We are back in India, but still wandering…
Me and my husband celebrated the biggest festival of the Indian calendar ‘Diwali’ with the family. As one should! However, as soon as we were done, without any delays or formalities we packed our bags for Himachal.
Right now we are in Naggar, a quaint village near Manali. We have travelled to this place so many times in the previous 2-3 years that its familiar charm has started to feel like a second home. However, this also means that not much remains for us to explore or discover in these mountains.
Or that’s what we thought, until we saw many dhabas (local food joints) sporting one common dish – JUMMA( also spelled as JUMA or JHUMA or GYUMA).
A name we had never heard of before in our travels. And mind you, the local dhabas showing this dish on their rain-washed banners weren’t your normal touristic restaurants serving Trout Fish, Pizza or Thupka. They had the real deal, a deal which drew its neighboring locals to eat their lunches here and take a break from the labors of the days.
Of course, me and my husband had to try this dish!!! Sadly my vegetarian husband couldn’t even get a taste of it😜
A MUTTON SAUSAGE FROM NEPAL
We went to this bhabhi’s (sister-in-law) eatery, which was basically a small hut but its tiny wooden rooms gave a clear view of the pine trees standing tall and proud outside.
After inquiring what ‘Jumma (or Juma)’ is made of, my husband was pretty disappointed (though he doesn’t admit it). Turns out it is a dish made of lamb/goat (even the goat blood), semolina, curd and is cooked/steamed inside the goat entrails.
Yes, the preparation is quite gory and it isn’t for everyone. Not for even some of the Indian non-vegetarian folks.
Bhabhi thought so too. So she gave me just a small portion with pickled radish (picture of which is shown above) to test it out, while my hubby ordered himself a half plate of Veg. Steam Momo.
OH, THE TASTE!!!
It was crunchy, mouthful, fulfilling and didn’t even feel like a non-vegetarian dish. After helping myself to this small serving, I ordered a full plate of these. And boy, it was amazing. Meanwhile, my better half got himself Chowmein and ordered us 2 cup of chai that went perfectly with everything we ate.
All of it costed us only ₹220.
WARNING
I had only a small plate of these delicious snacks but was so full by the end of it. Believe me, Juma/Jumma is really a heavy dish. My cholesterol jumped up by the end of it. I had to take a pill to feel normal again.
So if any of you are thinking about trying them out, please order a small portion of this dish at a time.
TO TRY OR NOT TO TRY…
It is actually a Nepalese & Tibetan dish that travelled all the way to India and made its home here. Now, it is a Himachali as well as a North-eastern dish.
If you have the stomach for it, you can watch its preparation in this Nepali vlogger’s video that I didn’t understood a word of but saw all too clearly 🥴. Only exception being, in this video they used pork but in Himachal they cook it with lamb.
Or you can even try this Indian vlogger’s video where nothing is shown.
My verdict: If the idea doesn’t appease you, don’t try it!
But if you are all for trying something new, order yourself a plate. Chances are you are gonna like it.
PS – Banner Photo by Kashish Lamba on Unsplash