Website design By BotEap.comBorn in Russia, when I first came to Nepal, I wasn’t going to see the temples and mountains that seem to capture every traveler’s imagination, and no, I wasn’t going for the food either. In fact, they dragged me here. You see, the first time I got caught up in Nepal was at the age of six, so the tourist highlights didn’t interest me yet. Frankly, Nepal didn’t interest me either. My mother and her boyfriend at the time were going to Nepal on vacation and to visit my aunt (my mother’s sister) who had married a Nepali who was studying in Russia at the time. Although I have a memory of the Nepal I saw in the 80’s, it certainly didn’t leave as lasting an impression on me as the FOOD; from what little I remember, for the most part, it had little to do with the Himalayas and the Pagodas. Later, my mother and I would immigrate to the US and I wouldn’t really taste Nepali food apart from the occasional taste of achhar (a spicy Nepalese pickle) or a substitute for Indian food that is “not the same” until I was 24 years old when Nepali food once again thrilled my memories and taste buds.

Website design By BotEap.comWhen I arrived in Nepal, this time in 2007, little had changed. My family’s opinion has been that now there was more traffic, the cities were now more congested, but the center of Nepal was still the same. I loved it, but what caught my attention were the tourists. Nepal is certainly more popular today than it was then, and the burgeoning tourism industry has sadly, in an effort to accommodate the Western tourist’s fear of trying something new, has in my opinion obscured the true taste of Nepal by making it all too easy to abstain. of Nepalese food.

Website design By BotEap.comLike the thousands of people who now come to Nepal to experience trekking in the Himalayas, I too ventured to do the same. Granted, the area I was traveling through, the Annapurna Conservation Area, was the most developed trekking route in Nepal, but what I saw put me off a bit. Villagers who previously served only traditional Nepalese dishes were now offering pizza and Caesar salad, among other typical Western dishes, to suit the tastes of new-age trekkers.

Website design By BotEap.comMaybe my views are different than most, but when I come to a country I want to experience everything that country has to offer. The people, the sights and the culture and certainly those who manage to achieve the above get a big part of what Nepal is all about, but at the same time they leave so much (pardon the pun) on the table.

Website design By BotEap.comI must say that what for me is very similar to nails on a blackboard, is the fearful tourist. Frankly, I don’t understand how people who travel thousands of miles to get to Nepal arrive so afraid of some traveler’s diarrhea, which they’ll probably have anyway (treatable with simple over-the-counter medications or over-the-counter antibiotics available in Nepal ), who are hesitant to venture outside the Hyatt for a meal, all to miss out on a lot. As diverse as Nepal is culturally, it is also just as diverse culinary. I think my aunt put it best, “Most likely the diarrhea travelers get is NOT from Nepali food, but from tourists asking a Nepali villager to make them a mushroom, sausage and olive pizza” .

Website design By BotEap.comI don’t know about you, but I trust a Nepali villager who prepares what he tastes best and eats daily much more than trying to recreate Western food with intermittent refrigeration and ingredients “unnatural” to Nepal. Sadly, not everyone thinks the same, as I found myself walking with many stunned travelers, who on their trip, wondered how they got out of running, after digesting a hamburger made with imported meat (beef or rather cows, are sacred in Nepal), Swiss cheese, and lettuce that found their way onto their dining table along the same 5-day trek they had just trekked. The moral of the story is, think with your brain, not just your stomach.

Website design By BotEap.comThe problem alone, with not eating ethnic food native to an area, would be of little consequence if the problems associated with it had been limited to frequent bathroom breaks for a passing traveler. Nepal is proud of its cultural heritage, terrain and landscape and especially its food, but it is the same “eco-tourist” who comes to Nepal with notions of preserving all that is Nepal and “helping” the Nepali people (a questionable proposition such as es), that is often the one seen eating the French Fires & Chicken Cesar Salad for a meal totally unaware of how this affects the immediate local economy (still largely based on trade) and the environment.

Website design By BotEap.comThe additional preparation methods required in preparing these items certainly consume more fuel, in an area where natural gas is often not available. If there is increased demand for fossil fuels and rare foods, those materials must be harvested or brought in from wherever they are available, driving up costs that eventually permeate the entire economy.

Website design By BotEap.comCertainly, those are not the only reasons to try Nepalese food. The mere fact that it is delicious has a lot to do with it. With so much to try, it’s a puzzle in itself why so many shy away.

Website design By BotEap.comNestled between China (Tibet) to the north and India to the south, Nepal has been the stopping point for travelers from both regions for thousands of years. With these travellers, came the food and the mix of foreign influences along with the local cuisine has created the Nepalese menu, but it doesn’t stop there.

Website design By BotEap.comIf one were to visit a website dedicated to traveling in Nepal, one would no doubt find out a bit of how culturally diverse Nepal is as a country, with dozens of ethnic groups, many with their own special foods.

Website design By BotEap.comThere is the Newari, “sukuti”, which is a delicious pre-dinner snack to have with drinks, which includes shredded dried meat (jerky), ginger, garlic, onion, tomato, salt, oil and some crushed green or red chillies for to warm. With a spoon in hand, the dish is eaten as if eating peanuts or chips.

Website design By BotEap.comOf course, it seems that every country has its version of the dumpling. Called “mo-mo” in Nepal, it is a traditionally round, juicy steamed dumpling filled with a variety of things from chicken, goat (lamb), buffalo to vegetables and potatoes. Served with a spicy sauce, the dish is a favorite among Nepalis and travelers alike and is offered at what seems like just about every food place.

Website design By BotEap.comTraveling near and around the rivers, you will almost certainly come across another delicacy that, if found in the west, would give fish and chips some fierce competition. This delicious snack is “tareko matza” (bam), an eel fish, usually no larger than 25 cm (although other dishes use much larger specimens) coated with spices, fried and eaten whole. Truly terrifying at first, they are irresistible after the first bite after a dip in a dipping sauce. The fish is such that there are no inedible bones and the smaller specimens can be eaten as is. The largest can be easily removed from the backbone simply by separating the crispy, flaky fish once cooked.

Website design By BotEap.comServed with almost all traditional Nepalese meals, it is the Nepalese staple of Dal Bhat Tarkari. A soupy lentil broth is poured over the rice and served with any number of vegetables and/or in some cases some meat. Generally vegetarian in nature, the dish, rich in protein (lentils), carbohydrates and vitamins, is an important source of nutrition in Nepal. The usual food in Nepal is Dal Bhat and any number of side dishes to spice up the food.

Website design By BotEap.comNepal, like any other country, is not lacking in street food, the most popular in this case being samosa or panipuri. Samosa is a pyramid-shaped dough filled with a spicy and fried potato filling. Panipuris are crunchy, flower-based, golf ball-sized shells that are filled with the same potato filling that, after being dipped in a savory sauce, are eaten whole. Corn lovers can find anytime husks roasted over an open fire, turning the outside of the corn into a kind of chard, and a crunchy consistency with a softer interior inside the kernels, rubbed with salt and crushed chilies if desired. . Also “chatpate” is the mixture of beans, corn and many other ingredients that are mixed with spices and lemon juice and eaten in a cone-shaped paper cup.

Website design By BotEap.comWhatever the food, they all have something in common. Spice! Nepalese cooks like spices, which are often hotter than hot. Of course, hot is never off the list of options. The colorful Asan Market in Kathmandu is popular with tourists and photographers for the wide range of spices sold there. From curry, fungreek, ginger powder, garlic, cumin, the precious saffron and everything you want.

Website design By BotEap.comFood carries with it many of the answers to what a culture is like. Nepalese food is no different. Within its tastes, textures and smells it carries history, reasons behind Nepali daily life and many other answers if one would just look. There are religious festivals that are celebrated to welcome the monsoon season and it is not surprising considering the cultivation of rice and the fact that rice is the staple food of Nepal. Life revolves around food, and cultures are shaped by it. If you come to Nepal, immerse yourself, don’t be afraid to come out of your shell. Try the food it’s good.