11/05/2022
Are you curious about what you would eat on the trail while trekking through Nepal? If everything that is cooked must be either grown locally or packed in on the backs of porters, is there even much to eat?
Dahl Bat is the world famous national dish of Nepal. This dish consists of rice (bat), a thick lentil soup (dahl), a variety of curried vegetables (ta-curry), sauted spinach (saag), a thin millet tortilla (papad), several spicy dipping sauces (ochar/pickle), and fresh salad of carrots, radish, tomatos and cucumbers. Even though this dish is available in every tea house we stop at, no two Dahl Bats are alike as each restaurant has its own unique family recipe. One of the added bonuses of this dish is that it comes with free refills. The Nepali cooks come around with anything more you may want and continue to fill your plate until you literally cannot take another bite.
So Only Rice Then??
Although the variety of Dahl Bat dishes is incredible, the locals understand that not all trekkers in the area want to eat rice for every meal.
Because of this, many restaurants have incorporated dishes from all over the world into their menu.
Italian pastas and pizza, Chinese fried noodle/rice options and the American sizzer plate are a sample of what is available if you know the right place to stop for lunch.
Breakfast options also show international influence and can consist of oats/muslie, omlets, boiled eggs, toast & jam, thukpa (a warm noodle soup) or some of the best banana pancakes you have had.
Coffee and tea are always available to round out the breakfast table.
The local Nepali tea house/resturaunt owners have worked hard to incorperate dishes from all over the world to make trekkers as comfortable as possible while staying in their village.
Most of the vegetables on the menu have been grown locally (often just behind where we are eating) and are picked just as you arrive...the perfect example of farm to table meals with virtually no environmental tranportation impact.
Considering where you are in the world and the activity you are particiapting in the cuisine is very impressive. It certainly blows the doors off of even the best "backpacker" meals and will leave you feeling warm and satiated. The best part is you don't have to worry about packing it, cooking it or cleaning up after it.
We have had past trekkers with a variety of dietary needs and found it easy to accommodate for gluten free, vegetarian/vegan, dairy free, palio, etc diets.