This month we bring you the fourth part of our series on Ethnic Foods.For those of you who missed the first three parts of this wonderful series, here is a brief introduction as to how this series began.

We at Mosaic have wanted to do an article on Ethnic Foods, a write-up on where to find authentic foodstuff from our home countries. Food is an eternal theme, and very often at WBFN we hear each other tipping: “I discovered a terrific store where they sell....” We wanted our members to lay out their inside knowledge on this universal theme. They did, and so, this series began. This month, Sandipa Thapa Basynat takes you on a Nepalese culinary journey; she also gives you glimpses of this amazing country. Hope you enjoy reading this and feel motivated to share with other Mosaic readers your information on where to find authentic foodstuff from your native place in the DC Metro area.

Nepali Cuisine-Fusion at its best!

Nepal that lies between India and China, boasts of food as diverse as the country itself. The Nepalese recipes are easy to cook and are famous for their nutrition level and tempting taste. Nepali food has authentic flavor, making extensive use of spices and herbs such as ginger, garlic, coriander, pepper, cumin, chilies, cilantro, onion, Timur (an indigenous Nepali spice), mustard oil and ghee.

In most parts of the country, especially rice-growing areas,dal bhat (pulses and rice) and vegetables is the staple food of the Nepalese, and is eaten twice a day as the two main meals of the day. In non-rice-growing areas, the rice is replaced with buckwheat, millet or corn grits. Snacks such as chura (beaten rice), roti (flat bread), curried vegetables, milked tea and yoghurt are consumed during the day. Momo (dumplings) has become the snack of choice among all Nepalese.

Popular Nepalese Dishes

Gundrook-dheedo is porridge made up of corn grits, buckwheat or millet and eaten along with meat or gundrook, a fermented dry leafy vegetable.

Alu tama simply means “potato and aged bamboo shoots.” It is a unique and classic Nepali curry-flavored dish. It is unique in the sense that it is unlike other Asian cuisines; alu tama has the blended taste of curry and bamboo shoots.

The Newari type of cuisine is also popular in Nepal. Thistype of cooking is unique to Nepal and uses mustard oil as well as vinegar and a host of spices like cumin, sesame seeds, tumeric, garlic, ginger, methi (fenugreek leaves), bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, chili, mustard seeds, etc. Grilled meat over the flames of dried wheat plants makes a delicious and spicy Newari food called choila. Traditionally made from water buffalo meat, it is now made with other kinds of meat too. Bara is black-lentil deep-fried patties. Beaten rice is dehusked raw rice which is flattened into flat, light dry flakes.

A typical Newari thali (plate) consists of a beaten rice dish, choila,different beans, stuffed potatoes, spinach, bara, and bitter soups along with two kinds of liquor. Chatamari, a kind of rice crepe, is regarded as Newari pizza. It is flat bread made from rice flour with toppings (meat, vegetables, eggs, etc).

Momos, the Tibetan dumpling which traveled the mighty Himalayas to northern Nepal and for centuries, has been customized to the Nepali taste by adding Nepali spices. This momo had become a part of Nepali foods in such a manner that every restaurant, no matter what the cuisine, serves momo.

Sandipa Thapa Basynat