Although dairy and, to a lesser extent, meat and egg products are common elements of the Sikkimese diet, livestock primarily plays a subsidiary role in Sikkim's agricultural sector. Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and yaks are raised. 11.7% of people in the rural areas of Sikkim are vegetarian.[10]
In 2016, Sikkim became India's first "organic state" after fully converting its agricultural land to sustainable farming practices.[11]
Fermented foods and common dishes
Fermented foods are an integral part of Sikkimese cuisine, comprising 12.6% of total food consumption in the state. Polling indicates that 67.7% of Sikkimese people prepare fermented foods at home rather than purchasing them. This suggests that most fermentation is done at the household level with the notable exceptions of chhurpi and marchaa (a starter culture for fermentation), which are purchased in markets.[10]
Various fermented alcoholic beverages are produced by the introduction of marchaa to cereal grain and subsequent saccharification and fermentation in an airtight vessel. Millet, rice, and maize are commonly used. The grain is washed, cooked, combined with marchaa, then saccharified in an earthware pot for about 1–2 days, then fermented for 2–8 days.[12]
Examples of traditional fermented foods are
maseura, and khalpi. Traditional fermented beverages include chyang, tongba, raksi
, and kodo ko jaanr.
Dishes
Sikkimese meals typically follow a bhat-dal-tharkari-achar (Rice-Pulses-Curry-Pickle) pattern.[10]
Traditional Himalayan cheese made from buttermilk. Two varieties of chhurpi exist, one being a soft variety that is usually eaten as a side dish, and a hard variety that is chewed.[13]
Nepalese fermented leafy green vegetable. Surplus mustard, radish, and cauliflower leaves are gathered, shredded, then sealed in an earthenware pot and stored in a warm place.
Steamed dumpling popular throughout the Himalayas and the Indian subcontinent. This food is usually associated with Tibetan and Nepalese people. It is stuffed with minced meat or vegetable like chayote or cabbage in a roll of dough and then steamed. It is eaten with vegetable or meat soup and tomato achar.[14]
Phagshapa
Nepalese dish of strips of pork fat stewed with radishes and dried chillies.[15]