kh-yim

3D light render of the kh-yim layout as it is supposed to look

2008-07-07T13:34:00.003+05:30

The 3D light render of the kh-yim layout as it is supposed to look once completed.

Ethnic himalayan restaurant layout, decor and food.

2008-05-20T18:03:00.005+05:30

Food a glorious spread. Check out the layout of the tables.

The interior of an intimate small restaurant

The tongbas are used to serve arrak

Buffet containers and the seating layout in the background

This is a better picture of the seating arrangement and table layout.

Japanese seating and exhaust fan covers

2008-05-12T20:45:00.001+05:30

This is a very nice cozy design of a Japanese restaurant which is worth emulating. It might not be the best option for kh-yim because of known space constraints; nevertheless it is a design/layout worth remembering

The exhaust fans have to be made and deployed in this fashion. I liked the concept because it provides a pleasant looking cover over the exhaust fan in case we need it to stop the polluting fumes from outside.

Research for Ceiling, seating and flooring.

2008-05-07T13:13:00.006+05:30

So recently we were on a spree to figure out what options are best for the interiors of kh-yim.

This is a wooden ceiling with halogen bulbs embedded in it. It give a feeling of warmth to the place.

This is the bamboo ceiling executed exquisitely with lights placed strategically. We all love this.

We loved this idea for the lighting above the BAR. Its got a very nice feel to it.

Seats made from cloth/sponge/jute [called - poofers - courtesy Jaya]. These things are very comfortable.

Loved this slanting window concept as it give a more edgy feel to the place and the point of having green plants in the restaurants is another plus. Topdenla recommended this design. :)

OK.. Now for the flooring. A wooden finish versus a vitrified tile flooring. HMMM..

The exact layout as it exists.

2008-04-28T17:39:00.002+05:30

Finally Rabden Cho managed to send me the exact dimensions of the premises.
It will help us plans better and Yankee can take a better cut our of the initial draft.

First draft of the Layout - courtesy - Yankee.

2008-04-28T12:56:00.002+05:30

This is the initial draft of the structure created by Yankee.

It now gives everybody a whole new perspective and imagary of what the final structure is going look like.

Please keep sending in your suggestion about the interiors, seating, furnishing etc.

Interiors of the the current structure

2008-04-28T12:39:00.006+05:30

These photos arrived over the weekend and are the latest picture of the interiors as it exists.
Though it is nothing much to look at this will act as the template upon which kh-yim will be built.

Adding to the Yummy ethnic recipes

2008-04-22T20:18:00.003+05:30

Contributions from Jaya:

'Once there is an interesting array we can group the food according to season, festivals and availability and feasibility ........'

MEAT STEWS WITH SEASONAL VEGETABLES
SEKUWA
LEAN PORK WITH THUKPA
PORK CURRY ( FAMILY RECIPES )
CHICKEN CURRY ( GHAR KO STYLE , VERY COMFORTING!)
WACHIBA
SAUSAGES
SAUSAGES WITH BLANCHED VEGETALES

VEGETABLES WITH SESAME SEASONING
DHULO AACHAR ( TIL, BHATMAAS, PUMPKIN SEEDS)
BOTTLED ACHAR ( LAPSI, KAKRA, WILD BERRIES,ISKUS,PORK,MUTTON )
FRESH ORANGES AND PEMELOES SANDHEKO
SEASONAL VEGETABLES ( BLANCHED AND SAUTED)
EDIBLE ORCHIDS ( NAKIMA )

BEEF ( FAMILY RECIPES )
SHYAPHALE
DRY BEEF POWDERED PICKLE AND DEEP FRIED BEEF NUGGETS

MUSHROOMS WITH FING
KARCH MARCHI
KARCH MARCHI WITH FING
MUSHROOMS COOKED IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS !

KHOLA KO MAACHA DURING MONSOONS! FRIED LIGHTLY IN BUTTER ( BIG HIT HUNCHA HAI! )

GYAKHO

SWEETS :
ANARASA ( cooked like mal pua 100 tiimes yummier ! )
A CERTAIN TYPE OF KHEER called 'DHAKANI'

If you have noticed there are certain specialties in every village, home, family…. It would be a great idea to document the method of preparation and give credits to the families who share them .

A FEW THOUGHTS:
IF QUALITY IS WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT MAKE SURE THE MENUS ARE FIXED A FEW VEGETARIAN AND A FEW NON VEG OPTIONS NO POINT IN HAVING 80 THINGS ON THE MENU AND JUGGLING 30 DIFERENT ORDERS

PERHAPS EACH DAY COULD FOCUS ON DIFFERENT ITEMS WHICH MEANS YOU WILL HAVE 7 MENUS !

THIS WAY YOU CAN GAUGE WHATS A 'HIT' ND WHAT'S 'NOT' ACCORDINGLY YOU CAN TWEAK THE MENU

MOST OF OUR ACHARS LIKE KAKRA, ISKUS MIXED VEGETABLES, MUSHROOMS , DHULO AACHAR HAVE LIMITED SHELF LIFE SO YOU NEED TO FACTOR THAT IN , ARE YOU GOING TO SERVE THEM 'FREE' LIKE SAUCES?

YA, ONE HIT IS VEG THALI AND NON VEG THALI one hardly has that option in restaurants in gtk, its profitable and for the customers its total VFM :)

Yummy Ethnic Food Recipies

2008-04-22T19:53:00.004+05:30

kh-yim in its core essence is about promoting SIKKIMESE - FOOD, ART & CULTURE.

So we thought it would be a good idea to start figuring out the menu:

Last night after some searching and brainstorming Topdenla/Dailyla/Me came up with a list of exotic menu items; which is available in one of the previous post.

Furthering the cause with some searching we came up with recipes:

Momo
Momo, steamed dumpling prepared from wheat flour and meat/vegetable is very common Tibetan food. Momo has already entered commercial production and is well placed in menus of all local hotels/restaurant.

Momo
(steamed dumpling)
Serves 30 momos

Wheat flour 4 cups
Meat 750 g, minces
Onion 2 chopped
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Ginger 1 thumb-sized, finely chopped

Tomato achar
(pickle)
Tomato 2 large, boiled and crushed
Green chilies 4
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Boil tomato, crush and grind with green chilies in stone mortar. Add salt and mix well to give a thick past of tomato achar.

Preparation : Mix well wheat flour with 2 cups of water and knead into a stiff paste, roll out on a floured board till it is very thin. The rolled dough should be about 2 feet square. Cut in circle with the rim of tea cup. Place a circle of dough on your left hand, slightly stretch the edges and place about a teaspoon of filling in the centre. Then with your right thumb and forefinger pleat the dough together over the centre of the meat, forming a pin-wheel design. Your left thumb is used to tuck the minced meat down as you go, and the dumpling turns on your palm as you pleat around it. A special steamer locally called moktu is required. Filled up dumplings are placed on oiled racks, slightly separated in the moktu. Bottom of the moktu is filled with water and steam the dumplings for 20-25 min. Momo is ready to serve hot. Momo is eaten with meat/vegetable soup, and tomato achar.

Thukpa/ Gya-Thuk
Thukpa/Gya-thuk is a typical Tibetan style noodles in soup. Thukpa/Gya-thuk is very popular local cuisine also available in all restaurants and hotels of these regions.

Thukpa/Gya-thuk
(Noodle soup)
Serves 4 to 6

Egg noodles 300 g
Meat (beef/pork/mutton/chicken) 250 g, minced
Onion 2 finely chopped
Onion leaves 1 Tablespoon, chopped
Garlic 3 flakes, chopped
Green chili 4 sliced
For soup: About 3 litres of clear bone soup - beef/ pork/ mutton / chicken stock. Add 1 Teaspoon of salt.

Preparation : Fry chopped onions with garlic and green chilies, then add minced meat, fry for 10 min. Add salt to taste. Then keep aside after cooking.

Boil 4 litre of water vigorously, and drop noodles, boil for 2 min, stirring occasionally. Drain the noodles through a large sieve and run cold water over them to stop them from sticking. Squeeze the water from the noodles and transfer to a serving bowl. Pour hot soup into bowl with noodles. Put fried meat-onion mixture and finely chopped green onion leaves on top of it. Thukpa/Gya-thuk is ready to serve hot.

Kinema
Kinema is a traditional fermented soybean food having characteristic stringy property with unique flavour, commonly consume as a main side-dish curry served as meat substitute along with cooked rice in meals. Kinema serves as an inexpensive high source of plant protein food in the local diet. The word Kinema might have originated from the Limbu (one of the major castes of the Nepalis) dialect Kinambaa, Ki meaning fermented, nambaa means flavour.

Kinema curry
(fermented soybean)
Serves 6

Kinema 250 g
Onion 1 chopped
Tomato 1 sliced
Green chilies 3 pieces
Turmeric powder 1/4 Tablespoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon

Preparation : Heat oil and add chopped onions and fry till it becomes tender, add tomatoes and turmeric powder and fry for 2 min and then Kinema is fried, add salt, sliced green chilies and fry for 3-5 min. A little water is poured to make a thick curry, and cook for 5-7 min. Kinema curry is ready for serve with cooked rice. Sun-dried kinema is sometimes mixed with leafy vegetable to make mixed curry as side-dish.

Vatamas ko achar
(non-fermented soybean pickle)
Serves 6 to 8

Soybean 200 g
Ginger paste 1 Tablespoon
Chili powder 1 Teaspoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Mustard oil 1 Tablespoon
Preparation : Roast soybean in a pan, and grind. Add all the ingredients to soybean powder, and mix well, keep in a covered jar. It can be kept for several days. Serve Vatamas ko achar with cooked rice/Selroti.

Gundruk & Sinki
Gundruk and Sinki are traditional fermented vegetable products prepared during winter when fresh perishable vegetable is plenty. Gundruk is a fermented product of leafy vegetable such as rayo sag (Brasicca rapa spp. campestris variety cuneifolia), leaves of mustard, radish and cauliflower. Sinki is prepared from radish tap root only. The quality attributes to Gundruk and Sinki basically depends upon the typical flavour and sour-acidic taste which is developed during natural fermentation by lactic acid bacteria, mainly spp. of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus. Gundruk and Sinki are sun dried after fermentation and stored for consumption. Due to high content of organic acid and low pH, these products can be preserved for a year or more. This is a good example of biopreservation of perishable vegetable. Gundruk and Sinki are good appetizers due to high content of lactic and acetic acid developed during fermentation.

Gundruk and Sinki soup
(fermented vegetable)
Serves 6 to 8

Gundruk/Sinki 50 g
Onion 1 chopped
Tomato 1 chopped
Dry red chili 2 pods
Turmeric powder 1/2 Tablespoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Preparation : Soak Gundruk/Sinki in water for 10 min. Heat oil and fry chopped onions, tomatoes, chilies. Drain up soaked Gundruk/Sinki and fry, add turmeric powder and salt, and put 2 cups of water. Boil for 10 min, and serve hot with cooked rice.
Gundruk ko achar
(pickle)
Serves 6

Gundruk 50 g
Onion 1 chopped
Green chilies 3 chopped
Oil 1 Tablespoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Preparation : Mix all ingredients, and serve as achar (pickle) along with cooked rice.

Chhurpi
Chhurpi is a fermented dairy product prepared from cow milk. Chhurpi is a traditional cottage cheese which gives a texture of a white soft mass with mild sour taste. It is fermented by spp. of lactic acid bacteria. Average consumption of Chhurpi is 9.9.g/capita/day with annual production of 1469 ton in Sikkim.

Chhurpi soup
(traditional cottage cheese)
Serves 6

Chhurpi 250 g
Onion 1 chopped
Tomato 1 sliced
Green chilies 3 sliced
Ginger 1 Tablespoon (grated)
Paanch phoran 1/2 Tablespoon
Turmeric powder 1/4 Tablespoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon

Preparation : Heat oil, fry Paanch phoran, add chopped onion till it becomes golden brown. Add finely sliced and grated ginger, tomatoes and seasoned with Chhurpi and add salt. Stir and fry till oil separates. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with cooked rice.

Chhurpi ko achar
(pickle)
Serves 6

Chhurpi 250 g
Onion 1 chopped
Radish/Cucumber 1 sliced
Green chilies 6 chopped
Mustard oil 1 Teaspoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon

Preparation : Mix all ingredients, and serve as achar.

Chhurpi - Ningro (wild edible fern) Curry
The people of the Sikkim Himalayas eat many varieties of wild ferns commonly grown in these regions. Some of the common edible ferns are Diplazium polypodiodes locally called "sauney ningro", iplazium spp. "kali ningro", etc. Recipe of wild fern is unique in these regions which is mostly mixed with Chhurpi to taste. Ningro, an alpine fiddle-head fern and its tendrils when sauted with Churpi( form of cheese) makes an irresistible dish. Normally it is not served in the restaurants but is prepared as a household dish.

Chhurpi-Ningro curry
(Chhurpi with wild fern)
Serves 6

Chhurpi 250 g
Ningro (wild fern) 12 stems (cut into 1 inch piece)
Onion 1 chopped
Green chilies 3 sliced
Paanch phoran 1/2 Tablespoon
Turmeric powder 1/4 Tablespoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Preparation : Heat oil and add Paanch phoran spice (a mixture of spices such as asafetida, dry coriander, cumin seeds, fenugreek, etc.), fry chopped onion till it becomes golden brown, add chilies and turmeric powder. Fry finely cut pieces of Ningro and add a little amount of water, cook for 10 min. Seasoned Chhurpi and simmer briefly for 10-15 min. Curry is ready to serve with cooked rice.

Mesu
Mesu is a traditional fermented bamboo shoot product with sour-acidic taste eaten as pickle. In the Limbu dialect, me means young bamboo shoot and su means sour, the word Mesu is directly derived from the Limbu dialect. Young bamboo shoots are fermented under natural anaerobic condition for 7-15 days, initiated by spp. of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus to get Mesu. It has high content of organic acid and low pH with rich mineral contents.

Mesu pickle
(fermented bamboo shoot)
Serves 4 to 6

Mesu 250 g
Chili powder 3 Teaspoon
Mustard oil 1 Tablespoon
Garlic 4 piece, crushed
Salt 1 Teaspoon

Preparation : Mix all ingredients with mesu. Keep in a closed jar. Mesu is ready to serve with cooked rice.

Tama
Tama is a non-fermented bamboo shoot product. Some varieties of bamboo shoots commonly grown in the Sikkim Himalayas are Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus sikkimensis and Bambusa tulda locally known as ‘choya bans’, ‘bhalu bans’ and ‘karati bans’, respectively are edible when young. These bamboo shoots are collected, defoliated and boiled in water with turmeric powder for 10-15 min to remove bitter taste of bamboo. Tama is ready for consumption. Tama is commonly sold in the local markets during the months of June to September when young bamboo shoots sprout.

Tama curry
(Non-fermented bamboo shoot)
Serves 4

Tama 250 g
Methi (Asafetida) 1/2 Teaspoon
Turmeric powder 1/2 Tablespoon
Salt 1/2 Teaspoon
Dale khorsani (Fresh round chili) 1 sliced
Preparation : Heat oil and fry dry asafetida seeds. Put finely sliced Tama, turmeric powder, sliced round chili and salt. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Tama, curry is ready to serve with cooked rice.

Masauyra
Masauyra is a fermented black gram, ball-like hollow product consume as spicy condiment. Masauyra is mostly common among Newar of the Nepalis. It is similar to the Punjabi Wari.

Masauyra curry
(fermented black gram)
Serves 4

Masauyra 50 g
Onion 1 chopped
Cumin seeds 1 Teaspoon
Turmeric powder 1 Teaspoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon

Preparation : Heat oil, add cumin seeds, sautéed chopped onions, Masauyra turmeric powder and salt, and fry for 2 min. Pour 1 cup of hot water and cook for 10 min. Masauyra curry is ready to serve with cooked rice.

Khalo Dal
Khalo dal is very common dal prepared from black gram (Phaseolus mungo).

Khalo dal
(Non-fermented black gram)
Serves 4 to 6

Black gram 250 g
Onion 1/2 chopped
Ginger paste 1 Tablespoon
Turmeric powder 1 Teaspoon
Mustard oil 1 Teaspoon
Ghee (butter) 1 Tablespoon
Garlic cloves 4 flakes, sliced
Salt 2 Teaspoon
Preparation : Boil thoroughly cleaned and washed black gram with turmeric powder, ginger paste and 1 teaspoon of mustard oil till it is fully cooked (grams can be crushed easily). Heat ghee, sautéed onion and garlic, combine with cooked dal, add salt and mix well. Khalo dal is ready to serve with Sidra ko achar and cooked rice.

Sidra ko Achar
Sidra ko achar is a flavoured pickle prepared from dry, small fish Sidra.

Sidra ko achar
(dry fish pickle)
Serves 6

Sidra 50 g
Dry chili 4 pods
Tomato 1, large
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Preparation : Clean and wash Sidra, roast on a charcoal fire or on a hot iron plate locally called ‘tawa’. Roast tomato in the same way, peel and grind all ingredients in stone grinder. Sidra ko achar is served with cooked rice and Khalo dal.

Saelroti
Widely prepared during Nepali festivals, Saelroti is normally eaten with potato curry or non-vegetarian dish. Normally not available in restaurants but Saelroti is prepared from well-mixed fermented rice batter which is deep fried, ring-shaped, spongy, pretzel-like product commonly consume as confectionery bread in festival and special occasions. The batter is fermented by spp. of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria.

Selroti
(fermented rice product)
Serves 8 to 10

Rice 1000 g
Wheat flour 250 g
Milk 500 ml
Sugar 200 g
Ghee 100 g

Preparation : Wash and soak rice overnight; pound into fine powder. The rice flour supplemented with butter, sugar and some spices are made into batter by adding milk and 2 cups of water, and allowed to ferment for between 4 h during summer and 24 h during winter at room temperature. The leavened batter is squeezed by hand and deposited as continuos ring onto hot edible oil till they become gold brown. Selroti is served as staple confectionery bread with Shimi ko achar and mutton curry.

Shimi ko Achar
Shimi ko achar is pickle made up from string bean (Dolichus lablab) locally called "shimi".

Shimi ko achar
(String bean pickle)
Serves 6 to 8

String bean (Shimi) 1/2 Kg
Sesame seeds (Til) 100 g
Green chili 6, sliced
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Lemon juice 1 Tablespoon
Preparation : Wash and cut string beans into thin slanting slices. Boil for 5 min and strain. Roast Til for 3 min and grind to make a thick paste. Heat oil and fry sliced green chilies. Pour these over the beans. Add Til paste, salt and lemon to taste and mix well. Shimi ko achar is ready to serve with Selroti.

Pakku
Pakku is a typical mutton curry of this region which is served with cooked rice or Selroti.

Pakku
(Mutton curry)
Serves 6

Mutton 1 kg
Marinating paste:
Cumin seeds 2 Teaspoon
Dry coriander 2 Teaspoon
Ginger paste 1 Tablespoon
Cloves 6
Garlic 8 flakes
Onion 1 chopped
Small cardamom 6
Cinnamon 1/2 inch
Nutmeg powder 1/2 Tablespoon
Hing (small) 1
Turmeric powder 1 Teaspoon
Salt 2 Teaspoon
Preparation : Marinate mutton pieces with the paste, add salt and turmeric powder and keep for 20 min. Fry in edible oil and cook for an hour in low heat. Serve hot with cooked rice or Selroti.

Kodo ko Roti
Kodo ko roti is typical pancake prepared from finger millet locally called Kodo which is served with different varieties if pickles.

Kodo ko roti
(non-fermented finger millet pancake)
Serves 6 to 8

Finger millet flour 3 cups
Sugar 1 Tablespoon
Ghee 2 Tablespoon

Preparation : Mix finger millet flour-sugar with 1 cup of lukewarm water and knead to make a thick paste. Heat ghee in a frying pan and spread tablespoon heaped of paste into a greased frying pan. Thoroughly cook over medium heat, and remove. Repeat with remaining mixture. Kodo ko roti is served with pickles.

Phapar ko Roti
Phapar ko roti is a traditional buckwheat chapati.

Phapar ko roti
(Buckwheat chapati)
Serves 6 to 8

Buckwheat flour 3 cups
Green onion leaves, chopped 2 Tablespoon
Green chili 3
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Banana leaves (for wrapping) depending on quantity of roti baked
Preparation : Mix all ingredients with 1 cup of water and knead to make a thick paste. Spread a heap of paste over a big banana leaf, covered by another banana leaf, and bake in a pan for 1 min. Transfer the partially baked dough with banana leaf inside the earthen oven in a vertical position for 3 min. Remove the banana leaf while eating. Phapar ko roti is served with Philinge ko achar or Silam ko achar.

Silam ko Achar
Silam ko achar is a pickle prepared from Silam seeds, and is usually served with Phulaurah.

Silam ko achar
(pickle)
Serves 6

Silam 100 g
Dried chili 5 pods
Lemon juice 2 Teaspoon
Salt 2 Teaspoon
Ginger 1/2 inch
Preparation : Roast Silam with chili in a pan for 10 min. Grind roasted Silam-chili with ginger and salt in a mortar. Mix lemon juice to taste.

Phulaurah
Phulaurah is buckwheat-based fritter eaten as snacks.

Phulaurah
(Buckwheat fritter)
Serves 10

Buckwheat powder 250 g
Baking powder 1/2 Tablespoon
Turmeric powder 1/2 Tablespoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Fresh onion leaves 6, finely chopped
Preparation : Mix all ingredients with 1 cup of water to make a thick batter. Heat oil and deep fry a tablespoon of the batter at a time until it becomes golden brown. Serves hot with Silam ko achar.

Chambray
Chambray is a typical Nepali type Pulao prepared from local varieties of rice.

Chambray
(fry-cooked rice)
Serves 6

Rice 250 g
Cinnamon 1/2 inch
Turmeric powder 1/2 Tablespoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Bay leaves (tej-patta) 4
Ghee 2 Tablespoon
Black cumin seed 1
Preparation : Soak rice with bay-leaves and cinnamon for 20 min. Heat ghee in a wok, add all the ingredients, and put soaked rice, fry for 5 min till ghee separates. Pour water slowly and leave it till rice is cooked. Chambray is eaten with Til ko alu.

Til ko Alu
Til ko alu is a typical Nepali style potato curry mixed with sesame seeds (Sesame indicum) locally called Til.

Til ko alu
(Potato curry with sesame seeds)
Serves 6

Potato 250 g
Onion 1 sliced
Green chili 4 sliced
Sesame seeds (Til) 10 g
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Preparation : Cut boiled and peeled potato into small pieces. Fry Til for 10 min and grind to make paste. Heat oil and fry onion, add potato and Til paste, salt and turmeric powder, mix and simmer for 5 min. Serves with Chambray.

Sishnu (Nettle leaves) Soup
Sishnu soup is prepared from leaves of edible wild varieties of nettle. Sishnu soup is a typical Himalayan cuisine served with cooked rice. Many wild varieties of nettle are grown in these regions some of which are edible such as Urtica dioica locally called "ghario sishnu", Laportee terminalis "patle sishnu", and Girardinia diversifolia "bhangrey sishnu".

Sishnu soup
(Nettle leaves soup)
Serves 6

Nettle leaves 20-25 leaves
Rice 50 g
Garlic 4 flakes, sliced
Turmeric powder 1/2 Tablespoon
Salt 1 Teaspoon
Ghee 1 Tablespoon
Preparation : Boil nettle leaves with rice, turmeric powder and salt till it is fully cooked. Heat oil and sautéed garlic flakes, add to cooked thick nettle soup. Sishnu soup is ready to serve with cooked rice.

TRADITIONAL BEVERAGES
(Non-Alcoholic Beverage)

MOHI (Butter-milk)
Mohi is a traditional non-alcoholic buttermilk beverage, which is usually served in vegetarian meals. Mohi is slightly sour-acidic in taste.

DAHI (Curd)
Dahi is fermented milk product, which is thick and non-alcoholic beverage. Average consumption of Dahi in Sikkim is 61 ml/capita/day. In the local vegetarian meal Dahi is served as a side-savory drink.

Alcoholic Beverage

Jaanr/ Chaang
Fermented alcoholic beverages have strong ritual importance among the various ethnic groups of people of the Sikkim Himalayas. The social activities in these regions require provision and consumption of appreciable amount of alcoholic beverages. Traditionally prepared alcoholic beverages are commonly served in main meals among the alcohol-drinker communities as a part of dietary culture. Jaanr/Chaang is a mild alcoholic and sweet-sour fermented cereal-based beverage. It is sipped from a bamboo receptacle using bamboo pipe. The receptacle which has millet in it is topped with warm water a couple of times until the millet loses its flavour. Chang can sometimes be strong and very intoxicating. Depending upon the substrates used, Jaanr/Chaang may be as follows:

Kodo ko jaanr fermented finger millet beverage

Bhaate Jaanr fermented rice beverage

Makai ko Jaanr fermented maize beverage

Gahun ko Jaanr fermented wheat beverage

Jahun ko Jaanr fermented barley beverage

Simal tarul ko Jaanr fermented cassava root beverage

Kodo ko Jaanr is consumed in a decorated bamboo vessel locally called "toongbaa". Fermented mass of finger millet is put into the "toongbaa", little amount of warm water is added upto the edge, after 10-12 min, liquor is sipped through a narrow bamboo straw called "pipsing" having a hole in a side near the bottom to avoid passing of grits. Jaanr is believed to be a tonic for ailing persons and postnatal women. After consumption, grits of finger millets are used as fodder for pigs and cattle.

Raksi
Raksi is a clear distilled wine with characteristic aroma prepared from fermented starchy materials mostly Bhaate Jaanr.

Ideas floating - logo layout and menu

2008-04-22T18:30:00.000+05:30

It has been very hectic since the idea of kh-yim has taken off.

Chung's phone is working like crazy.

We had to get the internal layout plan so that I could give the exact dimension to Yankee to help me come up with some modification on the layout.

In the meantime I requested Rabden Cho and Kapu to take the measurements and send me the drawings. I also spoke with Bhanu and he gave me Chetan's number. Chetan is back from Australia and is working furiously on his maiden NOVEL so he was unable to help me but he referred me to Sachin.

Sachin is supposed to speak with Chung for the measurements.

I also spoke with Machila and conveyed to her the idea and she said it was a nice idea. Her comments were to blend the Sikkimese with Bhutanese food items too; which is not a bad idea at all.

Last night was a riot. I met up with Yankee and told her about kh-yim. She made me make a brief rough sketch and she said she will work with it but needs the correct dimensions.

Later Topdenla/Daisyla/Me sat through a planning session.

Finally, at 1:30 AM we concluded the meeting and came up with a rough layout while we also discussed the menu. Topdenla impressed us with his technical design skills and Daisyla was in her elements with the interior decoration and sense of style.

This is the first draft layout we came up with:

The menu we came up with was pretty long:

Ranish worked on the logo for kh-yim. This is his contribution:

We will have to take a lot of opinions before we finalize the LOGO. I like the way the font looks on the logo. Even though its tad gawdy the logo will have to convey the essence of the colors of the Sikkimese flag; which is RED/YELLOW/WHITE.

Thanks all contributors. This is a good start. :-)

Inception of kh-yim

2008-04-22T16:06:00.000+05:30

"It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing."

That's the inspiration.

They say the first few moments/the first few steps are the most difficult/crucial in everything we do; and so is this start of kh-yim.

The name "kh-yim" was researched and sourced from wikipedia:
[The most widely accepted origin of the name Sikkim is that it is a combination of two words in the Limbu Su, which means "new", and Khyim, which means "palace" or house, in reference to the palace built by the state's first ruler, Phuntsok Namgyal. - SOURCE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikkim]

Invariably kh-yim means house/home in BHUTIA also.

START: Chung has the responsibility for the construction of kh-yim and she has started demolishing the wall that ran through the center of the floor and creating an open space to start with.

The windows have been brought down from wall and there is nothing looking down on MG MARG.

This is what the old building looked like abour 5 years ago:

kh-yim will be located on the 2nd floor above the white colored Dr. Hanuman P. Marda floor.

On the left is the Oriental Hotel and the right is the CITIZEN showroom.

In 2006 the building got its much needed repair and later after much renovation and painting it looked like this: