Dal bhat power, 24 hour

Today we’ll be talking about the tradition meal of Nepal, the dal bhat.

In summary dal bhat is:

• lentil soup (dal), rice (bhat), one or multiple curries, a veg, and fermented veg for digestion
• served on a silver plate, with the dal in a separate bowl, with papadam (a big chip that is a little spicy from black pepper) on the side
• is typically mixed together and eaten with your hands

We first ate dal bhat at our guest house in Pokhara, Nepal. The owners (see pictures below) invited us for breakfast, though it was more like brunch, because Liv doesn’t wake up early and Yadu (owner of the guest house) teaches English and Cognitive Development / Psychology at a local public school. The second place we ate dal bhat was during our hike in the Himalayas.

How to eat dal bhat – step by step instructions:

1. first you put the curry, vegetable, and the lentils on top of the rice
2. knead all of the ingredients together to mix them all up
3. grab a little bit with the tips of your fingers, shake excess bhat off your fingers, then toss it into your mouth – pro tip: be sure to be over you plate when moving mixture to your mouth, to avoid rice getting all over your lap
4. eat until you’re full…however expect for the preparer of the dal bhat / host to come to you asking if you’d like any more of the ingredients.. especially rice or curry. Note: Even if you’re full it’s impolite to send food back to the kitchen or leave food on your plate

This is one thing we had more of in America, especially in Vermont. We searched and found that there are several Nepali restaurants in the Burlington area that we didn’t know existed, but look forward to trying when we are back.

A note from dad: Anyone visiting Pokhara, Nepal … do yourself a favor and go visit Yadu and his wonderful family and team at the Sandalwood Hotel in Dam Side.