"Potato consumption in Bhutan was low up to the 1970s. In the early 70s, when farmers started growing potato for export, they were generally reluctant to consume the tuber. Eating potato as a staple was socially and culturally unacceptable as many Bhutanese believed that potatoes caused problems of the lower abdomen, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea. Similarly, in the 19th century ethnographical descriptions of Tibet, potato consumption was said to be " confined to the poorer classes" ( Rockhill 1891). Over the last four decades, the status of potato as a food or vegetable has changed tremendously. Today unlike in the 70s , potato is widely eaten as a vegetable and sometimes even as a staple food."
Under the Driglam Choesum or Za Cha Do(e) Sum, a code of standard practices was framed, based on three kinds of human activity: eating, doing things and walking. It is said that no matter how rich a person is, he should never eat sleeping and no matter how poor a person is, he should not eat standing. Therefore, a person eats sitting properly.
A person can only eat that amount of food which can be held within two fingers and a thumb of the right hand. He is expected to keep the drinks on the left side and the solid things to the right. A person should not pile bones in front or behind. The person keeps them inside his hemcho ( the pouch). Jokes are told about a person who carried all the bones in his pouch and ate peacefully outside without having to fear an imposition of any discipline.
A person is expected to eat his food with closed mouth and not make much noise while eating. He is expected not to talk which he has food in his mouth.
Bhutanese in the villages usually crush the cereal into small balls and eat. The more compact the cereal ball, the more filling of the stomach, so they don't get hungry soon. Stories are being said that in the olden days the people judged a person whether he could work or not from the amount of breakfast he ate. If the person ate a smaller amount of breakfast, the person was regarded as a weakling.
" Our final day in Ha, we watched an unusual way of fishing. One line of boys, beating the water with sticks, drove the fish downstream to where another line of boys were waiting in a 'V' formation. The latter than funnelled the fish into the wide mouth of a tapering bamboo basket"
Tshomin always makes it sound like this is an easy dish to throw together but it does take a bit of effort and time. Its also best served fresh. Tshomin starts by pre-soaking dried red chillies, this help to soften them up a little. 
The chopped tomato and chili are then added to a mortar that already contains chopped onions and a peeled chunk of ginger ( no need to chop the ginger) . Generally its about one regular red onion and a finger of ginger. Tshomin tends to keep roasting and adding chili and tomatoes until she feels like she had made enough. She is very much one of those, "I know it when I see it" type cooks!
" A curious and macabre cultural feature that deserves mentioning is the poison cult that existed and according to some sources continues to exist in certain parts of Eastern Bhutan and Eastern Monyul. Notorious areas are the Kurma area in Lhuntsi, Upper Tashiyangtse, the border areas inhabited by Dakpa, certain parts of Pemagatshel. Lish and Chuk in Dirang and the Kongpo area and Pemako in Tibet. But practically every area has certain households suspected of poisoning guests. According to popular belief, one should never accept any hot food or alcoholic beverages from household with whom one is not thoroughly familiar. Those suspected of giving poison are always women- most commonly spinsters and widows. They are believed to poison a person in order to obtain his... 'life force.' There are several ways in which the poison is prepared as well as administer. Whereas the usual poison used for hunting is made from Aconitum sp., the poison for the poison cult is home-made. During the new moon, the woman will paint half her face black and half her face white. She will carry an unboiled egg into the forest and whilst uttering secret mantras, she will bury it at the foot of a tree. During the next full moon, she will return to this place and collect the mushroom that usually sprouts from the egg. The mushroom will be dried and ground to a fine powder. The poison can be administered unnoticed, for example by keeping it under the fingernail and adding it to a cup of alcohol when serving it to an unsuspecting victim. The victim has to be, in order of preference, a king, a high lama, a minister, a rich man, a young man, her husband or her son. In absence of any of these she has to consume the poison herself. Death comes slow and sudden, and often poisoning is not suspected. Households thought to be poisoners are usually outcast and stigmatized but at the same time also kept in respect out of fear that retribution might take place. Belief in the poison cult is still strong and in many cases people suffering from sudden and severe illnesses are thought to be /duk rek/ 'touched by poison.' Official policy is to discourage belief in the cult and the social stigma it entails."
In traditional Bhutanese society, people share drinks when they meet or depart. Alcohol serves as a consolatory treat during bereavement, as part of the relaxed atmosphere and pleasant sensation during festivals, a source of hospitality and as a reconciliatory agent during dispute. Festivals and other important social events are organized with alcohol as a central enhancement substance. The traditional offering of tshogchang to official guests as a welcome gesture is an example of the social function of alcohol. It symbolizes respect to the visitor and communal proclivity towards opulent hospitality.
Alcohol has ritualistic and symbolic functions. It is used to please deities and as a vital substance of various offerings. In certain rituals, monks or lay monks, and nuns use alcohol thought Buddhist vows do not permit them to consume alcohol. In particular, chang used a libation offerings ( gser- skyems, literally 'golden thirst) connotes an elixir to quench thirst. Alcohol is a substantive drink consumed to quench thirsts in farming societies. This seems to be the reason for drinking being often considered appropriate for those who are involved in manual toil than for those whose task involve mental exertion.
Alcohol is used to ward off snakes and as protective substances from many evil, and as medicine to cure certain illnesses. Alcohol is a cultural artifact. The volatile, but valuable nature of the fluid has led to the production of a rich material culture like the production and use of chang palang, phob, etc to drink, store and transport alcohol.
Alcohol is part of child birth observances. Many mothers even consume alcohol as soon as babies are delivered to relieve pain and regain vigour. In many rural communities, children drinking is not been marked as a social taboo thought things are changing. It is likely that many children growing up in a drinking culture being to form their impressions about alcohol from an early age. This may be one of the reasons for their early acquisition of drinking habits.
"Except in times of sickness and death in the village, archery is usually played among friends and acquaintances on festive occasions like the New Year. The most preferred stake among archers is a feast. There are two types of feast. In one case, the winners take only their phorp and toray; in the the other, butter and cooking oil while losers provide meat and other delicacies. However, both the teams have to supply rice and other provisions. This system is called the tashi gyal or the ' auspicious stake. Usually the winners have to prepare the feast.
The following day, another match called the zalog or ' returning the feast' is held. If the winner of the previous day wins the first match played for a score of five, the second match should be played for a total of ten scores, and the third, out of a total of fifteen. If again this is won, losers have to once again host a feast. Another zalog match can be played. The total score this time would be equivalent to the age of the oldest player of the winning team. However , there would be no stake for the feast if the same team once again loses. There is a saying that even a woman will eventually win a zalog, because the matches will be played until the loser wins. "
" Very soon, what appears to be random paddies turn a dense almost emerald green, vivid in the evening light against the brown winter backdrop of the empty fields. As it turns out these were densely planted with rice seeds and seedlings sprout very close together forming a thick carpet of a new green growth."
