Laphing matters: And its tasty to boot

Delhi: A dish named Laphing is sure to get you all intrigued up. It is popular, tasty and available in only a few select pockets of our city. It's time we introduce you to this dish which has crossed many high mountain passes to make its home in our very own Delhi.

The noodles are cold, flat, and jelly-like, and they're served atop a sauce made of vinegar, dried chillies, and soy sauce. The flavour is unusual, and the texture is slick. The noodles themselves have little taste, but the spices are potent. They provide for an intriguing palate combo when combined. Laphing surprised Delhi inhabitants, who mainly eat hot momos and noodles and has swept the Delhiites tastebuds with its marvellous taste by storm.

Although it is originally from China, Laphing made it to Kathmandu via Tibet and then to Delhi. It's known as liangfen in Gansu and Shaanxi's northern provinces, and it's eaten in the summer. Unlike other noodles, which are thin and stringy, these mung bean strips are thick and translucent. Liangfen made its way from China to the Tibetan plateau, transformed into laphing. After that, it was just a matter of time until Tibetan refugees arrived in Delhi.

Majnu ka Tila, known as mini Tibet, has laphing stalls in every nook and cranny of the place.

When I tried laphing for the first time, the taste was quite unique; from texture to flavours, everything was different. After eating 2-3 times, I developed a taste for it and got hooked on this incredible street food. From its look, it's a long lost cousin of our Gujarati dish khandvi. To a great extent khandvi, and laphing are a look alike. But in terms of taste, they both are from different worlds.

This simple looking dish is not so simple to make; let's dig into making this laphing.

INGREDIENTS FOR TIBETAN LAPHING RECIPE

1. Maida (All Purpose Flour)

2. Salt, Water and Garlic

3. Turmeric Powder or Yellow Food Color

4. Yeast or Baking Powder

5. Cooking Oil

6. Red Chilli Powder and Sichuan Pepper

7. Ajino Moto (Optional)

8. Soy Sauce

9. Vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: MAKING DOUGH

* First thing first, make a dough that is neither soft nor hard.
* Once the dough is ready, cover it and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
* Now transfer the dough into a more giant bowl, add 1-2 litre of cold water onto it, and squeeze the dough in the water until the starch and gluten separate entirely.
* Now, take out the gluten from starch and cover the starch water and
let it rest for a minimum of 2-3 hours or until starch and water separate completely. Overnight is the best.

STEP 2: MAKING FILLINGS AND CHILLI PASTE

* Meanwhile, Wash the gluten thoroughly in the running water.
* Then add 1/2 tsp of yeast or baking powder onto it.
* Give it a good mix and let it rest for 5-10 mins.
* Now, flatten the gluten randomly with the help of fingers, place the gluten on the steamer tray greased with oil, and let it cook for 15-20 mins.
* Once it's thoroughly cooked, it will be soft and fluffy gluten bread. Let it cool down, then cut it into pieces and keep it aside for later use.
* For the chilli paste, use 4-5 cloves of chopped garlic, 3 tsp of red chilli powder, salt, 1/2 tbsp Sichuan pepper, ¼ tbsp monosodium glutamate (MSG), 2-3 tbsp of water, mix it together and form a paste.
* Then add 100ml of heated oil, remix it, and prepare the chilli paste.

STEP 3: MAKING THE WRAPPER FROM THE BATTER

* After several hours, Water and Starch should be separated from each other, as we kept it in step 1.
* Drain off the water carefully. (Make sure to keep a little bit of water with starch)
* Strain the starch to make sure no gluten is left with it.
* Add 1/2 tsp of turmeric or yellow food colour and a little bit of salt to the starch solution.
* Mix it well, and the better is ready.
* Now take a flat steel plate, grease it well with oil and scoop off half a ladle of batter into it and spread evenly.
* Place it carefully on the steamer, cover and let it cook for 4-5 minutes on high heat.
* After 4-5 mins, take out the plate and place it on cold water in a bucket to cool off fast.
* With the help of a spoon or knife, pass it under the edges, peel off gently, keep it aside, and repeat the process until all the rappers are ready.
* Stake them together.

STEP 4: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER.

* For Dry Laphing
* Place a wrapper on the chopping board.
* Spread 1 tsp of chilli paste on it or chilli paste at your taste.
* Add some gluten bread, 1/3 tbsp soy sauce, ¼ tbsp vinegar and salt to taste. (Soy Sauce and Vinegar are optional)
* Mix them well with the help of a spoon or your fingers, spread out the filling evenly and gently roll it up to make a roll.
* Finally, Cut it into 1 ½ inch pieces.
* Voila, you're ready to go! Laphing or laffi is prepared.

Notes

You can also use raw Wai-Wai noodles, diced onions, and tomatoes as stuffing with gluten bread, or if you are non-vegetarian, you can add chicken chunks also.

If your laphing wrappers cracks, make sure to let the starch rest for longer next time. Keeping overnight is the best solution to it.

If you're short on money, need to grab a bite and simply love chilli, this light and refreshing dish for like Rs40-50 will be your saving grace.

Here is the list of places where you can try laphing at MKT.