Masala Peanuts
A simple, slightly spicy Nepali snack that you can throw together in a pinch with some fresh cilantro (coriander) from the garden.
Perfect with cold beers …
Mix together peanuts, chopped cilantro, tomatoes and red onions.
Add a bit of olive oil, freshly chopped chili (or red chili flakes) and salt & pepper to taste.
Crack open a chilled beer, and that’s it!Enjoy …
Sherpa Potato Pancakes
(Riki Kur)
A traditional Sherpa meal, unique to the Khumbu region. These delicious pancakes can be eaten at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Feel free to have two or three!
Grate raw, peeled potatoes (preferably from the Everest region) with a very fine graterMix in a pinch to a handful of white flour, depending on the type of potato. The mixture should look like pancake batter.
Heat an iron skillet on the stove (preferably a clay stove fueled with wood), add a small bit of oil to the pan and cook like pancakes, until slightly browned on both sides.
Serve with somar (fermented cheese or yogurt curds, chive & chilly sauce)
Somar:Shake yogurt and separate out all of the butter fat. Bring to low boil the leftover, thick yogurt (curds) and keep at low boil for 1 min. Let sit in cool place overnight. Drain the cool curds with cheesecloth (you can drink the water, like whey) and this is the main ingredient of your somar. Add chopped chives and chili to taste.
Cook your potato pancakes and serve hot with a generous helping of butter and a bit of somar. Use your hands to scoop up the mixture!
Nepali Fried Potatoes
One of Nepal’s most widespread and universally tasty dishes …
Boil potatoes, peel and chop into medium sized pieces. Add vegetable or soybean oil to iron skillet, add chopped red onions, a pinch of curry powder, a pinch of cumin seeds, salt & pepper and stir-fry over high heat. When partially cooked add chopped spring onions and finely chopped tomatoes.
Top with fresh cilantro and serve!
Nepali Dhiro
This delicious dish is found in almost all Nepali villages, whether in the Himalaya or in the hills, though rarely served in restaurants.
The main ingredient is either barley, millet, wheat or potato, cooked, mashed, pureed and cooked again with a bit of water, salt and flour. The ‘mash’ is then piled on a plate (in a slab) and eaten with meat or vegetable curry, always with fingers. Although it sounds quite stodgy, it’s actually nutritious and quite tasty!
Sherpa Potato Mash
(Riki Sen)
Similar to dhiro, the Sherpa alo mash, in Sherpa dialect ‘riki sen’ is a delicious potato dish served with a fermented chili cheese sauce, sondur. One of my favorite Sherpa dishes!
Partially cook peeled potatoes, and then mix with a bit of flour, water and salt. Stir until thickened, and then serve on a brass plate with sondur, the fermented chili and cheese sauce. Eat with hands, dip bits of the potato mash into the sondur and eat.Yum!
Nepali Fish Curry
You’ll be lucky to find this aromatic fish curry in local ‘dhabas’ in the middle hills of Nepal, cooked over wood fire. Photo below taken from the lower Manaslu region.
Local river fish, masala curry, turmeric, ginger, mustard seeds, onions, garlic, chilis, tomato and voila. Fish curry!
+++
Looks delicious? Love sampling local cuisine?Join us on one of our unique Kamzang Journeys treks in Nepal, the Indian Himalaya, Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar & Mongolia!
Kamzang Journeys | kamzangjourneys.com