Top 10 Nepali Foods You Must Try Before You Leave Nepal

Nepal is a Himalayan country located between India and Tibet. Unimaginable diversity is its biggest treasure, which is awe-inspiring. This rectangular-shaped country is divided into three geographic regions: the mountain region, the hilly region, and the lowland region, aka the Terai region. From the perspective of the climatic zone, it has all climates from tropical to arctic. This landlocked country has all kinds of landscapes you can imagine. Himalaya, which is located in the upper part of the country, spans all the way from east to west, where you can find eight of the world's fifteen tallest mountains, which are above eight thousand meters. In terms of demography, it’s extravagant and lavish that 125 different ethnicities speak 120 different languages. While talking about Nepali food, it’s very wide, and many mouth-watering dishes come to mind. Nepali cuisine represents its diversity and the state of being the confluence of the two biggest civilizations, Indian and Asian.

A compliment from the visitor says Nepali food is some of the most delicious food eaten around the world. Many varieties of dishes are famous across the country, which differ according to weather, geography, culture, and religion. Samosa, chapati, sel roti, and mal puwa are mainly famous in the hilly and Terai regions, whereas the mountain region's staples are dumplings such as momo, thukpa, shakpa, stew, and butter tea. Meat is widely eaten across the country, while Nepal, a Hindu-majority country, prohibits beef. Below here we are discussing a highly popular Nepali dish.

Nepali food: Dal Bhat

Dal Bhat: Dal Bhat is a combination of a few dishes that contain rice, lentil soup, vegetable curry, pickle, spinach, meat curry, papad (thached chickpea), salad, etc. This is the most famous dish across the country, and it is eaten at least once a day by every single person. This dish is mostly eaten as lunch and dinner. A slightly similar dish you can find in India is called Thali. This high-calorie dish is eaten until you are full, so if you are in a restaurant eating Dal Bhat, you get asked by a waiter multiple times whether you would like to refill or not.

Momo: Momo is a kind of dumpling filled with vegetables and meat, stuffed with salt, butter, and spices. This is the most famous dish across Nepal, which is even more popular in cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Lumbini, etc. Momo is mostly eaten as a snack, but you can eat it as lunch, a snack, or dinner. Momo is served with homemade tomato sauce, which enhances the flavor and gives a lively, mouth-watering taste. Kathmandu is the biggest momo-eating city in the world. There, you can find a Momo restaurant on every single street.

Thukpa: Thukpa is a dish made up of plain noodles that are boiled, mixed with meat, egg, vegetables, corn flour, and some more seasoning. It tastes hot and sour, which is widely eaten across Nepal, mostly during winter and cold days. This dish is mostly famous in the mountain areas like the Everest region, the Annapurna region, the Langtang region, and the Manaslu region. The good thing about this dish is that it doesn’t fill your stomach and also makes you warm and refreshed. It can be eaten as breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, but make sure you can tolerate sour and spicy, or tell them in advance so they can make it less spicy. Most of the Nepali restaurants in the hilly and mountain regions serve this dish.

Samosa Tarkari: Samosa Tarkari is one of the favorite dishes of many Nepalese. It is widely eaten across the country, mostly in the Terai and Hilly regions. Samosa is pyramid pyramid-shaped pastry that contains stuffed potato and peas inside, which is wrapped in wheat dough and deep-fried. Tarkari is a vegetable curry that contains potato, pea, chickpea, etc. We can eat these two dishes separately, but eating them together gives a complete taste. For this dish, you have to find a restaurant called Halwai restaurant, or you can find it in a tea and snacks restaurant.

Naan Tandori: Naan Tandori is another most popular dish in Nepal, which is widely famous in India and other South Asian countries as well. We can find this dish in the Tandoori restaurant and some fancy restaurants. Naan Tandori is wheat bread baked in a big clay pot oven heated by a coil. Naan Tandori can be eaten with vegetable curry, meat curry, lentil soup, and tomato sauce called Chatuni. This dish can be eaten as breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. This dish can be found in the city and town areas in the hilly and Terai regions in Nepal.

Chatpate: Chatpate is a snack made up of puffed rice, green peas, chopped onion, ready-to-eat noodles, and tomato that are battered with lemon juice, spices, and artificial color. This snack is highly popular among youngsters. We can definitely call it Nepali McDonald's because it’s quick, reasonable, tasty, and spicy. It can be eaten as a snack only; we don’t suggest it for lunch and dinner. This snack can be found in the hilly and Terai regions, whereas nowadays we can find this in the mountain region.

Dhido set: Dhido is a thick pudding made up of millet and barley, which is highly popular across Nepal. This dish comes with vegetable soup, meat curry, pickles, etc. This dish is mostly famous in the hilly and mountain regions. The good thing about this dish is it's very filling, so you have no chance of feeling hungry for several hours. You can find this dish in major cities and villages around the hilly and mountainous regions. For this dish, you should find a Thakali restaurant, which is widely found around the city.

Laphing: Laphing is a newly discovered dish that became very popular in the last few years. Ready-to-eat noodles mixed with stuffed seasoning, which is rolled inside the baked dough, are served with sour and spicy soup. This is a cold dish, so make sure you want it. Laphing can be eaten as a snack. Laphing can be found in a small restaurant called Laphing Center. This snack is mainly found in cities like Kathmandu and Pokhara.

Sherpa stew: This dumpling dish is one of the popular cuisines of people from the mountain region who are the descendants of Tibetan ancestors. This dumpling is made up of wheat dough, potato, vegetables, meat, spices, and seasoning. It is truly a complete, compact dish you can find in Nepal. This dish is mostly eaten in the mountain and hilly regions towards the east of Kathmandu. For this dish, you should find a Tibetan restaurant or a small Sherpa restaurant, often with the name "Sherpa" on the name board.

Pani Puri: Pani Puri is one of the most popular snacks across Nepal. Mashed spicy potato and chickpea are put into a small hole in tiny puffed bread and later added to sour and spicy soup. This snack is very popular among youngsters. This snack is mostly available in the city of the Hilly and Terai region, whereas it can be found in the mountain regions. These mouth-watering snacks can be eaten as a snack only. You can easily find the place for this snack, which many Indian restaurants prepare, and it can be found in small stalls by the side of the road.