Cold Dishes

During winter, temperatures can drop to minus 40 degrees on the highest reaches of the Tibetan plateau. Even during summertime the nights are cold, with the mercury hovering barely above zero. In such conditions, cold food is not what the doctor orders. Cold dishes are not consumed that often in Tibet – and when they are, they’re almost always designed to be served alongside hot food to counterbalance them.

Tibetan doctors say that wherever we live and whatever the season, frequent consumption of salads, smoothies and raw produce (the very things we tend to associate with healthy eating in the West) can have a negative impact on our long-term health, and this is especially the case in cold conditions.