Set on the Himalayas, Nepal is home to a very rich geography. Having plains as well as mountains, it provides rich diversity in the type of food grains that can be grown. Add to that, the fact that, they have diverse groups of people following different religion and customs, forming the place, the cuisine can be nothing but interesting. Nepali cuisine manages to fuse different types of cuisine of the different groups of people who live here and emerge as a unique cuisine in it self. Nepal’s produce is dominated with the growing of various dals and rice along with various vegetables. They even have poultry and meat as a part of their diet. Nepali cooking maybe considered a simple fare and it’s easy to be fooled to thinking it’s too simple a cuisine. However the way in which the various basic dal’s and vegetables merge to become one flavorful dish is what gives Nepali cuisine its novelty tag.
Snacks
Nepali’s enjoy their snacks. And this is evident in the variety that can be seen in this department alone. They make their snacks from healthy ingredients like flours and vegetables. Their Chatamari is very popular which is similar to a pizza. It’s made from rice flour base with vegetables of various kinds forming the topping. Sel is another famous snack also eaten as dessert. It’s a doughnut like in shape, made from rice flour. Wo is another favorite among the locals made from flour shaped like a patty
Main Course
On a typical day, a Nepali dish will consist of a simple Dal Bhat and Tarkari. Dal is spicy or non-spicy broth made using the various lentils available to them. Bhat consists of rice or other grains. It is usually steamed and more commonly rice is used rather than other grains as rice forms the main staple of their diet. Vegetables form the Tarkari category of their meal. They cook all kinds of vegetables usually in curried form to accompany the rice. They not only make curried vegetables and meats they even stir fry i.e. Bhutuwas or grill them i.e. Sekuwas. They also seem to relish meat that is marinated in seasoned mustard oil, known as Choylas. They even have their own version of Chinese dumplings called as Momo’s. Momo’s are stuffed dumplings, usually stuffed with meat or vegetable. Roti i.e. bread preparations is another very common find in their Thali. Thukpas and Chow-Chow i.e. Himalayan stewed and stir fried noodles, sukuti’s i.e. smoked barbeques form the other variants on their platter. The most popular dishes are Alu Tama made using potato and bamboo shoots. Masu made from meat using spices along with Dal Bhat and Tarkari.
Other Accompaniments
Similar to Indian platter no Thali is complete without Achar’s or the pickle. Nepali’s too have Achar’s made from various vegetables and with generous use of spices too. Sliced radish, diced potatoes, pickle made from tomatoes all add up to their pickle selection. And what makes them so unique is the use of spices and condiments like coriander cumin along with spices that are unique to Himalayas like the Szechwan pepper’s. Gundruk forms another important accompaniment in the platter. It’s made by fermenting green vegetables. They even dehydrate their meat for future use.
Dessert
Dessert is a must in every cuisine. And when one thinks that Nepali food cannot get to be more interesting, out comes the dessert which is as novel to taste, as their meals. They have various dishes but most popular is Gudpak. Made from butter and Jaggery, Gudpak is best, when served hot and even better when eaten hot. They even have Peda’s made using Khova and sugar and enhanced with pistachios, almonds and even saffron.
Beverages
Something to drink completes a meal. How can we forget the beverages then? They have a local specialty called Tongba which is a homemade wine made from fermented millet seeds to which hot water is added. The most interesting thing about this dish is the way it’s drunk, using bamboo straws. Rakshi is another millet based drink. Mohi is another beverage which is made from churning the curds. Their tea, is very sweet and is usually consumed very hot called Tchya.
The food though simple and uses simple ingredients like vegetables lentils and spices, is as versatile as the people who inhabit this region. It’s very interesting to see the way these people have used common ingredients, yet justified it into something that has such flavour and taste along with nutrition. Diverse yet simple and glorified that’s Nepali Cuisine for you.
Other Accompaniments:
Similar to Indian platter no Thali is complete without Achar’s or the pickle. Nepali’s too have Achar’s made from various vegetables and with generous use of spices too. Sliced radish, diced potatoes, pickle made from tomatoes all add up to their pickle selection. And what makes them so unique is the use of spices and condiments like coriander cumin along with spices that are unique to Himalayas like the Szechwan pepper’s. Gundruk forms another important accompaniment in the platter. It’s made by fermenting green vegetables. They even dehydrate their meat for future use.