"Let's have Nepali Khana" — a first-time visitor after spending some days in Kathmandu usually says as he opens the menu card in a Nepali restaurant. He might or might not have been familiar with the taste of Nepali cuisine. And, it is not a surprise to hear this even from the second or the third time visitors as well. For this is a country where more than ninety percent of the people are engaged in agriculture, primarily food production, where food is a focus of nearly every festival, as offerings to elders or gods. In a kingdom bordered by countries famed for their food since ancient times, one would expect Nepal to have developed an excellent characteristic typical Nepali cuisine.
For in Nepal there arc more than a hundred different ethnic groups with their own distinctive languages, dress. customs, tradition and to a degree, cuisine. Most of these ethnic commurities have developed their own well defined cuisines. The Thakali people, f< example, are best known for specialisii in Nepali IChana (Thali, a complete brass plate of foods). Of all the ethnic people of Nepal the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley have a wide varleti of cuisines and celebrations of foods. - A daily diet is often determined by ingenuity and environment. In remote here is little choice: you eat what PA% The Sherpas eat potatoes two e times a day, plain, boiled by the g plateful, in tasty stews a). as hefty pancakes (alu roti), plings in soup (rhil doke) or just Land spiced. Considering that the was introduced to these high tin dwellers just over a century lerpas and potatoes are now as :able as... well, rice and curry. als hill and lowland dwellers, larly of the Kathmandu Valley, on daal bhaat tarkaari: rice I with daal (thick lentil soup), taari (vegetable curries). As most widely eaten food, it is the d dish. A day without daal What idered incomplete in many Nepal olds. The common mid-day g among the natives all over the starts with "Hello, how are and next "Khana Khanablio?" or a Bho" which means "Have you k&". This is the country where es people dwell and a stranger or ider can get food and bed free of edundant as daal bhaat may ) the trekker lunching and ing on it for weeks on end, there i variety in its ingredients and rariation in its preparation. A family meal in a middle class indu home would include i — autumn season favors beans, ieas. carrots, squashes, etc. — wored with different combina-ginger, garlic, onions, chills, fenugreek, coriander, mustard irmerie and masala, a mixed oneoction, slightly sweetened ?yes. cinnamon and cardamon. mes in more than a dozen s: black, green, yellow, red and als small dried beans that are into a thick soup with some of we seasonings. Rice, commonly ferably white (though red and we eaten in the hill areas), is I and served in gargantuan ais love spice and make some s achaars, relished or pickled 11?s such as tomatos, peas, ; or cucumbers seasoned with Erik, chilis, salt and spices. ties ground roasted seeds or dried fish are added. Achaars come salty, sour, sweet or tangy, all big on flavor such that just a spoonful is needed with the meal. Daal bhaat is commonly eaten with the right hand rather than utensils even in the most elite circles. Meat is eaten widely, and in abun-dance on special occasions such as Dashain and Tihar festivals. It is usually cut into small pieces and cooked in a curry-flavored gravy, or fried with chilis. Chicken, buff (water buffalo), pork, mutton (goat) or fish are available fresh in Kathmandu, but are slaugh-tered on special occasion in hill commu-nities. Because of the Hindu prohibition on killing cows, consumption of beef is strictly unlawful. A variation on daal bhaat tarkaari common among Newars, one of the oldest of Kathmandu inhabitants, is chiura: dried beaten rice, served with an array of meat and vegetable curries and achaars. Outside of the Kathmandu Valley where the variety of vegetables and ingredients is much less, diets are simpler. Chapatis, unleavened bread, is common in the Terai, with tarkaari and daal. Above 3000 meters, of altitudes, corn, millet, buckwheat, barley and wheat take over as staples. The every-day lunch and dinner of many hill villagers is dhindo, a thick mush of boiled ground grains, doctored up with a soupy vegetable sauce of the ubiquitous Nepali saag (spinach gundruk (dried and fermented vegetable leaves) or sisnu (nettles). In the far west, hill dwellers subsist on heavy bread made from a crude brown wheat or buckwheat. Barley, potatoes, dairy products and a few hardy vegetables fuel the highest Himalayan settlers of Nepal. Yes, and an occasional yak steak. Traders to Tibet cross 6000 meter passes carrying little more than dry tsampa (roasted fine-ground grains) to mix with butter tea, and perhaps some dried cheese (churpi) or meat. If you're up in the Ithumbu, Langtang or Manang/ Jomsom areas, be sure to try some tsampa. You can also buy it in Kathmandu's Man bazaar. The deli-cious, nutty flavor and nutritious, high-energy content make it an ideal trekking food. You may have less success in downing a cup of Tibetan butter tea, known to put off most Westerners and even Nepali lowlanders.
Some foods to try
Daal Bhaat: Once is not enough, as each cook makes it differently from day to day. Be sure to try some achaar to get the true flavor, Nepali style. Many Kathmandu restaurants and hotels prepare daal bhaat for their Nepali customers, so even if it's not posted on the menu, it's often available for the asking.
Roti: Wheat or rice flour flat-breads make a nice alternative or accompaniment to bhaat. At home or on the trail, they can be filled with daal, tarkaari, meat, cheese or even peanut butter and jelly. Alu daam, kerau and chiura (spicy potato salad, dried peas in sauce and beaten rice) are popular afternoon snacks, taken with chiyaa (sweet milk tea). Momo, a type of dumpling native to Nepal, Tibet, the bordering regions of Bhutan, is the best snacks for budget tourists. It is a type of steamed bun with or without fillings. They are one of the most popular fast foods in many parts. Momos are either fried or steamed. They are usually served with a dipping sauce normally consisting of tomatoes as the base ingredient, from which numerous variations can be made. Momo soup is a dish that has steamed momo immersed in a meat broth. Momo that are pan fried after steaming first are known as kothey momo. Momo can also be prepared by directly deep frying without steaming first. Steamed momo served in hot sauce is called C-Momo. These are some of the most common items served in Tibetan and Nepalese restaurants. Tibetan dumplings are eaten with a fiery sauce of dried red chilies and a bowl of chicken broth. Sukuti (fried dried meat), choila (boiled meat mixed with oil and spices), kukhurako masu (chicken pieces cooked in curry spices) or momos (Tibetan meat filled dough bundles steamed and served with chili-tomato sauce), are favorite hors d'oeuvres with rakshi (distilled liquor), chhang (fermented rice or millet drink) or tong ba (fermented are full of little "hotels" or cafes where these delicacies and drinks can be tried for just a few rupees. No signs are posted so best ask a Nepali acquaintance for directions. Let your stomach adjust to Nepal's water and food before venturing into these smaller snack shops.
You needn't risk contracting the travellers' bug to try Nepali food, though. Of course the best way to sample the real local fare is to eat in a Nepali home. But if you don't find yourself an invited guest, try asking your hotel chef to prepare an authentic home-style Nepali meal for you. Be to mention the degree of spiciness can tolerate as Nepali cooking can be quite fiery. Then, dig in — with your right hand if you want the true effect and enjoy at least one Nepali's version of his or her homeland's cooking.
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