Chef Nilza Wangmo to Host Ladakhi Feast at Zhouyu in Chennai on August 14 and 15

Award-winning Chef Nilza Wangmo of Ladakh's Alchi Kitchen is bringing traditional Ladakhi cuisine to Chennai for a collaborative dining event at Zhouyu on August 14 and 15. The pop-up is part of Zhouyu Hosts, a collaborative kitchen programme initiated by Chef Chindi Varadarajulu to give chefs from different regions a platform to showcase their culinary heritage in the city.

The distance between Alchi and Chennai spans over 3,000 kilometres. Wangmo, who hails from Alchi located 70 kilometres from Leh, is travelling to Chennai with ingredients sourced from her home region, including yak cheese, turtle beans, wild chives, juniper berries, and barley.

According to Varadarajulu, the Zhouyu Hosts programme allows people in Chennai to experience regional foods directly without travelling, offering insight into different cultures through their culinary traditions. Varadarajulu selected Wangmo for the Ladakh edition because of her work in preserving and teaching the food traditions of the high-altitude region.

Wangmo explained that Ladakh is a high-altitude, cold, and dry region with a short agricultural season, historically requiring residents to be resourceful with staple grains like barley. She noted that people often assume Ladakhi cuisine consists solely of Maggi, momos, and thukpa, and she hopes the event will broaden awareness of the region's diverse food culture.

The meal will begin with Gur-gur cha, a Ladakhi salt tea made with milk, butter, and two varieties of tea leaves—one providing vibrant colour and another grown by Wangmo that offers a mild hue. The tea is brewed and churned using a special wooden churner, served alongside kambir, a staple sourdough bread.

The menu will also feature chutagi, a Ladakhi pasta shaped into small, bite-sized pieces and cooked with local spices such as caraway seeds, wild chives, and wild garlic. Wangmo highlighted the dish as an opportunity to show that pasta exists within India's culinary tradition.

Barley will be served in an unexpected form as an alcohol-free cooler made with barley flour, chia seeds, and mint, adapting the grain traditionally used for the fermented alcoholic drink chang. Additionally, Wangmo is bringing sea buckthorn and apricots combined with raw tomatoes to create chutneys for the dinner, adapting her recipes to introduce more flavour while staying rooted in Ladakhi ingredients.

The menu will also feature thukpa prepared with yak cheese. The Ladakhi tasting menu at Zhouyu is scheduled for dinner on August 14, and for both lunch and dinner services on August 15, with reservations available through Zhouyu's online platform.