With the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Nepal, it is evident that Nepal has plunged into the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to break the chain of infection, many districts including the country’s capital have reentered the lockdown, officially termed as prohibitory order a few days ago.
This order has once again forced most of the people to get locked inside their home only, providing them with a lot of leisure. But, if you are wondering how to make the most out of this time and save yourself and your family from boredom, try cooking these dishes.
1. Laphing
This Tibetan street food has lately been very popular among Kathmanduites. However, you cannot find this mouth-watering spicy delight on the streets of Kathmandu amidst the ongoing prohibitory order. But, the good news is that you can satisfy your craving for laphing by making it at home.
All you need is to have all the ingredients, the patience of at least five to six hours, and helping hands from your family members. If you are worried about the ingredients and cooking procedure, you are just a Google search or a YouTube video away from these soupy and spicy cold noodles.
2. Momo
Momo is undoubtedly one of the most popular dishes in Nepal. Whenever most Nepali people go to a restaurant, they end up ordering a plate of momo even after staring at the whole menu thoroughly. It is no secret that most people are missing this comfort food at this time. However, you can easily make momos at your home. You just need to knead the dough with refined flour or wheat flour, salt, water, and oil, and roll out tiny and thin wraps. Then, stuff the wrappers with the filling of your choice or whatever is available in your kitchen, either ground chicken or pork or buff or vegetables or paneer. You then need to steam, fry, steam-fry, pan-fry the dumplings and serve them with spicy and flavoursome dipping sauces.
3. Katti roll
Katti roll’s popularity has risen recently among the foodies in urban Nepal. As it is very filling and easy to carry, it has become one of the favourite fast foods and snacks for most office and college-goers. Just like momos, there comes a wide range of variety in its stuffings and taste, but it can be easily cooked at home with the vegetables and food available at home. If you are starving for a katti roll, just try cooking it, going through its recipes available on the internet.
4. Panipuri
Panipuri is an all-time favourite street food for most Nepalis. The burst of tangy, spicy, and sweet flavours in the mouth when you put deep-fried crispy hollow puri filled with spiced mashed potato and sour water is just unmatchable. Though it will take hours of practice to master perfect panipuri making, you can give it a go utilising this leisure time, meanwhile satisfying your taste buds, which has been craving for the panipuris.
5. White sauce pasta
This Italian delicacy is easy to cook and also can introduce new flavours and taste to Nepalis tastebuds. Generally, most city dwellers are used to having pasta cooked in tomato sauce for their snacks. But, because pasta, mainly macaroni, is easily available in any grocery store, why don’t try cooking it in a different sauce, i.e. white sauce, this time? You just need to avoid using tomatoes, instead require some flour, milk, butter, and a lot of cheese to make a white sauce pasta at your home.
6. Biryani
Biryani is a classic Indian dish that has taken over the city. On normal days, you can find a lot of biryani ranging from matka biryani to bucket biryani and from handi biryani to bamboo biryani in Kathmandu. However, this is lockdown.
Still, you can indulge in this flavoursome rice accompanied by soft meat or vegetables by cooking it at your home. Interestingly, all the ingredients you need to make a tasty biryani such as rice, meat or vegetables, and spices are easily available in any Nepali household.
7. Pan pizza
Pizzas are generally cooked in microwaves and many Nepalis usually enjoy this cheesy and meaty Italian food at restaurants. If you are missing this food and waiting for everything to return to normal again to just have a pizza, you need not wait that long. Even if you do not have a microwave at home, you can also make it using a regular pan that you generally use for making rotis or frying eggs. You can use any vegetables that are available in your kitchen for making this pizza and a lot of cheese. Your pan pizza will be ready in an hour at maximum.
8. Sweets
Kheer (rice pudding) and selroti are some of the Nepali sweets that are regularly made in Nepali kitchens. However, there are many other sweets like jeri, rasbari, lalmohan, and barfi that are loved by most Nepalis but are usually bought from the sweet shops. These sweets are rarely cooked in Nepali homes. But, this can be the perfect time to try out these sugary and sweet dishes at your home. Look for the recipes on the internet and go for them.
9. Chaats
Chaats can be spicy-tangy-sweet all at the same time, depending on your choice. There are varieties of chaats such as samosa chaat, papdi chaat, alu tikki chaat, pani puri chaat, alu chaat, and many others. You can just start making these chaats at your home during this break from your normal life.
