Momos
Believed to have originated in Tibet, a momo is a small steamed bun usually served with a tomato-based achhar (chutney).Aside from the normal vegetable and meat filings, today there are more adventurous options such as cheese and even mashed potato.Choose whether to get your momos steamed, fried or (we think, the best way) kothey — half fried, half steamed.
Yomari
These cute fish-shaped treats are steamed rice-flour dumplings containing sweet fillings such as chaku and, more recently, chocolate.They’re normally served with a sweet dip.A popular festive dish, yomari are often eaten around the post-harvest celebration of Yomari Punhi.But you can enjoy them anytime.
Dal Bhat
The staple food of Nepal, this thick lentil soup is made from black lentils or beans, which are slow boiled to give a thick, gloopy texture, and then seasoned with the Himalayan herb jimbu.Dal bhat is normally served as part of a thali set — a metal tray holding separate metals bowls containing rice, curry, pickles and vegetables.The dishes are all poured onto the tray and eaten together.
Juju Dhau
The direct translation of “juju dhau” is “King of Curd” — a slogan you’ll see plastered all over Bhaktapur, where this yoghurt is the local dish.Made from buffalo milk, this light yoghurt is characterized by the delicious custard-like lumps it’s laced with.It’s made by boiling buffalo milk that’s been sweetened with honey and then poured into a clay pot.That pot is left in a warm area, wrapped in cotton blankets, until the yoghurt sets.
Thukpa
Thukpa is a noodle soup that originated in the eastern part of Tibet.It consists of boiled, hand-pulled noodles, vegetables and meat — normally shredded buffalo (the large Hindu population in Nepal does not eat beef).The punchy Nepalese variation features garam masala and chili.
Maas Ko Bara
Nothing in Nepal says home cooking like mass ko bara.These light patties are made from dark lentils, which have been soaked overnight, then ground into a paste and mixed with masala.This mixture is then shaped into small circular discs, before being fried in mustard oil.At the last minute, an egg is cracked over it and minced meat is added.More of a street food, bara aren’t served in Kathmandu restaurants.Venture down the side-streets, and locate a small bhatti — a sort of Nepalese speakeasy — where usually one chef will be sitting beside a huge iron tawa, sizzling these tasty snacks.
Dhido
Dhido is a traditional Nepali food widely consumed in hilly and mountain region of Nepal, where rice and wheat is not abundant. Dhido is similar to Polenta and is made by continuously mixing hot water and flours of maize and buckwheat. It is often eaten along with local vegetable curry, pickle, or Gundruk (fermented leafy green vegetable) soup. Although a food of humble origin, Dhido is the second most popular dish in the country after Dal bhat and we can now find it being served in many Nepali restaurants.