Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Bhutanese recipes, part of the Indian subcontinent. This page provides links to all the Bhutanese recipes presented on this site, with 18 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Indian recipes added to this site.

These recipes, for the major part, originate in Bhutan. Otherwise they are fusion recipes resulting from Bhutanese influences.

Bhutan officially the Kingdom of Bhutan (འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ in Dzongkha) is a landlocked country in South Asia, situated in the Eastern Himalayas between China in the north and India in the south, with the Indian state of Sikkim separating it from neighbouring Nepal. With a population of over 727,145[15] and a territory of 38,394km², Bhutan ranks 133rd in land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a democratic constitutional monarchy with a King as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. The Je Khenpo is the head of the state religion, Vajrayana Buddhism.

The Himalayan mountains in the north rise from the country's lush subtropical plains in the south.[16] In the Bhutanese Himalayas, there are peaks higher than 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) above sea level. Gangkhar Puensum is Bhutan's highest peak and is the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. The wildlife of Bhutan is notable for its diversity, including the Himalayan takin and golden langur. The capital and largest city is Thimphu, with close to 15% of the population.

Bhutan and neighbouring Tibet experienced the spread of Buddhism, which originated in the Indian subcontinent during the lifetime of the Buddha. In the first millennium, the Vajrayana school of Buddhism spread to Bhutan from the southern Pala Empire of Bengal. During the 16th century, Ngawang Namgyal unified the valleys of Bhutan into a single state. Namgyal defeated three Tibetan invasions, subjugated rival religious schools, codified the Tsa Yig legal system, and established a government of theocratic and civil administrators. Namgyal became the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche and his successors acted as the spiritual leaders of Bhutan, like the Dalai Lama in Tibet. During the 17th century, Bhutan controlled large parts of northeast India, Sikkim and Nepal; it also wielded significant influence in Cooch Behar State.

Although having pursued closer ties with the Britain in the past, Bhutan has never been colonised.[19] Bhutan ceded the Bengal Duars to British India during the Duar War in the 19th century. The Wangchuck dynasty emerged as the monarchy and pursued closer ties with Britain in the subcontinent. In 1910, the Treaty of Punakha guaranteed British advice in foreign policy in exchange for internal autonomy in Bhutan. The arrangement continued under a new treaty with India in 1949 (signed at Darjeeling) in which both countries recognised each other's sovereignty.

The 2008 Constitution established a parliamentary government with an elected National Assembly and a National Council. Bhutan is a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In 2020, Bhutan ranked third in South Asia after Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the Human Development Index, and 21st on the Global Peace Index as the most peaceful country in South Asia as of 2024, as well as the only South Asian country in the list's first quartile.

Etymology: The precise etymology of 'Bhutan' is unknown, although it is likely to derive from the Tibetan endonym 'Böd' for Tibet. Traditionally, it is taken to be a transcription of the Sanskrit Bhoṭa-anta (भोट-अन्त) 'end of Tibet' through Nepali Bhuṭān (भुटान), a reference to Bhutan's position as the southern extremity of the Tibetan plateau and culture.

Since the 17th century, Bhutan's official name has been Druk yul (literally, 'country of the Drukpa Lineage' or 'the Land of the Thunder Dragon', a reference to the country's dominant Buddhist sect); 'Bhutan' appears only in English-language official correspondence. The terms for the Kings of Bhutan Druk Gyalpo ('Dragon King'), and the Bhutanese endonym Drukpa, 'Dragon people', are similarly derived.

Bhutanese Cuisine:

Rice (red rice), buckwheat, and increasingly maize, are the staples of Bhutanese cuisine. The local diet also includes pork, beef, yak meat, chicken, and lamb. Soups and stews of meat and dried vegetables spiced with chilies and cheese are prepared. Ema datshi, made very spicy with cheese and chilies, might be called the national dish for its ubiquity and the pride that Bhutanese have for it. Dairy foods, particularly butter and cheese from yaks and cows, are also popular, and indeed almost all milk is turned into butter and cheese. Popular beverages include butter tea, black tea, locally brewed ara (rice wine), and beer

Buckwheat is eaten mainly in Bumthang, maize in the eastern districts, and rice is eaten across the country. The diet in the hills also includes chicken, yak meat, dried beef, pork, pork fat, and lamb. Soups and stews of meat, rice, fiddle heads, lentils, and dried vegetables, spiced with chili peppers and cheese, are a favorite meal during the cold seasons. Zow shungo is a rice dish mixed with leftover vegetables. Ema datshi is a spicy dish made with large or small green or red chili peppers in a cheesy sauce (similar to chile con queso), which might be called the national dish for its ubiquity and the pride that the Bhutanese have for it.[1] Other foods include jasha maru (a chicken dish), phaksha paa (dried pork cooked with chili peppers, spices, and vegetables, including turnips, greens, or radishes), thukpa, puta (buckwheat noodles), bathup, and fried rice.