Many people often wrongly assume that Nepalese food is similar to Indian food and consists of "curry"

and rice and many Nepalese restaurants reinforce this by serving Indian food to customers.

Most Nepalese people eat 2 meals a day at around 10am and 6pm with a number of small snacks and tea
inbetween. Eating is always in the home and going to a restaurant is unheard of except in cities.

The most common food is dhal bhat which is a soup of lentils and spices and rice. A tarkari is added on top which
is usually vegetables shallow fried with spices.

In the hills where rice is expensive the Nepalese substitute rice for dhedo which is a mixture of flour and water or
butter. Dhedo is similarly eaten in Tibet.

There are also many snack foods which Nepalese people eat less often because they are expensive. The most
common snack is called momo and is a meat dumpling served with spicy soup and a tangy tomato dip.

Local Customs

The most common custom in Nepal is jutho which translates as "contaminated" and requires people not to touch
others' food and drink with either their hands or their spoon. When drinking water for example, Nepalese people
will not touch the bottle or glass to their lips so that others can drink from it also.

Another custom is the idea that the foot is ritually dirty and therefore stepping over food or pointing the soles of
your feet is disrespectful.

Equally if somebody is sitting on the floor, when a Nepali walks past they will always crouch down to avoid their
head being too high above - a sign of superiority.

Dhal Bhat Recipe

Dhal is a mixture of lentils in a soup and bhat is simply boiled or steamed rice.

Ingredients:

Dhal
10 tbsp mixed lentils
2 chopped tomatoes
1 medium onion
chilli, coriander, garlic, ginger garam masala to taste

Bhat
Rice washed and stood in cold water

Directions:

Boil the lentils with 5 cups of hot water. Once they are soft, mash them and add the spices. In a separate pan fry
the onion, garlic, and tomato and once done add to lentils.

Finally, add a handful of coriander to the soup.

Cook rice from cold water. Pour dhal over the top of rice and eat!
Momo Recipe
Below is a very tasty recipe for making Nepalese momo. To make Tibetan momo, just remove the green
vegetables.

Ingredients:

Wrappers
2 cups of plain flour
3/4 cup of water

Filling
500g minced meat (buffalo or yak, Pork is great if those are not available!)
4-6 spring onions
1 tbsp fresh crushed ginger
1 1/2 tbsp crushed garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt Handful of coriander/cilantro
2 green chillies (remove seeds for less spice)
2 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp oil

Directions:

Finely chop all the filling ingredients and mix together. Mix the wrapper ingredients to make a dough. Roll the
dough and make circles 6-10 cm across.

Place a dollop of mixture in the middle of each circle and wet the edges to glue easier. Stick the sides together
strongly to stop leakage. Pleat if capable!

Boil a pan of water with a steaming pot on top. Oil the steaming pot to stop sticking. Place a few momo into the
steamer and steam for 5-7 minutes.

Serve with a tomato and coriander sauce!

Nepalese cuisine

Nepalese cuisine refers to the cuisines of Nepal. The cultural and geographic diversity of Nepal provide
ample space for a variety of cuisines based on ethnicity, soil and climate. Nevertheless dal-bhat-tarkari
(Nepali: दाल भात तरकारी ) is eaten throughout the country. Dal is a soup made of lentils and spices. It
is served over boiled grain, bhat -- usually rice but sometimes another grain -- with vegetable curry,
tarkari. Typical condiments are a small amount of extremely spicy chutney (चटनी) or achaar (अचार).
These can be made from fresh ingredients, or may be a kind of fermented pickle. The variety of these
preparations is staggering, said to number in the thousands. [1]. Other accompaniments may be sliced
lemon(kagati) or lime (nibua) and fresh chili peppers, khursani.