Ruth's Ramblings

Nepali Food

Food

Daal bhaat tarkaari isn't just the most popular dish in Nepal - for many Nepalis it's the only meal they ever eat, twice a day, every day of their lives, and they won't feel they've eaten properly without it. Indeed, in much of hill Nepal, bhaat (rice) is a synonym for food and khaanaa (food) is a synonym for rice. The daal bhaat served in restaurants ranges from excellent to derisory - it's a meal that's really meant to be eaten at home - so if you spend much time trekking or travelling off the beaten track you'll probably quickly tire of it...

...Daal bhaat is often served on a gleaming steel platter divided into compartments; add the daal and other condiments to the rice in the main compartment, a little at a time, knead the resulting mixture into mouth-sized balls with the right hand, then push it off the fingers into your mouth with the thumb. One price covers unlimited refills, except in tourist-savvy establishments that have adopted the "plate system".

Unlike India, where the British influence means that many people eat three meals of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, traditional eating times have never changed in Nepal. Most Nepalis begin the day with a cup of tea and little else, eating daal bhaat some time in the mid-morning (often around nine or ten o'clock) and then again in the evening, with just a snack of potatoes, makkai (pop corn) or noodles in between. Daal bhaat times in Kathmandu are pushing later and later towards something like lunchtime and evening meals, but outside the city, especially on trekking routes, it's worth remembering that if you turn up for your khaanaa at noon it'll be either cold or take a long time to cook from scratch.

(Excerpt from The Rough Guide to Nepal; London: Rough Guides Ltd.; September 2002, 5th ed., pp. 45-46.)

Posted by Ruth at 8/24/2004