Thingyan

Spices for Thingyan

During Thingyan, Burmese households make thingyan rice (htamin), steamed rice chilled in water scented with jasmine, eaten with accompaniments such as dried fish, fried onion, raw salads and sour fruit. Mont lone yay baw, glutinous rice balls filled with jaggery, are boiled in the water of the festival. The cooking of Myanmar often draws on turmeric, ginger, garlic, chilli and fish paste, with fewer dry roasted blends than in India. The meal is chosen for its cooling effect during the hottest weeks of the year.

The spices

TurmericUsed in nearly every curry and soup.GingerFresh ginger salad (gin thoke) is a Burmese favourite.Chili pepperDried chilli goes into the dry accompaniments.