In love with Majnu !

As a strong believer of the natural healing power of food, I had to start my first blog ever by writing on the place which most closely resembles 'Mcleod Ganj' - Majnu Ka Tila near ISBT Kashmiri Gate.

Majnu Ka Tila (MKT as most would call it) is a small Tibetan colony which was established around 1960 to accommodate refugees from the 1959 Tibetan uprising. The place in itself possesses an aura that soothes an impatient traveler and wanderer like me. Bustling with hotels, guest houses, cafes, restaurants, art shops and flee markets, the place makes you feel like a tourist !

1. Ama Restaurant

This traditional Tibeten restaurant creates sumptuous meals which make you feel incredible!

Well, since it was just the 2 of us, we made sure we try the following signature dishes before getting too full :

The traditional must-have Veg Momos

Yeah, we tried Veg momos first. WHY? Because chicken momos to me form a biased opinion since Chicken makes the momos soft. It is the vegetable momos which tells if the shell and the filling are cooked enough.

So the veg momos were an absolute delight. Soft casing of the momos, filled with aptly cooked stuffing.

Interestingly, the momos sauce wasn't a hot-bed of chilies (unlike what the local roadside vendors would give you). So, you can enjoy the momos with the dip, without having to worry about calling the fire brigade!

Another wonderful dish was the Thentuk

So whats the difference between Thukpa & Thentuk?

While thukpa is a soup with flat noodles, the thentuk has pulled noodles or bite sized pieces of a flat noodles. Both the soups are made with a hearty meat stock alongside refreshing green vegetables as well as some freshly made noodles.

The Ama Special Thukpa

Ama Special Thukpa

This Thukpa is unlike you would have ever tasted. The fresh taste of coconut milk makes the Thukpa quite refreshing, giving it a coastal twist.

I think it was a very smart idea to add coconut milk to an otherwise bland Thukpa.

2. Dolma House

This place is extremely busy and packed almost all the time. Well, that says a lot about how good the food would be. 

What we ordered:

a) Grapes Bubble Tea with Grape Jelly 

b) Mutton Shapta

c) Steamed Tingmo (Steamed bun)

d) Fried Tingmo (Fried bun)

Mutton Shapta & Fried Tingmo

Mutton Shapta

Is basically stir-fried mutton in spicy sauce. Very interesting flavours of onions, tomatoes and ginger. What's different about this? Well, the mutton is sliced! The thin mutton slices soak the flavours really well and are easy to have with the steam buns (Tingmo).

You can find a really good recipe of Shapta at the FoodSweety blog.

The Bubble tea, is basically ice-tea with grape flavour and grape flavoured jelly pieces at the bottom. Must try on a balmy sunny afternoon !

Advice: Avoid ordering Fried Tingmo (Fried bun) at this place- its too oily and hard. Therefore defeats the purpose of accompanying another dish. 

Instead, the steamed Tingmo is something you may really like. The sweetness of the steamed bun, will complement the spiciness of the gravy dishes.

Hope you found this blog useful. 

I will write more about MKT in my following pages. Till then, Cheers !