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Thakali Food (Nepali Khana Set)
Before knowing about thakali food, let’s get to know about the thakali peoples and where are they come from. Thakali people are the traditional group of people who are from the Thak Khola region of Mustang District which lies in the Dhaulagiri zone of Nepal. Thakali food is eaten by thakali people living in Thak-Khola valley. But now Thakali food is eaten in every part of Nepal and it is also known as Khana set in most of the restaurants.
Thakali food includes rice, locally grown buckwheat, vegetable, and meat curries know as tharkari, vegetable for vegetarians, and meat for non-vegetarian, Dhido (dhindo), leaf mustard know as Rayo ko saag, and dal. A kind of dal knows as lentils can be also made from the dried ground buckwheat leaves. And don’t forget the pickles, papad, gundruk know as pickled leafy vegetables, Timur and Ghee are there in the food. All the food that is mentioned is made together to make a complete thakali food set.
Sometimes thakali food also gets compare with Dal-Bhat-tharkari. In Dal-Bhat- tharkari the foods are somewhat similar to the thakali food but there are other foods too that don’t make a whole thakali food. However, most modern restaurants in Nepal, serve momo’s (meat or vegetable dumplings) and thukpa alongside some other soup too. In desserts, they include sweet curd or fermented rice and for the appetizer, they use Kachhyamba known as buckwheat finger chips.
What is Kachhyamba and How can we make kachhyamba?
Kachhyamba that is also known as buckwheat finger chips is known and popular as a snack food in Nepal. It is made from buckwheat flour which is prepared with very simple methods.
Method
- Take a pan and add 2 cup water along with some Ghee and salt in it.
- When water is boiled, add 1 cup of buckwheat flour in the boiled water and stir them in the medium temperature until the flour turns into a thick gruel ( called dhido).
- Turn off the flame and your Dhido is done. This method is also used to make dhido.
- But for the finger chips. When it cools down, put the dhido in the bowl and mix it up with your hand and roll the stiff dough in the palm of the hand to form a finger size pieces.
- After that, cool them down and fry them into the hot oil and serve it with tomato chutney
Thakali food Main course And How It Made?
As for the main course in thakali food, rice (know as Bhat in Nepal) is by far the most needed food to complete Thakali food but for some people, they love to eat so they include both rice and Dhido in there food. As for the dhido (dhindo), the recipe is in the above paragraph and for the rice,
Rice (Bhat)
In Nepal, long-grained white basmati rice is popular, boiled, and served fluffy. Mostly it is used in thakali food too. First, check the rice properly and wash them at least two times with cold water before cooking it. A lot of the people save the second starchy rinse water to make lentil soup thicker.
Lentil Soup made from Kalo dal (Urad dal)
- At first, be sure you wash them properly and boil it with a touch of ghee, 1/4 tbsp turmeric powder (know as beshar), and salt as needed in a pressure cooker and if you want to add thickness don’t forget to add the rinse rise water. To know your dal is cooked or not, don’t forget to check the whistle of a pressure cooker if it whistles 5-6 times then it’s cooked.
- After it is cooked, placed them into the bowl and mash them into a watery paste.
- Now for the aromatic, jimbu is added just before serving. Heat some ghee or oil in a metal ladle and quickly fry a small sprinkling of dried jimbu in it. Now add them in the simmering lentils (urad dal).
Spicy Fried potaotes (Tareko alu)
- At first, take 2-3 potatoes and peel it properly.
- Before adding the masala, slice the potatoes into finger size and cook potatoes until 80-90% and cool them down.
- While potatoes are cooling down, let’s start to heat the oil.
- Add 1/4 tbsp methi, 1/2 tbsp chili powder, and 1/4 tbsp turmeric powder in the oil and stir them for a few seconds. After that add the potatoes and stir them nicely.
- Now turn off the heat and serve it in hot.
So What is jimbu?
As for the source, jimbu is an herb that belongs to the onion family. It is used in some regions of Nepal and some central Himalayan states of India.
Timur
Timur knows as Zanthoxylum alatum is a signature spice of Thakali Food and one of the important key achar of the food though it does not actually grow in Thak Khola. It’s like a dried outer pod of the berry. It is crushed and added to savors, it radiates a sharp smell and tart flavor that is the sign of Thakali khana. The dried berries are dim earthy colored in shading. Timur is generally used to season vegetables, soups, and sauces.
Spinach (Sag)
The broadleaf knows as Rayo ko sag and Mustard green know as tori ko sag, these two are the most popular spinach varieties that are made in every part of Nepalese food and in thakali foods. Ingredients are:
- 1 big bowl of spinach
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- Salt as needed
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tbsp methi (fenugreek)
- 1-2 piece dried red chili (optional)
Cooking methods
- Before cooking the spinach wash them and drain the water properly.
- Take a pan and heat the oil. Add fenugreek, dried red chili, and turmeric. Stir them until its color change into little brown.
- Now add the spinach into the oil alongside with salt. Stir the spinach while it cooks. Be careful about one thing don’t overcook it.
Gundruk Aachar
It is known as a pickled leafy vegetable. It is a popular food and one of the national dishes of Nepal. It is filled in as a side dish with the fundamental dinner and is additionally utilized as an appetizer. Gundruk is a significant wellspring of minerals, especially during the slow time of year when the eating routine comprises generally dull tubers and maize, which will in general be low in minerals.
Ingredients
- 50-gram gundruk
- Salt as needed
- 1/2 tbsp chopped green chili
- 1/4 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional )
Note: we can make two types of gundruk ko achar.
- With tomatoes and
2. Without tomatoes
Methods
- At first, wash the gundruk properly and put it in the bowl.
- Now add ginger, tomato, and chili paste together alongside with salt as needed.
- Add cooking oil (tori ko oil) and mix them well with the hand.
- Gundruk achar is done and ready to serve.
Meat (masu) Chicken, Goat (Khasi ko masu), or mutton.
Ingredients for chicken
- 450-gram chicken
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste ( add more ginger paste to remove the smell of chicken)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder (beshar)
- 1/2 tbsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tbsp cumin powder (Jeera ko dhulo)
- Salt as needed
- Cooking oil
- 1 tbsp coriander (for garnish)
- 1 tbsp curry powder or garam masala
- 1 onion (optional)
- 2 tomatoes or puree
- 1 tbsp corn or rice flour
Methods
- First cut the chicken into medium size. Put them into a bowl and wash them properly.
- Now take a pan and heat the oil in medium temperature.
- Before adding the ingredients in the oil, fry the chicken in the oil alongside with some salt. By doing this it can make the chicken juicy and tender from inside.
- After that add cumin powder, red chili powder, bay leaf, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, curry powder or garam masala and mix them well. While cooking stirs the chicken and cook because the masala can burn.
- Now add tomatoes alongside with some water and stir them. Cook them for 2 minutes.
- As for the gravy add water (your choice) in the chicken. Now if you want the chicken gravy thicker add cornflour or rice flour with the water. Cook them for 5 min.
- After that add salt and stir it. When It’s done add coriander and serve it
Ingredients for Goat (Khasi ko masu) meat
Ingredients
- 500-gram goat meat
- 2 onion (chopped)
- 2 tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 small cup cooking oil
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 tbsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder ( jeera)
- 1/2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp Salt (but you can add as needed for your taste)
- 3-4 bay leaf
Methods
- At first, take a bowl and add all the above ingredients and mix them with the hand well for 5 minutes.
- Now take the pressure cooker and add the meat mixture in it. Cook them for 20-25 minutes.
- After that stir the meat and add coriander on top of the meat. The meat is done.
Conclusion
You can add other foods too in thakali food but to make a thakali khana set above foods is very important. Papad, sweets, salad is also added in the set. As for the desserts, you can have sweet curds. I hope this information is good enough to know about the Thakali khana in Nepal.
More Recipes that you would love to read:
Top, Easy And Tempting Egg Curry In Nepali Style
Simple And Easy Pumpkin Curry Nepali Style
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