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Nepal And Its Many Flavours

Laakhamaari - A sweet dish made by the Newaris tribe

What, Where and All That I Ate in Nepal

 

Flavours of Travel: While there are many facets to my travel stories, I relish exploring, eating and learning about the local food. In my belief, every dish has a story. I may not be able to decipher it every time but indulging in food is my favourite way of adding taste to my travels. It holds a special importance in my journeys. Be it anywhere in the world, I eat thrice a day at least and I am always looking forward to something interesting for every meal. Trust me, it takes a lot of patience to hold on and take pictures before eating. I know I need to watch my weight but a good meal always translates into a good day for me.

 
 

Also, at some places, it is not very easy to find your comfort food, especially when you have restricted preferences. (Not me though) In that sense, I must say I found Nepal extremely comfortable even for those who were vegetarians. Since Nepal has more than 100 tribes, they have different styles of cooking. Overall, I can conclude that Nepalese use less of spices but are always up for variety on the platter. And I absolutely love them for promoting Daal Bhaat-24 hours power. This combination of DaalBhaat-Tarkaari! (Lentils +Rice + Vegetables) is an accomplished meal.

 
Read – https://www.manjulikapramod.com/2017/06/20/11-days-i-indulged-in-naturally-nepal/

DAY 1

 

Even before I had boarded my flight to Kathmandu, I knew what would be my first meal in Nepal. My friends had already told that one cannot miss the momos there. And now, I can vouch for them. The moment I entered Kantipur Temple House, my hotel for the first night in the capital, I ordered a plate of chicken momos. I didn’t rest until I ate it all.

 
 

Nepal, Kathmandu, Momos
A platter of Chicken Momos that I ate in Kantipur Temple House. This was my first meal in Kathmandu.

 
 

Mojito, Lemon, Nepal
For dinner, I visited Utsav restaurant where we had our first dinner hosted by PATA Nepal Chapter. Officially, this virgin mojito was my first drink in Nepal.

 
 

Nepal-style black lentil soup.
Nepali-style lentil soup!

 
 

Nepal, Nepalese food
3 pieces of Momos are served as starters if you go for authentic Nepalese thali style indulgence. The dip to go with it is different at different places and I found it interesting every time. 

 

 
 

Kathmandu, Rice, Lentil
Nepal is famous for its Daal Bhaat power. This serving was part of Authentic Nepalese Thali at Utsav Restaurant in Kathmandu.  Rice and lentil with cauliflower and potato vegetable. There was chicken and fish too but I chose to go with plain veg meal. 

 
 

DAY 2

 

 

I forgot to click a picture of the breakfast that I had at the Kantipur Temple House. It was a decent spread. And I must mention that they did their best to make salted buttermilk for me but they couldn’t because they tried making it with sweet yoghurt. However, the eggs, tea, pancakes and jams were great. As per the itinerary, on day 2, it was already time to travel to Panauti. I had both lunch and dinner at the homestay where my stay and food arrangements were made. The lady owner and her daughter prepared meals for us.

 

 Daal-Bhaat plate
The lunch that I had in the village called Panauti in Nepal. This was cooked by the lady owner of my homestay. This is one of the most simple as well as an absolutely filling combination. We love to eat Rice, Pulses and veggies in India too.

 

 

Momo making in Nepal
The momos that I learned to make at the homestay. I will always remember my stay at Panauti for this. This dip to go with it was quite interesting too.

 
 

Newaris sweet dish
Lākhāmari (Nepalese लाखामरि) is a type of sweet of Newaris.

 
 

In the afternoon, we ate a full Nepali style meal. For the dinner, we chose to go for snacks. My friend and I asked the lady to make some momos for us. She was quick to oblige. Since these were home-made, we didn’t have to keep a tab on how many we ate. I also tried my hand at adding the filling to the dough and giving it shape before steaming some of them. We ended the day on a sweet note by indulging in Lakhamari, a sweet prepared by the Newari community of Nepal.

 

 

DAY 3

From Panauti, our troupe travelled to the famous jungles of Chitwan. There was lots of food but in the lap of nature. And thus, it tasted all the more fresh and delicious. 

Day 3 at Chitwan at Tigerlands

   Nepali/Nepalese Spinach, Cauliflower, Lentil and Rice

 

Chitwan Jungles, Semolina
Semolina cakes – It was Dessert time in the Chitwan jungles!

 

 

DAY 4

 

Breakfast, Jungle, Chitwan
Breakfast in the Jungles.

 

 

Safari, Barbecue, Nepal, Food
It was a good barbeque night after a good safari day.

 

 

DAY 5

 

From Chitwan, we travelled to Lumbini. There, we were hosted by Buddha Maya Hotel.  It was a comfortable stay, the room was spacious and the food served at the restaurant was really good.  I ate both lunch and dinner at the restaurant but somehow, I missed clicking pictures. This is the picture that I clicked at the breakfast table on the next day when we were all set to leave for Pokhara.

 
 

Potato tikki, Bread, Mango- breakfast
 Potato cutlets, bread toast, Omelette and Mango for my breakfast.

 
 

DAY 6

 

Before it turned out to be an eventful day at Pokhara, I got some good clicks of local food on the way too! As per the guide, we were not sure of finding a decent restaurant on the way, thus Buddha Maya hotel had packed some eggs, fruits, sandwiches and cakes for us before we hit the road.  However, when we passed through a village and took a loo break, we did snack in between. Some of the nearby shops and especially the quick bites got my attention immediately. A vegan friend bought some lentil pakoras while I tasted some samosas and the Sel roti. Others bought chips for munching.

 

 

Our vegan friend got down from the bus to pick these daal pakodas

 The Lentil cutlets or pakoras. They were yum!
 

Nepal, Samosa
I am quite fond of Samosa and I didn’t miss a chance to have it in Nepal too. It is a deep fried snack filled with potatoes.

 
 

Round sweet breads -Nepalese dessert

   Sel Roti is a Nepali traditional homemade, sweet, ring-shaped rice bread/doughnut

 

Nepal, Roadtrip in Nepal
Munchies of all kinds

 

 

The evening in Pokhara was well-spent in partying and having fun. The dinner and drinks were hosted by Nepal Tourism Board.

 
 

DAY 7

 

The breakfast buffet at my hotel, Temple Tree Resort & Spa, Pokhara was a good spread. I indulged well and had my complete morning meal before leaving for the International Mountain Museum to celebrate the Mount Everest Day with the team of bloggers and travel agents from around the world.

 
 

The lunch was arranged at the Gorkha Village Restaurant inside the Museum. It was a buffet which had the usual Nepalese food which consists of lentils, rice, chicken, veggies, noodles and dessert. 

 

 

STREET FOOD TRAIL IN POKHARA

In the evening, we had all the time to ourselves and some of us decided to explore the street food in Pokhara. In this evening walk, I was joined by my 3 blogger friends from Delhi. We all love exploring food and they happily posed for me too.
 
 

Abhinav from A Soul window, Swati from Buoyant feet and Dipanshu from Dunia Dekho.

 

 

Eating in Pokhara in Nepal
This was the day when we explored street food in the shopping street along the Fewa lake in Pokhara. First, we met this guy from India who sells paranthas and samosas on a cycle.

 

 

Samosa in Pokhara
Do you get Samosas in Pokhara in Nepal? Yes, you do.

 

 

Aaloo ka parantha in Nepal
The paranthas(potato stuffed bread) were good but not as yum as we get in India.

 

 

Wai Wai Chaat
When we learned to make Wai Wai Bhel Chaat

 

 

Wai wai noodles chaat
Wai Wai bhel chaat – This dish is a very popular snack in Nepal. It is made from Wai wai noodles and some groundnuts, onions, chillies, tomatoes. 

 

 

This Wai Wai bhel chat was a spicy treat, absolutely perfectly made for our Indian taste buds. I really loved the way the lady made it from a fresh packet of Wai Wai, mixed it with other condiments and served us in the same packet after opening it. I must mention that everything about her small, ready-to-move setup was absolutely hygienic. 

 

 

So the golgappas and puchkas are very famous in India, you get them in Nepal too. See, we found them

 Do you get golgappas in Nepal? Yes, you do!! The water along with it was very spicy.

 

If you want some corn by the lake, you get that too.

If you wish to eat some corn by the Fewa lake, you have that option right away. 
 

Barbecue by the lake

Barbeque by the lake!

 

German bakery in Pokhara in Nepal
Germany bakery is a famous dessert corner in Pokhara. Do check it out. We tried some Cinnamon bread. 

 

 

DAY 8

 

We flew from Pokhara to the capital city. Back to Kathmandu and back to Kantipur Temple House, I ordered some Pad Thai during the lunch. In the evening, we went for an elaborate Nepalese setting at Bhoj Griha. It was time for popcorns, momos,  roksi (local drink in Nepal) and lentils-rice-veggies-chicken.

 
 

Pokhara to Kathmandu flight
This sums up our thrilling ride from Pokhara to Kathmandu. Thanks to Buddha Air.

 

 

Pad Thai in Kathmandu
I ordered for some Pad Thai at Kantipur Temple House. This was delicious.

 

 

Bhojan Griha
Bhojan Griha – An authentic Nepalese dining place with traditional dances and songs.

 

 

Popcorns are loved by Nepalese
I quite liked the fact that a Nepalese spread counts popcorns as part of starters.

 

 

Boiled and fried potatoes
Boiled and fried potatoes

 

 

Raksi (Nepali: रक्सी)
After being insisted by a friend, I tasted Raksi (Nepali: रक्सी. Well, since I don’t relish alcohol, I would be the wrong person to comment on its taste. Rakshi is a traditional distilled alcoholic beverage in Nepal

 
 

DAy 9

It was a well spent day at Bhaktapur. After falling in love with its beautiful architecture, we had our lunch at Sweet Home Bhaktapur. It is conveniently located adjacent to the famous Durbar Square.

 
 

Sweet Home Bhaktapur
The continental food that we ate at Sweet Home Bhaktapur

 

 

DAY 10

 

Street food at Thamel street
Thamel is famous for many things. And we explored some more street food. See how my friends are busy indulging in pakoras.

 

 

These pakodas were amazing!
 And at last, we know that if you wish to eat Pakoras, you can head to Thamel in Kathmandu. 
 

 

DAY 11 and DAY 12

 

Day 11 and Day 12 was all about International Travel Bloggers and Media Conference and Himalayan Travel Mart. And I gave up on clicking pictures due to the long queues at the buffet. But I am sure the pictures above give you a fair idea that I had a great time in Nepal and I indulged in many flavours. Thank you, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Airlines for making it possible for me. 

 

 

 

Nepal has lots to eat and explore!

 Happy Travelling!
 

9 thoughts on “Nepal And Its Many Flavours

  1. Good thing I just had my dinner of this post would have made me salivate. I haven’t been to Nepal as an adult and for some reason I never though of it in terms of food, but it’s clear to see that even though there are influences from all its neighbors in what they cook, they do have some unique preparations that look and sound delicious. Happy to see you try street-food as well.

  2. It looks like you ate really well in Nepal! I’ve not heard of many of these dishes, but those momos look interesting! Funny to see a German bakery there, who doesn’t love cinnamon buns!

  3. That looks like a wonderful food tour. I love Nepali food, especially kothe momos and thakali. From these pics, it is evident that the food choices were unlimited. If I were to pick any two, I would go with the samosas and lakhamari. Cheers!!

  4. I agree with you 100% – sampling the local cuisine is an amazing way to add a level of depth to your travels. Sure, it’s nice to have a familiar meal every now and then, but there’s just so much yumminess out there to sample! Looks like you were able to try a whole host of items!!

  5. You had a nice yummy trip of Nepal and I bet after returning you must have put on some weight. Those Wai Wai bhel looks innovative and interesting. I will also try Pad Thai Noodles. Bhojan Griha where we can watch dance with food is lovely place.

  6. Wow, soo much food! I think potentially my favourite dish there would be the BBQ skewers! However a close second would be the bread doughnuts!

  7. You certainly ate and enjoyed the local Nepalese food! The momos seem to be popular there and they look delicious. I’d love to try the semolina cake!

  8. Now my mouth is watering. I love trying out local food wherever I go too. Alot of the food here looks similar to Indian food and the momos remind me of the Chinese dumplings. I’d love to try out the bread doughnuts though.

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