Nepalese Chow

with Sarita KC

Badaam Sadeko & Cheura Spicy Peanut Salad with Beaten Rice Sarita roasts the peanuts herself before tossing them with fresh red onion, tomatoes, cilantro, seasonings, and a light dressing. It’s served with cheura, a staple in Nepal, especially popular among farmers for meals during farming seasons. This rice is soaked, boiled, then roasted lightly before being beaten in the rice mills. It serves as a crispy counterpoint to the peanut salad. 

Momo  Steamed Dumpling with Tomato Sauce Momo-making is usually a family affair. Folks sit around a table wrapping momos, while others steam the momos and bring them back to the table. Laughter, conversation and community are shared around a momo-making experience. While you can fill momos with almost anything, Sarita is filling these with a mixture of ground chicken, onion, garlic, spices, ginger, and scallions. She serves her momos with a homemade tomato sauce. 

Aalu Ko Achaar Spicy Potato Salad This potato salad has a kick thanks to the timur a Nepalese pepper, which has the cold spiciness of a Sichuan peppercorn with citrus notes. The bright yellow comes from the turmeric. Sesame paste, lemon juice, and cilantro finish off this flavorful potato salad. This Nepalese staple can be served as a side or a main. 

Paukwa Goat Curry Slow-cooked goat seasoned with ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, bay leaves, and nutmeg.Vegetarian Dish: Cauliflower Curry (Cauliflower, potatoes and fresh green peas cooked in mustard oil and seasoned with ginger, garlic, onions, and tomatoes).

Bhat Basmati Rice drizzled with Homemade Ghee The ghee adds flavor and aroma to the rice. Sarita makes her own ghee by slowly simmering butter until the water evaporates and the milk solids into gently brown/ yellow yielding in a richly flavored butter oil with nutty and toffee flavors. Vegan Version: Basmati rice without the ghee. 

Kalo Daal Black Lentil Soup Maas, known as black split gram, is one of the most popular lentils in Nepal, considered flavorful, satisfying, and extremely nutritious. It’s cooked in a cast iron pan with homemade ghee with Jimbu, an herb found in the onion family. The iron from the pan enhances the dish’s color and iron content. 

Gundruk Achaar  Pickled Leafy Vegetables Gundruk is fermented mustard greens dried and cut into small pieces. This Gundruk Achar is made by frying the dried gundruk and ground with slowly cooked tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt   Making gundruk is another way to save greens to eat throughout the year (winter) when greens are not in the garden or market. Gundruk is used to flavor soups or as an achaar and is popular in Nepal as well as Gorkhali or Nepalese diaspora worldwide. 

Rayo ko Saag Mustard Greens Saag literally means ”leafy greens” in Nepali. Fresh mustard greens are sautéed with ginger and jwano. Also known as ajwain seeds or carom seeds, jwano is a member of  the cumin family, 

Mula  Achar Pickled Daikon Sun-dried diced daikon is mixed with split mustard seeds, mustard oil, turmeric, salt, red pepper flakes and pickled in a bottled, kept in direct sun for about 4-5 days.    

SujiHaluwa Semolina Pudding Made with toasted semolina with ghee, sugar and dried fruits, this dessert is sweet without being too sweet. Haluwa is one of the most common dishes in Nepal. Not only is haluwa a popular snack, but it’s also used as Prasad, a sacred offering during a religious ceremony. 

Mohi  Salt Lassi Yogurt and water blended and slightly seasoned Himalayan Black salt. It is believed that Himalyan black salt is used to get comfort from various ailments such as indigestion and acidity.