Dal Bhat

Dal-bhat-tarkari is a popular dish in Nepal. Dal is a lentil and spice soup eaten with cooked grain, bhat — generally rice but sometimes another grain — and tarkari, a vegetable soup. Condiments are often modest amounts of spicy pickle, either fresh or fermented, made mostly of dried mustard greens (gundruk ko achar) and radish (mula ko achar), of which there are several variations.

All of the ingredients for the meal are often kept separate in mounds and bowls and served on a big tin pan. A heaping dish of white rice is traditionally accompanied by a bowl of vegetable curry (tarkari), hot chili sauce or pickles (achaar), and a bowl of lentil-based soup. Sautéed greens (sak), boiled potatoes (alu), yogurt (dahi), and unleavened bread crackers (roti), to mention a few regional additions. And, in the Himalayas' distant altitudes (above 6,000 feet), where rice does not grow well, Bhat (boiled rice) is replaced with millet, buckwheat, maize, or barley grains known as Dhindo.

Locals enjoy the meal with their right hand (the left is considered unhygienic), pouring the Dal over the rice and then combining other seasonings with the Bhat mush before scooping it into their mouths. It takes some practice to get it right. It's a very intimate experience, and we tried it several times — the locals truly appreciate the effort!