What Turns Local Foods in Nepal Globally Popular?
It is well said that if you are keen to know a place, then first learn about its popular cuisines and taste the unique recipes. It’s high time you should try some exclusive recipes from Nepal especially if you are visiting the Himalayan nation—Nepal trip. Some foods in Nepal as region’s popular recipes is the ones you must try here. All of them are ethnically Nepalese authentic food yet have crossed miles away to the international locations nowadays.
Variety of lip-smacking recipes
As indicated above, food of a place is a product of its climate, soil and ethnicity. Therefore, whenever you try some recipes in a particular region, you literally get to know that place closely. Additional factors of diversity of culture and influence of the foreign lands add up to the overall food character of any particular region or place where the richness of foods remains paramount.
Foods in Nepal too evolved in a similar crucible. Its ethnicity dominates its cuisine and is typical of the geographical composition of the Himalayan country that invites and welcomes tourists from worldwide locations.
Much of the foods in Nepal are a variation of Asian themes. A very strong influence of other nations like Tibetan, Thai and to a large extent, Indian cuisines are to be seen in its own original cuisine. Among the “imported cuisines,” its mainstay is the Momo– the famous Tibetan style dumplings seasoned with the Nepalese spices.
Dal-Bhat-Tarkari is a native equivalent of a sandwich of the West. Soups, lean curries, vegetables, salads, lean meat, pickles, and curd form the core of the most Nepalese daily consumptions.
It is equally fun to enjoy the food of this area if you are proposing to visit as well as necessary to weather the rigors of the local environment effectively. The extreme cold conditions prevalent for most of the year in Nepal necessitates eating the body heat generating foods.
Nepali Foods you should try while visiting Nepal
Having Nepali food recipes in the land of best Himalayas, Nepal and especially if you are not too much abreast of the region’s culture and tradition is surely going to bring a fascinating experience. Read on to the details of various mouth-watering foods in Nepal that helps you keep fit and happy at heart. It’s time you try any of these recipes:
Dal Bhat Tarkari
Momo
Newari Khaja Set
Pulao
Sel Roti
Yomari
Bara
Chatamari
Gundruk
Dhindo
Chhoila
Samay Baji
Juju Dhau
Thukpa
Gorkhali Lamb
Dal Bhat Tarkari – the staple eatery of Nepal.jpg)
Well, you cannot escape it! It is all-pervading. Its enticing aroma will reach your nostrils all across Nepal. Dal Bhat Tarkari, locally more known simply as the Dal Bhat recipe, is rice served along with lentil soup and vegetable curry or chicken or meat, whichever preferred. And, if you are a vegetarian, ask for with vegetables too. This wholesome and nutritious food keeps your body and mind together!
Hailing from Bengal, Dal Bhat is literally the National Dish of Nepal nowadays. A wide variety of accompaniments with it include pickle, lime, green chillies, chutney and yoghurt that add to the richness of Dal Bhat Tarkari to make it popular recipe.
Momo – the common snack
Nepalese dumplings – that is Momo for you to taste. Momo is a fist-sized native food in Nepal eaten commonly as snacks and fillers. Made out of the steamed or fried white flour with the stuffing of vegetables or meat/chicken pieces, Momos are served with a delicious, strong and spicy dip.
It is a great starter for the day as it is both filling and energizing. The dip accompaniment is what lends tanginess to Momo. It will initiate the pickiest kids towards food, for sure. Try it and prove me wrong if you can!
Pulao – the in-thing of all times
Come summer, rainy or winter- one commonality you find in Nepal is the famous omnipresent of Pulao. As rice is the staple diet of Nepalese, various delicacies made out of this grain are eaten extensively across the country. Pulao too is a rice preparation.
Rice is fried and cooked with the vegetables and seasoned with both cumin seeds and turmeric. A host of side dishes ranging from raita (raw pieces of onions, green chilly and coriander leaves in the rarified curd) to papad and yoghurt are served along with Pulao. It is essentially a vegetarian dish and rich in carbohydrates and nutrients. Its filling character keeps the tourists satiated for a longer time.
Sel Roti – the native version of Doughnut
Essentially a cross between a doughnut and a bagel, Sel Roti is made of rice flour. Sel Roti is deep-fried bread served crunchy. It is almost an essential dish during local festivals such as Dashain and Tihar(for festival details you may read: Major Festivals of Nepal) .
Sel Roti is basically a breakfast menu of most people in Nepal. This is a soft, sweet, puffy and crunchy item and is eaten along with dip in yoghurt or along with any of the select vegetables. Stand-alone Sel Roti recipe is equally great and can be tried too.
Eat it fresh and hot from the street corner vendor or at the high-end restaurants. The taste of Sel Roti food is going to haunt you back home. Better get to know of its recipe before leaving for home!
Yomari – the yummy one for your tummy
One of the traditional festival foods in Nepal, Yomari is too yummy to give it a go. It is offered in the wintertime to Gods to thank them for the bounty harvest. Don’t worry if you are not there during winter. Yomari recipe is available across the nation and especially in Kathmandu and other major cities or towns all through the year.
Yomari food is a sweet condiment prepared from rice dough stuffed with a sweet taste of coconut, sesame seeds and sugar syrup. While this is the traditional recipe, spicy lentil version of it has caught the fancy of this generation of people.
Dhido or Dhindo – taste of the rustic
A very special Nepali cuisine, Dhido or Dhindo, is a thali (a plate of meal) eaten and relished by the rural folk. It is high in nutrients and micronutrients and a great source of energy-giving carbohydrates for the hard-working class.
Dhido food is a thick and consistent porridge or Polenta made out of the boiling cornmeal, buckwheat flour, millet flour in water with salt. With such a strong composition of the diverse cereals, Dhido recipe is rich in nutrients. In fact, it is a sort of medium with which butter, vegetable curries, pickles, buttermilk and yoghurt are mixed and savoured.
Gundruk – the great pickle
Gundruk is the condiment that jells greatly with Dhido. In fact, the placid Dhido is enlivened with a dash of Gundruk which is nothing but a pickled preparation which is tasted by all and sundry. Vegetables and leafy vegetables, in particular, are the ones fermented in an earthen pot along with mustard, radish and cauliflower. The assorted vegetables are pickled until they release acidic juices after fermentation. It is considered the traditional and national food in Nepal and is eaten with great interest.
Juju Dhau – the quintessential curd
It is one of the most common foods in Nepal. Available across the country, at street corners and in the remote areas, Juju Dhau is essentially curd-made out of buffalo milk. It is a creamy, thick and sweet dish normally preferred as a dessert. It is akin to the Yogurt of the West, though Juju Dhau comes in single flavour of sweet.
It is served in the earthen bowls and tastes great while eaten after a sumptuous meal whether in supper or lunch. The cool characteristic of this dish helps you keep your tummy from rumblings, especially after the lip-smacking tangy food you may have gulped a while ago.
Newari Khaja Set 
This is a set of the diverse dishes – in fact as many as 200!- exclusive from the Newar region of the Himalayan nation of Nepal. The Newars are the indigenous people living in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. And they are the one who have taken food consumption to the next level, literally in terms of variety, taste and quality.
The Newari Khaja Set consists of three categories – the Daily Meals, the Snack and the Feasts. The daily meal is made up of rice, dal and vegetable and eaten both in the day time and at night.
The snack is for afternoons and contains beaten rice in combination with the roasted and curried soy beans. It is usual to savour Tea along with the snack. Food served at feasts is much more elaborate culminating in curd, sugar and fruit.
Chatamari – the Pizza of the East
This is another Newari region snack and is normally referred to as the Nepali Pizza – the main difference with the parent Pizza is the flour. Chatamari is made out of rice flour instead of wheat flour. It is a rice flour crepe cooked with the toppings including coriander, minced meat, eggs, chopped onions, chillies and a variety of spices. Chatamari is one of the unique foods in Nepal and thus it is a must-try.
Bara – the brew impeccable
A tasty concoction of black and moong lentils in unison with the beaten eggs, lean ground chicken or lamb and minced vegetables with a dash of salt, ginger and garlic makes Bara recipe a lip-smacking dish of Nepal.
This pancake look-alike dish is light and perfect for snacks. This too comes from the Newar region of Nepal but it has gained immense popularity throughout the nation.
Samay Baji
Samay Baji is a traditional gourmet dish of Nepal that has been passed on along the generations of the Nepali people. It is essentially a platter containing barbecued buffalo meat, boiled egg along with beaten rice and spicy potato salad. No trip to Nepal would be complete without savouring this sumptuous and tasty traditional food of the country.
Thukpa
It is a noodle soup and remains favourite among children in particular. A winter special in the mountainous regions of Nepal, Thukpa food can both be vegetarian delicacy or a non-vegetarian dish. It goes well as an accompaniment with Momos too.
Having a strong stamp of Tibetan cuisine, Thukpa can be made by adding pieces of goat, lamb or chicken. It serves as a heat generator in the hilly and extremely cold regions of Nepal. Along with its great taste, Thukpa is a source of the much-needed nutrients for the body.
Chhoila
Another of the attractions from the Newari cuisine is the famous Chhoila recipe. Probably the spiciest of the foods in Nepal, Chhoila is basically made of the buffalo meat. Other variants are also much in demand that have duck or normal meat, as preferred.
Chhoila is a hot and spicy savoury dish served along with the rice flakes.
Gorkhali Lamb
One more popular winter dish in Nepal namely Gorkhali lamb remains sought after amongst the locals as much as adventure travellers of Nepal. Lamb is a traditional source of meat in Nepal due to its tender texture and taste. Preparing Gorkhali lamb is time-consuming, but when it is ready, it will consume you with its wonderful taste.
Served with rice and roti, this dish is Nepalese comfort food at its finest, and whether or not you and your family are visiting during winter’s chill, it’s a pleasing and filling experience.
Kwanti
Kwanti is also treated as one of the most popular and authentic dishes in Nepal. It is a mixed soup of nine types of sprouted beans i.e gram(black and green), field pea, garden pea, cowpea, rice bean, chickpea, field bean, and soybean. These beans are soaked together in water for four to five days until they are germinated. They are boiled with various spices to make a soup a bit thicker. Also, some may add mutton meat for its better taste too. Anyone can prepare this stew-like soup at any time but it has its special day too. It is prepared during a Nepali festival of Janai Purnima or Kwaanti Purnima by locals. It is treated as one of the healthier foods in Nepal as its enriched in protein and provides high energy.
Final Words:
Perhaps, you are by now rearing to head towards the land of Mt.Everest (for details go through: Where is mount Everest located?) to devour such exemplary foods. The Himalayan nation has no dearth of tasty dishes as several of them identify the region to its fullest. Try out and recommend your favourite ones!