Dal bhat, the daily meal
Most Nepalis eat dal bhat twice a day, once in the late morning and again in the evening. Bhat is boiled rice; dal is a lentil soup poured over it. Around them come tarkari, a vegetable curry that changes with the season, saag (stir-fried greens), achar (a fresh or fermented pickle, often of tomato, radish or timur pepper), and sometimes a curry of chicken or goat. In the hills, the plate may include gundruk, fermented and dried leafy greens, cooked into a sour soup.
The custom that surprises visitors is refills. In a home or a trail lodge, the host keeps adding rice, dal and vegetables until you cover your plate with your hand. That is why trekkers joke about 'dal bhat power, 24 hour'. Many Nepalis eat with the right hand, mixing rice and dal into small mouthfuls; spoons are always offered to guests.
On the trail, dal bhat is the safest and most nourishing meal on the menu, freshly cooked and served hot. In Kathmandu and Pokhara, the best versions are often at simple Thakali and Nepali kitchens rather than in hotels, and our guides know which ones we trust.
Momo and other Himalayan dishes
Momo, steamed dumplings of Tibetan origin, are now Nepal's favourite snack. They come filled with buffalo (buff), chicken, pork or vegetables, and are served with a sesame and tomato chutney. Variations include kothey, pan-fried on one side; C-momo, tossed in a chilli sauce; and jhol momo, served in a thin, sour, spiced broth, a Kathmandu speciality. Momo shops near Indra Chowk and Asan serve them all day; around Boudhanath, Tibetan kitchens make them alongside thukpa, a noodle soup, and thenthuk, hand-pulled noodles in broth.
In the Sherpa villages of the Khumbu, potatoes are the staple: rikikur, potato pancakes eaten with butter or local cheese, and shyakpa, a thick stew. Salt butter tea, churned from tea, butter and salt, is drunk in monasteries and homes, and tastes more like soup than tea to first-timers. Yak cheese is sold in Namche Bazaar.
Two more snacks are worth trying: sel roti, a ring of sweet fried rice batter made especially at Tihar, and sekuwa, spiced meat grilled over charcoal and served with puffed rice and pickle. In Pokhara, Lakeside restaurants serve good momo and Nepali sets alongside international food, and lodges in the Annapurna foothills make apple pie and Tibetan bread for walkers.
Newari food of the Kathmandu Valley
The Newars, the historic people of the Kathmandu Valley, have the richest food culture in Nepal, built around festivals, family rituals and the feasts that mark them. Its base is chiura, beaten rice, rather than boiled rice, and it is served at every feast.
The best introduction is samay baji, a ritual set offered to the gods and then shared. A typical plate holds beaten rice, buffalo choila (meat spiced and grilled over flame), roasted soybeans, slivers of fresh ginger, a boiled egg, spiced potatoes and bara, a lentil pancake, often with a small cup of aila, the clear Newari spirit distilled from rice or millet. Larger feasts, called bhoj, can run to a dozen or more dishes served in order on leaf plates, with diners seated in rows on the floor.
Other Newari dishes to look for: chatamari, a thin rice-flour crepe topped with egg or minced meat, sometimes called Newari pizza; kachila, spiced raw minced buffalo for the adventurous; and kwati, a soup of several sprouted beans eaten at Janai Purnima in August. Patan and Bhaktapur have small Newari restaurants and family kitchens, and Kirtipur, on a ridge south-west of Kathmandu, is known for them. Buffalo meat is standard in Newari cooking; chicken and vegetarian versions are easy to arrange. We book a Newari meal in Patan or Bhaktapur on most trips, ordered as a set so that you taste eight or ten small dishes rather than one.
Sweets, curd and festival foods
Juju dhau, the king curd of Bhaktapur, is a thick, sweet yoghurt set in unglazed clay bowls that draw out moisture. It is sold in shops around Bhaktapur's squares and eaten with a spoon straight from the bowl. It is the one food we would cross the valley for.
Yomari is a fish-shaped or conical dumpling of rice flour, steamed and filled with chaku (cane molasses) and sesame, or with sweet khuwa (reduced milk). It belongs to Yomari Punhi, the December full moon that marks the end of the rice harvest, but Newari kitchens make it through the winter.
Other sweets include lakhamari, a hard, glazed ring of fried dough given at weddings and festivals, and the milk sweets sold across Kathmandu. At Dashain, families cook goat curry and receive tika and jamara from elders; at Tihar, homes fry sel roti by the basket. Travelling during these festivals is a chance to taste dishes that rarely appear on restaurant menus.
Thakali cooking from Mustang
The Thakali people of Thak Khola, the Kali Gandaki valley around Tukuche and Marpha in Mustang, were salt and grain traders on the old route between Tibet and India, and they ran the inns along it. Their cooking has become the model for a good dal bhat across Nepal. A Thakali set is served on a brass or bronze plate: rice or buckwheat, black lentil dal cooked with jimbu (a dried Himalayan herb) and ghee, gundruk, spinach, a radish or potato pickle, and mutton or chicken curry, with refills.
In Jomsom and Marpha you can taste the original: buckwheat dhido, a thick porridge eaten with the hand, buckwheat pancakes with local honey, and apples, apple brandy and dried apple from Marpha's orchards. Our guides arrange lunch at a family kitchen in Marpha or Kagbeni on the Mustang excursions.
In Kathmandu and Pokhara, Thakali restaurants are the most reliable place for a proper dal bhat, and they are where many Nepalis go for one. Thakali dishes also appear on many Pokhara menus, the city being the gateway to Mustang.
Dishes to know
Most dishes have vegetarian versions, and Nepal is an easy country for vegetarian and Jain diets with a little notice. Ask for food to be made mild if you prefer; the heat usually comes from the pickle on the side.
| Dish | What it is | Where to try it |
|---|---|---|
| Dal bhat | Rice, lentils, vegetables and pickle, with refills | Everywhere; Thakali kitchens |
| Momo | Steamed dumplings with chutney | Kathmandu old town, Boudhanath |
| Samay baji | Newari ritual set of beaten rice, meat, beans, egg and ginger | Patan, Bhaktapur, Kirtipur |
| Choila | Spiced, flame-grilled buffalo or chicken | Newari kitchens |
| Yomari | Steamed rice-flour dumpling with molasses and sesame | Kathmandu Valley, December |
| Juju dhau | Sweet king curd set in clay bowls | Bhaktapur |
| Thakali set | Dal bhat with buckwheat, jimbu dal and ghee | Jomsom, Marpha, Pokhara |
| Sel roti | Ring of sweet fried rice batter | Homes at Tihar, tea shops |
Where and how we eat
At Dwarika's Hotel in Kathmandu, Krishnarpan serves a multi-course Nepali tasting menu drawn from across the country. We book it for at least one evening, ideally early in the trip, as it gives a map of what you will taste later. Beyond the hotels, our guides take guests to Newari family kitchens in Patan and Bhaktapur, momo shops in the old town and Thakali restaurants they trust. We keep to a few simple rules:
- Drink sealed, boiled or filtered water only, and skip ice outside good hotels
- Eat food that is cooked and served hot; momo straight from the steamer are a good bet
- Avoid raw salads and cut fruit from street stalls; peel fruit yourself
- Try aila, raksi and tongba (warm millet beer sipped through a straw) in small amounts, and not at altitude
- Tell us in advance about allergies or diets, so lodges in remote areas can prepare
Eating at altitude and on the trail
Above about 3,000 m, appetite drops and digestion slows. Garlic soup, ginger tea, noodle soups and dal bhat are what Sherpa hosts recommend, and alcohol is best saved for your return to Kathmandu. Meat above Namche is usually carried up on foot or by porters and pack animals, so many walkers choose vegetarian food on the higher days. Lodges such as the Yeti Mountain Home properties serve good, simple meals with fresh vegetables when supplies allow. Carry a few familiar snacks for long days, and drink more water than you think you need.
Questions travellers ask
Good to know
What is the national dish of Nepal?
Dal bhat is the closest thing to a national dish. It is boiled rice with lentil soup, served with a vegetable curry, greens and a pickle, sometimes with meat. Most Nepalis eat it twice a day, and hosts keep refilling your plate until you cover it with your hand. Momo, the Tibetan-style dumpling, is the most popular snack and is often called the national snack.
Is Nepali food spicy?
Mostly no, compared with much Indian food. Dal bhat and Newari dishes are flavoured with cumin, turmeric, ginger, garlic and timur pepper, which tingles rather than burns. The heat usually comes from the achar, the pickle on the side, so you can control it. Choila and some chutneys are hot. Tell your guide or the kitchen if you prefer mild food; it is a common request.
What is samay baji?
Samay baji is a Newari ritual food set from the Kathmandu Valley. It is first offered to the gods and then shared at festivals and family occasions. A typical plate has beaten rice, spiced grilled buffalo meat called choila, roasted soybeans, fresh ginger, a boiled egg, spiced potatoes and a lentil pancake, often with a small cup of aila, the local spirit. Vegetarian versions are easy to find.
What is juju dhau and where can I try it?
Juju dhau means king curd. It is a thick, sweet yoghurt from Bhaktapur, set in unglazed clay bowls that draw out moisture and give it a dense, creamy texture. Shops around Bhaktapur's squares sell it in small and large bowls, eaten with a spoon. It is best eaten the same day. We build a stop for it into every Bhaktapur visit.
What is Krishnarpan at Dwarika's?
Krishnarpan is the restaurant at Dwarika's Hotel in Kathmandu, known for a multi-course Nepali tasting menu that draws on dishes from across the country. It is a good introduction to Nepali food early in a trip, and a fine celebration dinner. Book well ahead in October, November and the spring months, and tell the hotel about dietary needs in advance.
Is it safe to eat street food in Nepal?
Some of it, with care. Momo straight from the steamer, freshly fried sel roti and hot dal bhat are usually fine. Avoid raw salads, cut fruit, chutneys left out for hours and anything washed in tap water. Drink only sealed, boiled or filtered water. Our guides take guests to places they trust, which removes most of the guesswork, especially in Kathmandu's old town.
Can vegetarians eat well in Nepal?
Yes. Dal bhat is vegetarian at heart, and most Nepali menus have vegetable momo, curries, greens, pickles and lentil dishes. Newari feasts use buffalo meat, but kitchens can prepare vegetarian sets with bara, beaten rice and beans. Jain diets and no onion or garlic requests are possible in good hotels with notice. On the Everest trail, many walkers choose vegetarian food above Namche anyway.
What is Thakali food?
Thakali food comes from the Thakali people of the Kali Gandaki valley in Mustang, traders and innkeepers on the old salt route to Tibet. A Thakali set is a refined dal bhat: rice or buckwheat, black lentil dal with jimbu herb and ghee, gundruk, greens, pickles and meat curry, served on a brass or bronze plate. Thakali restaurants in Kathmandu and Pokhara are reliable for a proper dal bhat.
What should I drink in Nepal?
Sweet milky tea, chiya, is everywhere. In the hills and monasteries try salt butter tea, and in the east tongba, warm millet beer sipped through a bamboo straw. Aila and raksi are clear spirits distilled from rice or millet, strong and best in small amounts. Nepali beers and Ilam tea are good. Drink only sealed, boiled or filtered water, and limit alcohol at altitude.
