Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Nepali food


... is great. I was surprised; I didn't know there was much to it. It's often sold as "daal bhat", which means you get rice and some stuff, like an Indian thali. That "stuff" can just be some spinach, some dal, and some vegetable curry, but that "stuff" can also be quite complex:

- Alu tusi achaar, a "salad" that looked to me more like potatoes and cucumbers in a yogurt sauce. I love yogurt sauces.
- Alu chhwon, a soupy thing with potatoes
- Gundruk achaar, a fermented spinach pickle
- Sandeko, a generic term that means something like "spicy", so you could get "bhatmas sandeko" (spicy beans), or chickpeas or potatoes or meat
- Dhindo/Dhedo, a buckwheat paste/dough that replaces your rice, looks like hell, and tastes great.

I think the first couple dishes are more Newari style, the last couple more Thakali style, where I think Newari and Thakali are popular sub-regions of Nepali food. Anyway, it all tends to be spicy, sometimes sour, and generally healthy tasting. I very much want to make some of it.

2 comments:

  1. Ok so it really does sound like Klingon gagh. I think I would starve if I travelled there. More power to you, epicurean man.

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  2. Now come on, you're just saying that because it has different names! Dhindo is the only thing that actually ends up being weird (and even then, it's just the looks. the taste is pretty normal, like dough). Even "fermented spinach pickle" looks and tastes like spicy spinach. If I said I had "spicy beans" and "potato soup", there'd be nothing weird at all.

    Now, last night I had fried liver and pig's feet. You're allowed to be grossed out by that :)

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