Puta
Puta – is the famous buckwheat noodles of Bumthang, a city located in the centre of Bhutan. A beautiful valley where buckwheat is grown and hence the birth of delicious buckwheat dishes.
Back in the days, if you weren’t from Bumthang or living in Bumthang, you would seldom get to taste it. But now, the exotic Puta is seen once in a while during special occasions and events, and few restaurants and luxury hotels also offer it on their Menu.
One can even buy packaged buckwheat flour :). Buckwheat can be bitter (sth. that needs getting used to) but they also have sweet buck wheat flour :).
This is my first time making puta, finally did it. I thought Puta making is a very difficult task, I was so wrong, besides the noodle pressing part, the process is quite simple. One needs lot of strength to press the noodles out, unless one has the proper equipment (probably lost 2 kilos trying to press them out, man that was quite a task)
What i used;
250 gr. Sweet buckwheat flour
1/2 stalk Leek
4 TBsp Olive oil
1/2-1 Tsp (flat) Sichuan Pepper
scrambled eggs (2 eggs fried in1 TBsp olive oil)
Salt and a dash of chilli powder to taste
1. In a bowl, throw in Buckwheat flour and water (little at a time) and knead into a soft dough. (soft dough is easier to push through the noodle press).
2. Pour in 1.5-2 litres water in a large pot and bring to boil.
3. Start making noodles by pressing small amounts of dough through the noodle press.
I placed the noodle press on the table and used my body weight to press the noodles out (after i failed to do so using the strength of my two hands). The other option is to get some one to hold the noodle press straight, and then sit on the end of the handle (you need to have a strong noodle press for this). Don’t forget to place a plate to collect the noodles which flows out.
4. Place the noodles in the boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes. After the noodles are cooked, fish them out using a skimming ladle and transfer them into a colander, rinse under cold water and leave to drain.
5. Wash and chop the leeks.Transfer the noodles into a mixing bowl. Heat the 4 TBsp olive oil in a pan, throw in the leeks and sauté for few seconds (do not fry), pour the hot oil over the noodles. In the same pan, prepare the scrambled eggs in 1 Tbsp olive oil and add the same to the noodles. Season with salt, sichuan pepper & chilli powder. Mix gently and serve.
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| May i present, the sweet buckwheat flour from the valley of Bumthang, Bhutan |
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