ThimphuTech.com: Kala chana!

Afterword

ThimphuTech was the first technology blog in Bhutan. We started writing it in 2009, just as broadband and mobile internet started to take off. (Although internet in Bhutan was launched in 1999, it was either super-slow or super-expensive, and was only used by a selected few).

In the blog, we wrote about technology and food, but also about plenty of other stuff. The blog became popular and influential in Bhutan. A companion bi-weekly column -- Ask Boaz -- was published for many years in the Kuensel, Bhutan's national newspaper. (The complete Kuensel columns are available as an ebook, Blogging with Dragons).

We stopped updating the blog when we left Bhutan in 2014, but the information within the posts can still prove useful, and thus we decided to keep it online.

We thank all our readers.
Tashi Delek,
Boaz & Galit.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Kala chana!

The hole-in-the-wall

Finding non-animal-based protein in Bhutan is a daunting challenge. A couple of restaurants in Thimphu serve tofu-based dishes, and yes, lentils have managed to cross the border from India and thus some kind of dal preparation often accompanies the ubiquitous heap of rice. But otherwise, eating out usually means little protein and lots of carbohydrates: noodles, rice, potatoes, roti.

It was a fantastic surprise to find a small hole-in-the-wall (literally!) place just across our office, a few shops down from the rice mill, bearing the unassuming name of K.P General Shop, which serves a warm, spicy and delicious plate of protein-rich Punjabi-style "dry" kala chana (small black chickpeas) curry. The dish is prepared daily by - who else - Auntie. Mixed with fresh peas and garnished, if you so desire, with a heap of fresh chopped chillies, this is a perfect fast food.

A small plate costs Nu 10, and many patrons opt for two. Tea and coffee are also available. There's a red plastic table and four matching chairs for "al fresco dining", and on sunny days it's an off-the-beaten-track spot where you can increase your vitamin D reserves, listen to the flow of water in the nearby (polluted) stream, and watch the world go by.