Adventure

Famous Foods To Try In Nepal

August 20, 2023

Due to its varied and dynamic Himalayan history, Nepal has a rich and tasty cuisine full of flavour, culture and history that’s always the highlight of the evening. Nepali cuisine has been influenced by various cultures all around the Himalayas, creating a truly unique palette that ranges from hot and spicy to cool and soothing on the tongue. During various trips to Nepal, our Sherpa Adventure Gear team have been lucky enough to try lots of the foods Nepal has to offer, and are excited to share our favourites.

In this blog, we’re going to cover a few of the most popular dishes in Nepal, their cultural significance and what ingredients they include. Read below to find out more.

Dhindo

Dhindo (pronounced dhee-dough) is a very popular meal, both in Nepal as well as Northern Indian regions like Sikkim and Darjeeling. Dhindo has been a staple food of most rural areas of Nepal, especially in dry areas where rice or wheat crops are difficult to grow. Prepared by slowly adding flour to boiling water while stirring, this national dish is easy to make but has been historically viewed as lower-class food in comparison to rice. However, with the dish quickly on the rise both in restaurants and prestige, dhindo is just too tasty to pass by. This simple food is highly nutritional and likely to give you the energy boost you need for a day of adventure.

The cooking process of dhindo is called maskaaune. Traditionally, dhindo is made from wheat or millet, but cornmeal is also a popular option. The mixture is a simple blend of flour, water, salt and butter and is quick and easy to make.

To make dhindo, you should:

Add water & salt into a large pan and bring to a boil.
Then add flour slowly and stir continuously until you have a dense, non-runny texture with no lumps. Traditionally this dish is stirred with a narrow iron spatula called a dabilo.
Reduce heat down and continue to stir until the mixture has a dense but smooth texture.
The dhindo is ready when the mixture separates easily from the side of the pan.
Sprinkle with clarified butter and whisk until combined.
The dhindo is now ready to be served or feel free to add a variety of flavours of your choosing, from chopped mutton and soft chhurpi to ghee, garlic, sugar and salt.

Dhindo should be eaten fresh and hot before it hardens. One way to eat Dhindo is to make the mixture into small balls using your fingertips, dipped into a hot soup like lentil soup or gundruk, and swallow without having to chew. This also makes it an excellent food for all ages. It is also often served with a side like chutney.

Kheer

Kheer, or payasam, is a sweet, wet pudding type of dish popular across the Himalayas and the Indian subcontinent. Kheer has been popular since ancient Indian times, and is a mix of rice, milk and sugar. The name kheer is an older name for sweet rice pudding and is derived from the Sanskrit word for milk, ‘kshira’. Its South Indian name, pāyasam, refers to the Sanskrit word for rice, ‘payas’. Payas were a common Hindu temple food, and often served to temple devotees in one form or another.

Traditionally, Kheer involves:

Bring fresh water to boil in a pot, then add rice.
In a separate pan, boil milk on a low-to-medium heat.
Once rice is boiled, add to boiling milk, along with sugar or jaggery.
Add flavouring, such as almonds, saffron, cardamom, cashews, raisins or pistachios, along with many other dried fruits and nut options.

What makes this dish so popular is not only is it rather straightforward, but there’s a lot of flexibility with how you flavour it.

Lakhamaari

Lakhamaari is a type of sweet, crunchy bread that is popular for festivals and celebrations, including weddings and Dumji. It’s particularly a staple of Newari culture, a Nepali ethnic group originating from the Kathmandu valley. In Newari culture, Lakhamaris are traditionally given to wedding guests during the religious ceremony. Additionally, before the marriage, the groom will often provide the sweet bread to the bride's side of the family as a sweet gift alongside the wedding invitations.

Lakhamaari can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can have alternative names according to the different types. They vary in sweetness dependending on the flavours added but the basic recipe starts with a combination of flour, sugar and butter.

To make Lakhamaari, you should:

Mix wheat flour, baking powder and sesame seeds in a bowl thoroughly. Then, add water and knead for 5-6 minutes to create a dough.
Let this dough rest for 15-20 minutes, covered with a lid.
To make the sugar syrup, add water and sugar to a pan. Heat and stir frequently for 10-15 mins until sticky and runny. Then leave on very low heat while you finish the dough.
Return to the rested dough and knead for around 3 minutes. Divide this dough into 3 or 4 smaller pieces to make it easier to work with.
Take each smaller dough portion and roll to an elongated/ sausage shape. Then, use a knife to cut these to your finished size, ideally in a cylinder shape around 2 inches long.
Heat oil in a pan over a medium heat. Then, reduce to medium-low heat before adding your dough.
Add dough pieces to the pan and fry until golden brown on both sides, remembering to flip.
Remove fried-dough from the pan and dip into the sugar syrup. Then, leave on a plate or rack to dry for around half an hour.

One of the great things about Lakhamaari, aside from their delicious taste, is that they can be stored for a long period in an airtight container.

Our travels around Nepal and the Himalayan regions have led us to discover so many dishes that we have tried and tested. These are just a handful of our favourite Nepali recipes for you to try at home but the Nepalese menu has lots of exciting ingredients, flavours and techniques which we welcome you to try and enjoy.