What to eat in Nepal, and what to order on the trail

Dal bhat, and why the joke is true

Rice, lentil soup, a seasonal vegetable curry, pickle, sometimes a green and sometimes curd. It is the national meal, eaten twice a day by most of the country, and in trekking lodges it comes with free refills.

The porters' phrase is 'dal bhat power, twenty-four hour', and it is not only a joke. It is high-carbohydrate, high-protein, freshly cooked, endlessly refillable, and it is what the kitchen is already making — so it arrives faster and fresher than anything else on the menu.

Eat it with your right hand if you want the full experience, mixing the dal into the rice with your fingers. Nobody will mind if you use a spoon and everybody will notice if you use your left.

Thakali — the best version of the national dish

The Thakali people come from the Thak Khola, the upper Kali Gandaki around Marpha and Tukuche, and their version of dal bhat is the one that made the rest of Nepal pay attention.

The difference is in the details: black lentils, a properly spiced vegetable, dried mutton or chicken curry, gundruk soup, and a set of small dishes rather than one plate. It is served in Pokhara and Kathmandu as 'Thakali khana' and it is worth seeking out. If you trek Jomsom and Muktinath you are walking through where it comes from, and the food is a legitimate reason to do that trek. Marpha adds apples to everything — pie, brandy, dried rings on every counter.

Newari food, which is a different cuisine entirely

The Newars of the Kathmandu valley have their own kitchen and it is nothing like lodge food. Bara, a savoury lentil pancake. Chatamari, a rice-flour crepe often called Nepali pizza, which undersells it. Choila, buffalo grilled and tossed with mustard oil and chilli. Yomari, a steamed dumpling with molasses inside.

Samay baji is the set piece — beaten rice, choila, black soybeans, ginger, egg, and rice spirit, eaten at festivals and increasingly in restaurants that cater to visitors who have worked out it exists.

Bhaktapur's juju dhau, 'king curd', is a thick sweet yoghurt set in clay pots and it is worth the trip on its own.

The everyday things worth trying

Momos, obviously — steamed or fried dumplings, buff or vegetable, with a tomato-sesame achar. Jhol momo, served in a thin spiced broth, is the version to order.

Sel roti, a sweet ring of fried rice batter, eaten at festivals and sold at bus stops.

Gundruk, fermented leafy greens, usually as a sour soup. An acquired taste, and an ancient preservation method.

Dhido, a stiff mash of buckwheat or millet eaten with curry instead of rice. Common in the hills and increasingly served as heritage food.

Chiya — sweet milk tea with cardamom and ginger — constantly, everywhere, and the correct answer to almost any situation.

Drinking

Tongba in the east: fermented millet in a wooden pot, topped with hot water and drunk through a straw, refilled as you go. Warming and sociable and stronger than it seems.

Raksi, a clear home-distilled spirit, offered widely in villages. Strength varies enormously.

Marpha apple brandy from the Kali Gandaki, which is the local souvenir worth carrying home.

Local beer is fine and cold. At altitude, drink far less than you would at home — alcohol and acclimatisation do not mix, and above 3,000 m we would say skip it entirely.

Eating safely

Cooked food in busy places is generally fine; the risk is water and raw things. Treat all water, skip salads and unpeeled fruit, and be cautious with ice.

At altitude, eat vegetarian. Meat above the road head has travelled a long way, often unrefrigerated, and it is the single most common cause of a ruined trek day. Buddhist areas frequently do not slaughter locally, which tells you where the meat came from. Eat at the lodge you sleep in. The room is cheap because the kitchen is the business, and bringing your own supplies into their dining room takes the margin out of the arrangement.

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