Nepali Cuisine
20 dishes to explore — from dal bhat and momos to Newari feasts
Bara
- From
- Newari (Kathmandu Valley)
- Spice
- 🌶
Thick, savory lentil patties — also called 'Wo' — fried golden and served plain, with egg, or with minced meat, a Newari breakfast staple.
Aloo Tama
- From
- Newari (Kathmandu Valley)
- Diet
- Veg
- Spice
- 🌶🌶
A tangy curry of potatoes, fermented bamboo shoots, and black-eyed peas — a distinctly Nepali flavor you won't find anywhere else on earth.
Yomari
- From
- Newari (Kathmandu Valley)
- Diet
- Veg
A steamed fig-shaped rice flour dumpling filled with sweet chaku (molasses) or khuwa (milk solids), made during the Newari festival of Yomari Punhi.
Sel Roti
- From
- Nationwide
- Diet
- Veg
Traditional ring-shaped rice bread — crispy outside, soft inside — made during Tihar and Dashain, and beloved year-round as a breakfast treat.
Newari Khaja Set
- From
- Newari (Kathmandu Valley)
- Spice
- 🌶🌶🌶
An elaborate Newari feast platter featuring beaten rice, spiced buffalo, marinated soybeans, fried fish, egg, and an array of achars.
Thakali Thali
- From
- Thakali (Mustang/Myagdi)
- Spice
- 🌶🌶
An elaborate set meal from the Thakali people of Mustang — considered the finest dal bhat tradition in Nepal with distinctive spices.
Samay Baji
- From
- Newari (Kathmandu Valley)
- Spice
- 🌶🌶🌶
The sacred Newari feast platter — chiura, choila, bara, aila, and ritual sides — served at every major Newar life event from Mha Puja to weddings.
Dhido
- From
- Hill communities (Gurung, Magar, Tamang)
- Spice
- 🌶
A thick buckwheat or millet porridge — Nepal's other national dish — eaten with hands alongside gundruk soup and fiery meat curry in the hills.