the national dish. the food that keeps nepal going, through daily blackouts in kathmandu or carrying near body weight loads up serious mountains in flip flops. the dish that is the same, yet different every time every place you order it. the dish that keeps giving, allowing the dinner to eat till full....and so, the trekking favorite.
similar to a south indian tali, simply translated, it is lentils-and-rice. but actually it consists of at least four components-lentils, rice, a veg curry and a pickled veg. also sometimes included are papadams, prawn rice crackers, meat curry/side and/or yogurt.
as in jazz, that is the set structure, but all cooks riff off those elements with their own voice. also seasonal/regional availability plays into the formula, so you shall never have the same dahl bhat twice.
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| seriously, the best dahl baht (made by an ex-gurka), shika, anapurna circuit region |
the dahl/lentils: it can be chunky or a puree. it can be any shade of dahl, with the accompanying cook's taste of spices. it can be spiked with butter and be the most soul-saving-warming item of the whole dish.
the bhat/rice: nearly as loose as uncle ben's
or sticky as japanese, the rice is also flexible in form. i seriously had one dish of rice that tasted as close to japanese and so delicious that it made my night. this is the carb that carries, the vehicle that softens and spreads the taste of the others.
the veg curry/tarkari: this is where you get all those vitamins that you need. usually some sort of green, with carrots and potatoes. can be spicy, tasty or in the worst case, bland. again, region shapes the possible content.
the pickle: a necessary for a complete dahl bhat experience, pickle is the condiment/ketchup that is adjust to an individual's taste by mixing in with the other ingredients. can be radish (daikon), carrot, young bamboo, chili, tomato or out-of-the-jar green mango.
