''Thukpa bhatuk'' is a common

Tibetan cuisine Tibetan cuisine includes the culinary traditions and practices and its peoples. The cuisine reflects the Tibetan landscape of mountains and plateaus and includes influences from neighbors (including India and Nepal where many Tibetans abide) ...

noodle

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...

that includes small ''bhatsa'' noodles. This dish is a common soup made in the winter but is especially important for Tibetan New Year. On Nyi-Shu-Gu, the eve of

Losar Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various d ...

(Tibetan New Year), the common Tibetan soup, ''thukpa bhatuk'' is made with special ingredients to form '' guthuk''. ''Guthuk'' is then eaten on

to symbolise getting rid of negativities of the past year and invite positives into the new year.

Soup

In the ''thukpa bhatuk'' soup, the main components are the handmade ''bhatsa'' noodles, which are similar to the Italian

gnocchi Gnocchi ( , , ; singular ''gnocco'') are a varied family of dumpling in Italian cuisine. They are made of small lumps of dough most traditionally composed of a simple combination of wheat flour, egg, salt, and potato. Variations of the dish sup ...

. Some ''bhatsa'' noodles used for this soup are called ''gutsi rithuk'' and another noodle type is called ''bhatuk''. Both of these noodles are referred to as ''bhatuk'' in Central Tibet. Meat is usually a main ingredient in this soup, commonly mutton, beef or yak; however, this soup can also be made vegetarian with a vegetable bouillon.

Customs

Guthuk

At the time of Tibetan New Year the common soup, ''thukpa bhatuk'' is transformed into '' guthuk''. ''Guthuk'' is only eaten at this time of the year on the eve of

, Tibetan New Year. This dish is part of the ritual to dispel any negativities of the old year to make way for a better, positive new year. There are three main differences between ''thukpa bhatuk'' and ''guthuk'': ::# ''Thukpa bhatuk'' is a common soup while ''guthuk'' is only eaten on ''Nyi-Shu-Gu'' (Tibetan New Year's Eve) ::# ''Guthuk'' specifically has nine main ingredients. For example, a traditional ''guthuk'' would include meat (mutton, beef, or yak) and dried cheese. A vegetarian ''guthuk'' would include mushrooms, celery, ''labu'' (radish), peas, tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, and spinach. ::# To satisfy rituals with the ''guthuk'', each person gets a large dough ball with a symbol inside revealing a trait of the person who gets it. :Traditional ''guthuk'' ::''Thukpa barthuk'' noodle soup with yak and dried cheese and oracle dough-ball of one's choice :Vegetarian ''guthuk'' ::''Thukpa bhatuk'' noodle soup with mushrooms, ''labu'' (radish) and peas and oracle dough-ball

Losar: Tibetan New Year

''Losar'' is made up of ''lo'' ('year') and ''sar'' ('new'); it is the Tibetan New Year and is celebrated both in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. Losar begins on the first day of the first month of the

Tibetan calendar The Tibetan calendar (), or Tibetan lunar calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years ...

and

Nepali calendar Nepali calendar can refer to: * Vikram Samvat, the official calendar in Nepal * Nepal Sambat Nepal Sambat, also spelled as Nepala Sambata, (Nepal Bhasa: , Nepali: ) is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newari people of Nepal. The Calendar era ...

and is celebrated on a different day each year. On the eve of Losar, which is called Nyi-Shu-Gu, the old year is expelled along with all its negativities. It is custom for homes and bodies to be purified and cleaned to invite positives for the New Year. The New Year is then brought in with specific ceremonial rituals including the specially made ''thukpa batuk'' called ''guthuk''. This soup is made on Nyi-Shu-Gu and is specific to the celebration of Losar.

Nyi-Shu-Gu

As explained, Nyi-Shu-Gu is the Tibetan New Year's Eve, which is the 29th day of the last month of the year, according to the

and

. Nyi-Shu-Gu is a day to dismiss negativities from homes and bodies and to make the ''guthuk'' soup. A traditional custom in Central Tibet is to heat water over a fire for everyone to bathe and wash their hair. Normally, people do not bathe everyday, but everyone takes care to be thoroughly clean in preparation for Losar. Once everything is purified, the ''guthuk'' soup is eaten and the negativities are expelled.

References