Nepal Food & Cuisine Guide

Overview

Nepali cuisine reflects the country's geography and mix of peoples: hearty hill food built for hard-working days, Tibetan-influenced dishes in the mountains, Indian-influenced flavours in the southern plains, and the refined Newari cuisine of the Kathmandu Valley. The unifying dish is dal bhat, the national plate eaten twice a day by most Nepalis, but there is far more to discover, from dumplings and grilled meats to sweet clay-pot curd.

Food is central to Nepali hospitality and to its festivals, and eating your way around the country is one of its great pleasures. This guide covers the essential dishes, the Newari and regional specialities, street food, sweets and drinks, what you will eat on a trek, and, importantly, how to enjoy it all while keeping your stomach happy.

Dal Bhat — the National Dish

Dal bhat is the heart of Nepali eating: a plate of steamed rice (bhat) with a bowl of lentil soup (dal), a vegetable curry (tarkari), pickle (achar) and often a portion of meat or greens. It is nutritious, balanced and, crucially for travellers, usually served with free refills of rice, dal and vegetables until you are full, superb value and the reason for the trekkers' saying, "dal bhat power, 24 hour".

You eat it across the country, in city kitchens and remote teahouses alike, and because it is cooked fresh in big batches, it is often the safest and freshest thing on any menu. It is also naturally easy to make vegetarian. No two dal bhats taste the same, the pickles and curries change with the region and season, so it never gets boring the way you might expect.

Momos & Everyday Staples

Momos, Nepal's beloved dumplings, are everywhere, steamed or fried parcels of dough filled with spiced vegetables, buffalo, chicken or cheese, served with a tangy tomato-based achar. They are the country's favourite snack and a great cheap meal.

Other staples you will meet constantly:

• Thukpa and thenthuk — warming Tibetan-influenced noodle soups, popular in the mountains.
• Chow mein and fried rice — everyday quick meals with a Nepali twist.
• Sekuwa — smoky grilled, marinated meat, a favourite street and bar food.
• Sel roti — a sweet, ring-shaped rice-flour bread, made at festivals.
• Dhido — a traditional thick porridge of millet or buckwheat, eaten in place of rice in the hills.

Newari & Regional Cuisine

The Newari cuisine of the Kathmandu Valley, best sampled in Bhaktapur and Patan, is one of Nepal's culinary treasures. Look for a samay baji platter (beaten rice with spiced meat, black soybeans, egg, ginger and pickles) or a full feast (bhoj), and specialities such as bara (a savoury lentil pancake), choila (spiced grilled buffalo), chatamari (a rice-flour crêpe, sometimes called "Newari pizza") and yomari (a sweet steamed dumpling made especially in winter).

Regional cuisines are well worth seeking out:

• Thakali cuisine from the Thak Khola (Mustang) region serves arguably the finest dal bhat set in Nepal, beautifully spiced and presented, and Thakali restaurants are popular nationwide.
• Terai / Mithila food in the southern plains, around Janakpur, leans towards Indian flavours, with distinctive fish, pickles and sweets.
• Sherpa and mountain food features hearty potato dishes, Tibetan bread and soups suited to the cold and altitude.

Street Food, Sweets & Drinks

Street food is a highlight of any Nepali city: momos and sekuwa, chatpate and pani puri (tangy puffed-rice and crisp-shell snacks), samosas, and freshly fried jerry (jalebi). Choose busy stalls with high turnover for freshness.

Sweets to try include juju dhau, Bhaktapur's famous sweet buffalo-milk curd or "king of yoghurt", sikarni (spiced sweet yoghurt), lakhamari (a Newari pastry) and lassi (a sweet or salty yoghurt drink).

For drinks, milky spiced tea (chiya) is the national fuel, served everywhere; masala and ginger-lemon-honey versions are popular. Locally, you will find millet-based tongba (a warm, sipped millet beer, lovely at altitude), chhyang and the stronger raksi, plus Nepali lagers like Gorkha and Everest. Coffee culture is growing fast in Kathmandu and Pokhara, with good espresso now easy to find.

Food While Trekking

On the trail, teahouses serve a reliable, carbohydrate-heavy menu designed to keep trekkers going. Dal bhat is the star, freshly cooked, filling and refillable, and usually the best-value, safest choice. You will also find Tibetan bread, pancakes, porridge, eggs, noodle soups, fried rice and chow mein, and often a surprising range of comfort food.

A few trekking-food pointers:

• Go vegetarian at altitude. Meat has to be carried up unrefrigerated for days, so it is safest to stick to vegetarian dishes, especially high on the trail.
• Garlic soup is a teahouse staple and a traditional trekkers' remedy said to help with acclimatisation, worth ordering, and comforting either way.
• Prices rise with altitude, as everything is carried up by porter or animal, so budget more for meals the higher you go.
• Eat plenty of carbohydrates and keep eating even when appetite fades at altitude, your body needs the fuel.

Eating Safely & Avoiding Stomach Trouble

An upset stomach is the most common traveller ailment in Nepal, but a few simple habits make it much less likely:

• Drink safe water only. Never drink tap water, treat it (filter, tablets or UV), buy sealed bottled water, or drink boiled/hot drinks. Avoid ice unless you know it is from safe water. See our packing list for water-treatment options.
• Eat freshly cooked, hot food. Piping-hot, fresh dishes like dal bhat are safest; be cautious with food left sitting out.
• Be careful with raw and cold items. Skip salads and unpeeled fruit washed in tap water; peel fruit yourself.
• Mind meat and dairy at altitude, where refrigeration is limited, favour vegetarian food high on the trail.
• Choose busy places with high turnover, both restaurants and street stalls, where food is fresh and quickly cooked.
• Wash or sanitise your hands before eating, and carry hand sanitiser and rehydration salts just in case.

Etiquette note: Nepalis traditionally eat with the right hand, and the concept of jutho means food touched by someone's mouth or used utensils is considered impure, so do not share directly from your plate or offer a bitten item. In homes, you may be asked to remove your shoes and wait to be served.