layer upon layer

In the foothills of the Himalayas, a proud new generation is drawing attention to Ladakh's rich and diverse culinary legacy while putting a fresh spin on tradition

- Smitha Menon

In Ladakh, everything revolves around the kitchen hearth, or thap-even time. Many older Ladakhi homes have an opening that lets the first rays of sun fall directly onto these earthen stoves, not only warming them before the cooking begins but also turning them into sundials. As day becomes night, the light shifts, capturing the dance of smoke in the air while the thap casts shadows that tell the time.

In Nilza Wangmo's kitchen, in the monastic mountain village of Alchi, it's just past one o'clock, and the light has moved off the center of the thap. Long silken strands of noodles fall gently from her flour-coated palms into a bowl. "When I cook, I feel as if my mother is with me," says the soft-spoken 43-year-old. It was her mother who taught her to cook timsthuk, an earthy noodle soup brightened by Ladakhi peas, dried cheese, and wild chives. Now it is one of the star dishes at Alchi Kitchen, the eatery Wangmo set up above her home in 2016. Guests sit around the thap as her team turns out steamed momos, or small dumplings, and chutagi, a thick soup with local pasta and mountain vegetables.