited.

Legend has it that 35 years ago while leading a pack of mules from his division at Tukla to Deng Dhukla in East Sikkim, Sepoy Harbhajan Singh went missing. After a search was launched, his body was discovered after three days by the army. It is also believed that he was one who led the soldiers to his body. Thereafter, many soldiers in the troop reported that Baba had been coming in their dreams asking them to build a shrine in his memory. A samadhi was thus made in his memory and called the 'Baba Harbhajan Singh Temple'. Many people believe Harbhajan Singh comes to the temple every night and does his rounds after putting on his uniform. People worship him as a saint who guards the lives of soldiers along the border.

Inside the Baba Mandir, you will come across a large photo of Harbhajan Singh which is worshipped by his devotees. Tourists who come here leave their water bottle for a few days and collect it later for it is believed that by drinking that water all the wishes come true. Harbhajan Singh's office has been built on one side of the temple with a dining place, and a room for him to stay at with his uniform and shoes. Though the temple is present on the side of a road, it is surrounded by magnificent mountains thereby giving an amazing view to the tourists. Baba Harbhajan Singh Temple is a must-visit due to the tales associated with the place.

24/11/2020

Sikkim has given us so many big names and celebrities.
Here's our favorite one.
We are talking about no other than BAICHUNG BHUTIA.

Here are some of his achievements.

East Bengal

ASEAN Club Championship: 2003
National Football League: 2003–04
Federation Cup: 2009–10, 2010
Indian Super Cup: 2011
Calcutta Football League: 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011
IFA Shield: 1994, 1995, 1997
Wai Wai Cup: 1993
San Miguel International Cup: 2004

Mohun Bagan

Calcutta Football League: 2007, 2008, 2009
IFA Shield: 2003

India

AFC Challenge Cup: 2008
SAFF Championship: 1997, 1999, 2005
Nehru Cup: 2007, 2009
Individual
AIFF Player of the Year: 1995, 2008
Arjuna Award: 1998
Padma Shri: 2008[110]
AFC Challenge Cup Most Valuable Player: 2008
Banga Bhushan: 2014
Asian Football Hall of Fame: 2014
IFFHS 48 Football Legend Players: 2016

24/11/2020

Time for some fun with the famous rice beer also called as CHHAANG.
here's a brief recipe for it.

Ingredients
5 cups jasmine rice (any white rice is okay except basmati, which would not work very well)

The normal amount of water you would use to cook your rice.

1 full tablespoon of dry yeast, which Tibetans call either pab or chanzi. The pab we used here came from India, but you can find it also in Asian stores, called Dried Yeast (see the photos below for the package.)

Preparation

One important thing is that your containers and your work surfaces and your hands be very clean, free especially of oil or salt, which will ruin your chang.

Thoroughly wash and dry a large container with a lid to put the rice in for fermentation. We used a plastic one because that’s what we had but you could pretty much use anything.
Central Tibetan farmer families we know would use, for example, a ceramic pot.
Prepare a clean surface to work with your rice after it is cooked. We cleared our kitchen table and laid down a large, new, very clean plastic bag on it.

Making the Chang

Grind enough pab/chanzi for 1 full tablespoon to a fine powder.
Cook your rice as you normally would. We use a rice cooker, with 5 cups of jasmine rice, and water filled to the 5 cup line.

Once the rice is cooked, stir around the rice in the rice cooker or pot your cooked it in. You want to sort of loosen and fluff the rice up – you don’t want it p***y or clumpy at all.

Spread the rice onto your very clean working surface to cool it. Work through the rice when it is cool enough to touch, loosening up any clumpy bits.

You want to cool the rice down so that there is just a little bit of warmth left, really not very warm at all, sort of a tepid temperature.
If the rice is too hot when you add the yeast, you will get sour chang.

If the rice is too cold, it will take longer to ferment, which is okay, if you have time.

Sprinkle the ground up chanzi over the rice, then mix it in very well with your (clean 🙂 hands.

Pour the rice mixture in your prepared container.
Cover it with a lid.
Swaddle it like a baby in a couple of warm blankets.

How to drink the chang

There are two ways you can drink your chang:
One way is to strain out the rice pieces and drink the thin, milky liquid.
Another way is to keep the rice, and to mix the contents of your container, as is, with some khapse, dried cheese, sugar and butter, and heat all that up. This is called changkol, and we will show you how to do this in another post, coming soon.
Of course you can do a little bit of both, and strain out some liquid to drink as chang, while keeping some of the combined rice liquid mixture to make changkol. That’s what we do.

HAVE A BLAST!!

24/11/2020

When in Sikkim we cant complete our journey without the most amazing and original THUKPA!!

Here's a recipe for it.

Ingredients

Deselect All

2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled with a spoon

4 garlic cloves, peeled

3 serrano chiles

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 quarts chicken stock

1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, coarsely chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped green beans

1 can (8 ounces) bamboo shoots, drained

1 cup shredded green cabbage

6 ounces thin rice noodles

Juice of 1 lemon

Kosher salt

Finely chopped scallions

Bean sprouts

Directions
1-In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, serranos, cumin and oil and process until smooth. Transfer the paste to a heavy-bottomed pot along with the chicken and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until aromatic, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil.

2-Reduce the heat to medium and add the carrot, bell peppers, beans, bamboo shoots and cabbage. Cover the pot halfway and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate. Once it is cool enough to handle, tear it into bite-sized pieces and return it to the pot.

3-Add the noodles and lemon juice and simmer until the noodles are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Season with salt.

4-Spoon the thukpa into bowls, garnish with scallions and bean sprouts and serve very hot.

24/11/2020

As we know that Sikkim is a diverse place with different kinds of people,
here are some languages spoken by natives of Sikkim.

The official languages of the state are English, Nepali, Sikkimese (Bhutia) and Lepcha. Additional official languages include Gurung, Limbu, Magar, Mukhia, Newar, Rai, Sherpa and Tamang for the purpose of preservation of culture and tradition in the state.

Languages of Sikkim (2011 census)[117]

Nepali (62.6%)
Sikkimese (6.86%)
Limbu (6.34%)
Lepcha (6.27%)
Hindi (5.58%)
Sherpa (2.24%)
Tamang (1.92%)
Bhojpuri (1.63%)
Rai (1.22%)
Bengali (1.14%)
Other (4.2%)

24/11/2020

Binding beauty among the mountains,
dangling sunshine and glistening fountains,
amongst the tall ranges lies this place
for peaceful and some calm space.

The skyline meets the hills
the trees sway in the golden breeze
as fluffy clouds move through
with skies of white and blue

It ain't just about the sleek snows
embrace it as the wind blows.
SIKKIM is a paradise
with blooming days and peaceful nights.

- Vaishnavi Singh
( a travel enthusiast)

24/11/2020

24/11/2020

FOGGY DAYS AND FROSTY NIGHTS.
NOTHING BETTER THAN SUCH WATER IN YOUR SIGHT!

And on this note we welcome you to this beautiful part of India, where there's peace and calmness.

Hope we reach as many people as possible and we grow together as one family.