Nepal has a diverse population and hence, diversified culture and traditions. The food habits of these cultures and practices also vary a reasonable amount. If you would like to know about the mouth-watering delicacies of these different cultures of Nepali people, then this article is just the right thing to read.
The Nepali Food recipes are very simple and minimal; however, the taste is exceptional. Many Nepali cuisines have made their way through different countries through the migrants who live on significant continents of the world.
The foreigners who visit Nepal are often astonished by Nepal’s culture, traditions, and diverse food culture. Some of the most popular Nepali dishes are Momos, Dal Bhat Tarkari, Choyela, Dhindo, Thukpa, Selroti, Bara, Khapse, etc.
Here are some mouth-watering Nepali food and their recipes.
1. Dal Bhat Tarkari
Dal Bhat is the primary staple diet of Nepali households. It is mainly eaten for lunch as well as dinner. Some tourists have also made songs and merchandise with “Dal-Bhat.”
It is steamed rice served with lentils and any vegetable or meat curry. Nepali dal is usually made by mixing the major pulses. Check out this delicious Nepali Food recipes.
Recipe:
- Dal is first washed and soaked for above an hour. Then pour the dal into a pressure cooker and add turmeric powder, grind ginger-garlic paste, salt, and oil drop. Allow the lentil to cook until the pressure cooker makes five whistles.
- After the dal is cooked, heat another pan separately put ghee, add jimmu and some chilies, and add them to the dal. The Nepali style dal is now prepared.
- To make Bhat, first, wash rice and soak it for above an hour, and then you can cook it in a pressure cooker or rice cooker as it suits way. However, in a typical Nepali way, food is made on a wood fire to give that kick to food.
2. Momo
Momo is the most popular snack of the Nepali people. In fact, Momo isn’t just food but an emotion for the people. Although there is often debate about how Momo was introduced to the Nepali palate, it is still known to different places in the world as famous Nepali cuisine.
There are various kinds of recipes for cooking based on the cooking style and filling used.
Recipe:
- Make the dough with wheat flour and water. Knead the dough a bit tighter and let it sit for some minutes.
- Prepare the filling separately. You can use any kind of vegetable or meat for the filling. Finely chop the vegetables or meat and add finely diced onion, turmeric, salt, curry spices, and two tablespoons of ghee to the filling.
- Now make, roll out the dough into small round sheets and make a pocket to fill with the fillings prepared. Close the pocket making the shape of your desire. Now boil water in a steamer and place the Momo and allow it to cook for 10 to 15 mins.
- Make a tomato dip separately by grinding tomato and other spices and serve with steamed Momo.
3. Dhindo
Dhindo is basically any kind of flour cooked with water by stirring consistently. Although you can use any kind of flour to make dhindo, the one loved by people is millet flour. It is often served with chicken gravy and Nepali-style tomato pickle.
Recipe:
- Take a wide saucepan and boil three cups of water in it. Then, add a spoonful of ghee or oil and bring the water to a boil.
- Now slowly add the millet flour with continuous stirring. Keep on adding the flour until you get that thick paste kind of consistency. The key to tasty dhindo is the consistency in stirring while adding the flour to the boiling water. People use a wooden spoon for cooking dhindo in Nepal as it is easy to stir with it.
- After you get the consistency, stir the mixture vigorously on low flame for 2 to 5 minutes and allow it to rest. Now, you plate it and add a teaspoonful of ghee from the top and devour it with the curry of your choice.
4. Yomari
It is a Newari sweet dish made using rice flour and a sweet filling of Khuwa, Coconut Powder, or Chaku (a paste of brown sugar). Find this tasty Nepali Food recipes here.
Recipe:
- To make the dough, take a few cups of rice flour and make a dough by slowly adding hot water to add and cover it with a warm towel and let it sit for some time.
- For making the filling, fist melt the chaku. Then, make a thick paste.
- Now take a piece of dough and roll it. Make a cone-like shape and fill chaku in it and close the top edge. You may also use Khuwa as the filling if you would like to. Some people also use chocolate as their preference.
- Now steam the dough filled with Chaku for 20 to 25 mins, and the Yomari is prepared.
5. Sel Roti
Sel roti is a famous sweet dish in Nepal which is usually prepared during festival seasons in Nepal. It is cooked in the house of people of every religion and culture in the country. Sel roti is a dish made with rice batter mixed with ghee, water, and sugar.
Recipe:
- First, the flour for Sel roti is made by coarsely grinding the soaked rice. Then, the flour is taken in a big bowl, and an ample amount of sugar and ghee is added and mixed very well with the flour.
- Now lukewarm water is slowly added to this mixture and continuously mixed until a thick and flowy batter is prepared. The batter is allowed to stay for over an hour.
- A wide pan is taken, and oil is filled to two-thirds. The oil is allowed to heat up, and then the batter is poured, making a ring-like shape, and is cooked on both sides. Then, the Sel roti is enjoyed with tea or pickles and vegetable curries as preferred.
There are many other finger-licking Nepali dishes that are enjoyed in various regional cultures. You would get a different version of every dish in different landscapes, but each would be equally tasty.