Dal Bhat is basically a dish of lentil soup accompanied by rice. This is by far the most common meal ... and is often eaten a couple of times every day.
Momos are small pastries with a variety of fillings: either vegetarian or meat.
Here’s a photo of a dish of Momos. They are usually steamed, but sometimes deep-fat fried ... and served with a spicy sauce to dip them in. Most plates and tumblers are made from stainless steel. These are more likely to survive rough handling and washing than ceramic ware!
Ingredients used to prepare the meals are readily available from local markets. These are held once or twice weekly, although there are also some in the centre of town that are open daily. There’s lots of colour and vitality at the markets. This photo was taken at my local market. The stalls are set out under a dozen lines of corrugated iron roofing to provide some protection from the sun and rain.
There are lots of different chillies ...
... and spices ...
My host family was away for several days so I did my own shopping and cooking. Here are the ingredients for my Dal Bhat. Are these string beans? Check the length. How long is a piece of string ... ?
... and the spices ...
... and the final product ...
The rice and dal are cooked in pressure cookers. Every house has at least one. I don’t know why we don’t use them more in Australia. They reduce cooking time heaps ... and are more energy efficient then regular saucepans. The only problem is that there is a tendency to forget how long they have been on the heat ... and over cook the contents!
Another reason may be fear. I remember my mother had a pressure cooker. It would sit on the cooktop and intermittently scream out menacing hisses of steam. We were always warned to stay out of the kitchen whenever it was being used ... in case it would explode!
I am assured this rarely happens in Nepal.
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