If you ask me, “What are we going to eat today in Nepal?” All I can imagine are exciting varieties of Nepalese food. Nepali dishes are sure to make your mouth water.

Food culture in Nepal is the center of attraction, a celebration of bonding, and a way of life. Nepali Dishes are a mix of culture and ethnicity, a drop of love, a specialty of life.

Even an auspicious tradition is to feed a child after completing certain months known as “Annaprashan” to start the weaning period. To sum up, making unique Nepali dishes is a heritage that is being handed over from generation to generation.

So, you might guess a part of food is the celebration of life. If you are a foodie, then welcome to Nepal to explore authentic traditional Nepali dishes.

Get ready to experience the ambiance of Newari, Thakali to other Nepalese food influenced by Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese cuisines. Here is a list of the Top 10 famous Nepalese food you must try during your visit to Nepal.

Famous Traditional Nepali Food Recipes

Nepalese Momo

Momo is a dumpling wrapped up with fillings as per preference, such as vegetables and meat in the flour. It has been a traditional delicacy in Nepal, although it is originally a Tibetan dish. However, Momos in Nepal have strengthened, creating a typical momentum in taste, variety, and fragrance.

Nepali Momo is so popular that people have it either as a snack or sometimes even as a meal. If one has trouble ordering a dish, then a Momo is the obvious option to choose.

Nepal Travel Tip: Try Momo at least once before you leave Nepal. 

Dhido

“Dhido” is a typical Nepali name given for mashed buckwheat, which is a thick mush or a porridge that is prepared with flour (Buckwheat, Kodo (millet), maize, barley, oats). Nepalese prepare traditional food by adding flour little by little in boiling water while stirring it continuously.

You can call “Dhido” the original bread of Nepal consumed heavily around hilly areas. Although it might be a simple dish, it is a nutrient powerhouse. It has an exorbitant amount of dietary fiber, protein, iron, carbohydrate, zinc, manganese, and selenium. If you wish for a heavy meal or dinner, it can be the best option for Nepalese Dal Bhat.

Churpi

‘’Churpi’’ is again a typical Nepali name. Churpi is a hardened cheese made up of either cow’s milk or yak’s milk. It contains healthy fats, efficient at removing plaque and tartar, and keeps the gums strong.

Despite its goodness in human health, you can keep it in the mouth for a time as per wish while traveling. Churpi is a famous food trekker as it keeps your mouth salivating and wet.

If you are trekking to high altitudes, do not forget to try Churpi. Likewise, it can also be a food gift that you can carry to your family from the high Himalayas. Efficient food, isn’t it?

Nepalese Thukpa

If you are craving the taste of a luxurious spicy noodle soup, then only one name is uttered by every Nepalese, that is “Thukpa”. Also, Thukpa can help you beat cold weather while trekking in high altitudes. Thus, if you are on an Everest Base Camp Trek, try Thukpa to keep yourself warm.

Thukpa is a Tibetan dish prepared with a slightly different formulation, adding vegetables, meat, spices, and flavors. Trekking in the cold? Try Thukpa.

Kwati

If you are thinking of trying an extremely delicious Nepalese dish with an explosion of mixed beans, then there is no healthier choice than “Kwati”. Even though it is a traditional Newari dish (an ethnic group in Nepal), people consume it nationwide.

Kwati is highly nutritious, and extremely flavorsome flavored with Nepali spices. Afterward, the method of preparation makes it so unique and delicious. You can also ask to add meat as per your preferences to make it tastier. If you are feeling wintry and are looking for a traditional soup, try the famous Nepali dish, Kwati.

Gudpak and Pustakari

Gudpak is a tasty dessert to try in Nepal. Roasted wheat flour, cardamoms, enhanced flavors, cashews, and sugar syrup are added to crushed edible gum.

Pustakari is a Nepali candy. Thus, is sticky. It is made by stirring mixed sugar, peanut powder, and Khuwa into a brown gooey batter cooked with milk and topped with coconut and nuts. You can buy it from anywhere in a sweet shop. Instead of carrying unhealthy chocolates in your bag, keep Pustakari while visiting Nepal.

Also, if your family or buddies in your country love food, then do not ignore Gudpak or Pustakari to carry with you.

Juju Dhau

Rightly referred to as ‘’The King Yoghurt’’, Juju Dhau is a specialty of Bhaktapur. If you are visiting Bhaktapur, then Juju Dhau is a must-try. It is a legendary sweet yogurt. Locals prepare it by boiling fresh buffalo milk in traditional firewood. Later, they keep the curd in traditional clay pots for days to bring a unique taste.

The final product is a Nepali food recipe for dessert. People consider curds to be pure and are also consumed during fasting days, like in Haribodhani Ekadashi and Krishna Ashtami, too.

If you are on a trip to Bhaktapur, try mouthwatering Juju Dhau.

Thakali Cuisine

It will be an injustice to visit Nepal and leave without trying Thakali Cuisine, which somehow summons the usual staple food for all Nepali. There can be no other choice than Thakali food itself made with typical Traditional recipes to get that pure taste as if brought directly off the fields of Nepal and served on your plate.

One of the best parts about the Thakali set is that it is so satisfying to see the presentation. The soft rice in the middle, black lentils, Gundruk (fermented leafy green vegetable), pure Nepali ghee, pickles, salad, curry, meat for non-vegetarians, and many more. It is a different version of Dal Bhat in Nepal.

Thakali Khana is a popular Nepalese food and is easily available. You can mostly try Thakali for dinner or lunch. Get your hands ready to try Thakali food in Nepal because the spoon cannot embrace all the flavors that this plate serves.

Newari Cuisine

The original inhabitants of Kathmandu have kept their cultural food heritage over generations. Newari food can be rightly said as a subset of Nepalese cuisine.

Even if the people are non- Newars, you will find a maximum population celebrating the food variety of Newari cuisine. The Newari food comprises over 200 dishes. A famous Newari food to try in Nepal is the Newari Khaja Set.

The set comprises over 10 dishes on a plate. The items included in the Newari Khaja are beaten Rice, Achar, Chhoila, Egg, Soybeans, Bara, Aalutama, different meat products, etc. You must try street foods if you are in Kathmandu.

Sel roti

A traditional snack that every Nepali had eaten since their childhood would be “Sel roti” for sure. You can call it a Nepali doughnut, although it differs completely in size, texture, and taste. It is a Nepali sweet ring-shaped bread, which is deep-fried either in ghee or oil.

Uncooked rice grains as flour, soaked and ground, coconut, black pepper powder, clarified butter, Ghee, and sugar are mixed in the flour. Sodium, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C are present.

Sel roti is famous Nepalese food during major festivals in Nepal. Hence, if you are visiting Nepal during Dashain, then you will find Selroti in every household. Although Selroti is the main Nepali cuisine during celebrations, you can try it with a local achar (pickle) of the year in any restaurant near you.

At The End

In a nutshell, these were the top 10 Nepalese food you must try during your Nepal Visit. As I already mentioned, Nepal has its authentic varieties of food. The food taste varies in Nepal under topsoil conditions, seasons, temperature, geography, and ethnicity.

The list can go long and long. If you are expecting to taste all the Nepali foods, then make sure you take at least a year’s vacation just to get all these seasonings.