Across the highlands
Chutagi
Hearty lamb soup-stew with winter vegetables and little bow-tie noodles
90 min·4 servings
timut pepper (Sichuan pepper)
Dried husks from a Nepalese Zanthoxylum shrub, related to Sichuan pepper, with a distinct grapefruit aroma and a gently numbing tingle on the tongue.
Timut is the dried, split husk of Zanthoxylum armatum, a thorny shrub of the middle Himalayan hills, and despite the name it is not a true pepper. It belongs to the same genus as Chinese Sichuan pepper but smells brighter and fruitier, strongly of grapefruit and citrus peel, with a woody undertone. On the tongue it produces a tingle and slight numbness that brings freshness rather than heat to a dish; in Nepalese achar pickles, tomato chutneys and with potatoes it is exactly this effect that carries the flavour. Only the husks are used, and the hard black seeds and bits of stem are picked out because they are gritty and bitter; the husks are usually dry-toasted briefly before grinding. Timut can be found in Nepalese and Indian shops and from mail-order spice suppliers, while Sichuan pepper is sold in almost any Asian grocery.
Substitute:
Sichuan pepper comes closest and gives the same tingle, but it is earthier and less grapefruit-like; a little finely grated grapefruit or lemon zest partly makes up for this. Black pepper is no substitute, as it brings heat instead of numbness and changes the dish fundamentally.
Used in · 1 recipe