“Khana Khanuvayo?”, did you eat is traditional “how are you?” in Nepal. It is not just "did you eat?"  The greetings vary from “Chiya khanuvayo?” Did you have tea?, “Khaja Khanu vayo”, did you eat Snack?  To “Khana Khanuvayo?”, did you eat lunch?; depending upon what time of day do you meet people.

Nepali culture gives so much importance to food. Nepalese ask because they care. Food is happiness here and it is an epitome of the culture and they have an intrinsic relationship, yet little attention is paid to understand, explore, and promote Nepali food culture that defines Nepalese.

There is also a funny Nepali food quote;

“Dal-Bhat Power Twenty-Four Hour”

Dal bhat tarkari! The typical Nepali food

Dal

Dal is dried beans or lentils made into a broth or soup and often tampered with spices.

Dal is generally cooked by itself and paired with rice, called dal-bhat and this is a staple food eaten throughout Nepal. The consistency, recipes and variety of dal may vary by season, locality, ethnic group and family.

One of the regular recipes of cooking dal is; take a cupful dal of your choice with two cups of water, add a small spoon of salt and few pinches of turmeric and pressure cook it for two whistles in full flame and another three in half flame. To tampering, heat oil or ghee in a small pan, (Nepalese usually use ladle instead), toss in cumin seeds, dried chilies and finely chopped garlic. When all the spices brown, slowly transfer the mixture to cooked dal and cover the pot immediately to trap the fragrance of spices into the dal. Some people in hilly regions also tamper dal with Jimbu, is a dried aromatic perennial herb. The tampering process would be the same by adding Jimbu instead of cumin seeds.

Varieties of dal Mass dal:  Black Lentil Mungi dal: Moong Beans Rahar dal: Pegion Peas Musuro dal: Masoor Lentils Chana dal: Split Grams Gahat: Horse Grams Masyang: Red Beans

Bhat

Bhat is boiled rice or steamed rice either cooked in a pot, Rice cooker or Pressure cooker.

Many different types of rice are available in Nepal and sometimes imported from India. Previous year’s, older rice is considered better than the new harvest and also expensive than the latter. Like dal everyone has their own way of cooking rice depending upon the varieties.

The general method would be to rinse 2 cups of rice, soak it in 4 cups of water for 30 minutes and then transfer it to a flat bottomed cooking pot. One could also soak rice in the same cooking pot to avoid transferring. Bring rice to boil with the occasional stir, and once the water is reduced to 90% cook further in a low flame for 10 minutes with the lid on. The method below is best for older rice and Nepalis prefer the less sticky non-glutinous rice because it is easier to eat with the fingers.

Below are the varieties of rice that are grown all over Nepal but many local varieties are lost over of years.

Varieties of Rice

Basmati Jira Masino Pokhreli Mansuli Gudgude Marsi Thauli Mansara Anadi Rajbhog Krishnabhog Samundra Pheenz Phalame Tilki Jetho Budho Thaichung

 Tarkari

Although we say dal-bhat is the National food, it is incomplete without tarkari. Tarkari is any seasonal vegetable curry or meat.

Nepal is an agriculture-based country, topographically divided into mountains, hills and plains. Each of these regions is blessed with food diversity.

The common vegetables in Nepal are cauliflower, beans, cabbage, radish, turnips, brinjal, squash, gourd, pumpkin, jackfruit, green leaves like mustard, spinach etc. And the most important one is the potato. Any vegetables in Nepal except for meat are never cooked alone but paired with potatoes. Hence when asked what is tarkari today, you may hear, its Cauliflower and Potato, never Cauliflower alone.

Vegetables are also eaten in dried or fermented form. In case of excess production, the vegetables like radish, mushroom, cauliflower are cut and sundried for several days and stored in air-tight jars for later use. Green leaves are fermented to make Gundruk which makes the best stews and pickles.

Saturday, the weekend, is the official meat-eating day in Nepal. Khasi ko masu ra bhat (mutton curry and rice) is many’s favourite food, as mutton is considered the king of all meat. It’s expensive yet all the ethnic groups and religions consume it. Chicken especially hybrid kind is easy meat, cheaper and quite popular too, whereas, local chicken meat is more expensive. Brahmins would refrain from chicken eating in the past but now the younger generations consume it. Buffalo is mainly for Newars (Kathmandu natives) and the pork is popular among Janajatis (Indigenous Tribes) and Dalits (lower caste) of Nepal. Himalayan tribes, the non-Hindu ones, eat yaks and Ox. Since the cow is propitiated by Hindus and is also National animal of Nepal, slaughtering a cow in Nepal is a sin and a crime.

The taste of curry again varies kitchen to kitchen, but a generic way of cooking is; smoke-heat oil in a wok (pan is seldom used in Nepali kitchen to cook curry), add methi (fenugreek seeds) to the oil and cook it until blackened, then add, chopped onion, fry until golden brown. Add to it chopped vegetables. The cuttings of potatoes must match the size and nature of vegetables it is paired with to make curry look attractive. Season it with noon (salt), besar (turmeric), jeera (cumin powder), khursani (red chilli powder), aduwa (ginger paste) and lasun (garlic paste). Fry it at a medium flame with the occasional stirs, optionally add water to make gravy. Garnish with dhaniya (coriander). Dhaniya is the favourite herb to garnish any Nepali curry. People also like green onions and garlic leaves.

Varieties of Vegetables and Meat

Aaloo: Potato Cauli: Cauliflower Banda: Cabbage Gajar: Carrot Mula: Radish Chukandar: Beet root Gantey Mula: Turnip Matar Kosha: Peas Bhatmaas: Soyabeans Ghiraula: Luffa Gourd Lauka: Bottle Gourd/ Calabash Kakro: Cucumber Golveda: Tomato Tyamatar: Tree Tomato Ishkush: Squash/Chayote Pakeko Farsi: Pumpkin Hariyo Farsi: Zucchini Kurilo: Asparagus Karela: Bitter Gourd Simi: Beans Bodi: Snake Beans Bakula: Fava Beans Chana: Brown Chickpeas Kabuli Chana: White Chickpeas Rajma: Kidney Beans Bodi: Black-eye Beans Pidalu: Taro Tuber/Co-co Yam Parval: Pointed Gourd Bhanta: Brinjal/Eggplant Tama: Bamboo Shoots Romtoriya: Okra/Lady’s finger Chipli Bhindi: Okra/ Lady’s finger Saag: Green Leaves Tori: Mustard Rayo: Mustard Palung: Spinach Gyathkobi: Kohlrabi Dhaniya: Corriander/Cilantro Hariyo Pyaaj: Spring Onion Pyaaj: Onion Lasun: Garlic Hariyo Lasun: Garlic Greens Chyaapi: Chives Aduwa: Ginger Pudina/Babari: Mint Paak Choy: Bok Choy Dundu ko Saag: Chinese Leek Farsi ko Munta: Pumpkin shoots Iskush ko Munta: Chayote Shoots/Squash Shoots Methi ko Saag: Fenugreek greens Latte ko Saag: Amaranth Neuro/Ningro: Fiddlehead Fern Saunf ko Saag: Dills Sisnu ko Saag: Nettle Greens Sim Rayo: Water Cress Chamsur: Garden Cress Salad Patta: Lettuce Karkala: Tarro Leaves Sakhar Kanda: Sweet Potato Tarul: Yam/Cassava Rukh Katahar: Jackfruit Kubhindo: Ash Gourd Barela: Balsam Apple Khursani: Chili/Jalapeno Kagati: Lime Nibuwa: Lemon Chichinda: Snake Gourd Chyau: Mushroom Bauhuniya: Koiralo Karmaiya Saag: Water Bindweed Kerau ko Munta: Pea Vine Shoots Lunde ko Saag: Redroot Pidweed Patuwaa ko Saag: Tossa Jute Sarwari Saag: Quail Grass Sim Rayo: Water Cress Siplikan: Garlic Pear Hiudey Simi: Hyacinth Beans Taney Bodi: Yardlong Beans Chattel: Spiny Bitter Gourd Lapsi: Hog Plum Thotne: Garden Sorrel/Bladder Dock Sishumool: Arrowroot Vajraangee: Artichoke Bhede Kursani: Bell Pepper/Capsicum Maccha: Fish Khasi: Mutton Kukhura: Chicken Ranga: Buffalo Bangur/Sungur: Pork Badel: Boar