The king dish

The basis of the Nepalese diet is the national dish: dal bhat tarkari. The recipe is simple: white rice, a thick soup of lentils(dal), a vegetable curry(tarkari) and the famous achards. Sometimes a bit of meat is added to the daily diet. This dish is served on a compartmentalized tray in the middle of which a large quantity of rice sits. The Newar minority replaces boiled rice with crushed rice flakes(chiura), the plains people with wheat patties(roti). The housewife's touch isachar, a fermented and spicy vegetable-based condiment, each with its own recipe. You should be prepared to eat it repeatedly during your trip. Indeed outside the cities it is often the common dish in the shops, especially in the countryside.

Eating habits

In terms of eating habits, the Nepalese generally eat two meals a day: in the morning, they have breakfast around 11am and then dinner around 7pm. Breakfast is only optional, but when it is taken, it is early (around 6am).

Meat is rare, unlike dairy products: yoghurt, tea with milk, whey. Although the Nepalese are not as keen on vegetarianism as their Indian neighbours, there are many specialities based on vegetables and cereals.

Common dishes

If repeated consumption of dal bhat becomes tiring, other tasty dishes can awaken your taste buds, such as chow mein, a specialty of Chinese origin based on stir-fried noodles and vegetables, fried

rice (rice fried with vegetables or meat) or boiled or fried Tibetan momos or ravioli in the shape of a purse that is stuffed with meat or vegetables.

Choila is a very spicy sautéed meat dish often made from buffalo, but also prepared with pork, chicken or even duck. Sekuwas come in the form of chicken or lamb skewers. More colourful, thealoo gobi mixes potatoes and cauliflower with curry. The very tasty saag is a compote of leafy vegetables served with flat bread usually called roti. Roasted salt, on the other hand, is not really a bread but more a ring of fried dough flavoured with cardamom. For those who hesitate,samay baji

turns out to be an assortment of several dishes: rice, dal, choila, etc. Among the dishes on the go, let us also retain the chataamari or Nepalese pizza, a rice cake topped with meat (chicken or pork) and various vegetables, common on street stands, as well as pakoras, fried vegetable croquettes. Other specialties include chhurpi, yak milk cheese in the form of small cubes, and sukuti, a type of meat - buffalo meat - that is dried.

Sweets and drinks

Among the desserts, the choice will often be kheer, a rice pudding or halva, a spicy semolina cake. Unless you prefer barfi, a type of sweetened condensed milk caramel, or yomari

, a purely Nepalese dessert in the shape of a small amphora made from rice flour topped with palm syrup. Unmistakable, masala tea, Nepal's national drink, consists of black tea, spices and milk. However beers are also popular (Everest, Gorkha, Arna, Nepal Ice and foreign brands: Carlsberg, Tuborg or Kingfisher), as well as Kukhri rum and vodka from the Kathmandu distilleries. Without forgetting the chang, a milky millet beer, titrating at about 4° - the tongba is similar but stronger (6-8°). Stronger, the raksi, a newar rice alcohol, is similar to sake. Fruit brandies from Tukuche and Marpha (in the Kali Gandaki valley) are worth trying.