This ancient snack is synonymous with Tibetan New Year and will soon be prepared by millions of families. At the entrance of the Kemgun Gumba monastery in Lukla, Nepal, an indigo-blue sign reads "dining". Inside, nearly a dozen women and a few men are hard at work, hunched over long tables, deftly mixing, rolling and slicing dough into thin rectangular strips.
Each strip is slit in the middle, and one side of the dough is pulled into a ribbon-like bow. The rhythmic pounding of dough punctuates the crackle of oil sizzling in a large vessel outside, as boys and girls transform the doughy strips into deep-fried khapse ( kha zas in Tibetan), a sweet, crunchy snack central to Tibetan and Sherpa Buddhists. " Kha means 'mouth', and sey means 'snack'," said chef Yeshi Jampa, co-author of the book Taste Tibet and founder of the eponymous Taste Tibet restaurant in Oxford.
"It's a symbol of [Tibetan] New Year," or Losar, he added. Every year, millions of Tibetan and Sherpa Buddhists in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India and elsewhere celebrate Losar ( lo means "year" and gsar means "new"). The 15-day festival (which starts 28 February 2025) occurs on the first day of the Tibetan Lunar calendar and celebrates renewal and new beginnings.
The first three days of the festival are considered the most important when followers visit monasteries, offer ceremonial scarves, receive blessings from Rinpoches (respected Tibetan teachers or lamas) and prepare special dishes with friends and family – espec.