Went to a Nepali Restaurant and had no Idea what to order? Don’t know what Dal Bhat is? Here, we’ll learn some culinary items in Nepal. (you can click on Vegetables and Fruits to go into their sub-groups)
| Rice | चामल (chamal) |
| Cooked Rice | भात (bhat) |
| Lentils | दाल (daal) |
| Vegetables | तरकारी (tarkaari) |
| Fruits | फलफूल (phalphool) |
| Sugar | चिनी (chinii) |
| Salt | नून (nuun) |
| Spices | मसला (masalaa) |
| Chilli | खुर्सानी (khursani) |
| Oil | तेल (tel) |
| Cumin | जीरा (jiira) |
| Turmeric | बेसार (besaar) |
| Water | पानी (paanii) |
| Dumplings | मो:मो (momo) |
| Noodles | चाउमिन (chaumin) |
| Fried Rice | भुटेको भात (bhuteko bhaat) |
| Dried Meat | सुकुटी (sukuti) |
| Meat (General) | मासु (masu) |
| Buff | राँगाको मासु (raagaako masu) |
| Beef* | गाईको मासु (gaiko masu) |
| Pork | सुँगुरको मासु (sungurko masu) |
| Chicken | कुखुराको मासु (kukhurako masu) |
| Wings | पखेटा (pakheta) |
| Coriander | धनियाँ (dhaniya) |
| Sesame | तिल (tiil) |
| Honey | मह (maha) |
| Eggs | अण्डा (anda) |
| Fish | माछा (maachaa) |
| Bread | पाउरोटी (paauroti) |
| Chapati | रोटी (roti) |
| Milk | दूध (duudh) |
| Curd | दही (dahi) |
| Corn | मकै (makai) |
| Flour** | पीठो (pitho) |
| Barbecue | सेकुवा (sekuwa) |
| Pickle | अचार (achaar) |
| Szechuan Pepper | टिमुर (timur) |
*Please note that you might will not find Beef everywhere. This is because Cow is the national animal of Nepal and also a sacred animal (eating Cow is considered unholy and sinful by the Hindus). Therefore, if you used the term gaiko masu, people might consider you an offender. For a less offensive term, please replace gai with गोरु (goru).
**There are two types of Flour, Maida and Aataa. Aataa is whole grain wheat flour. Maida is finely milled, refined and bleached wheat flour. I am not sure of their spellings, so I left it there. If you are making Chapatis, ask for Aataa. If you want to bake cakes, ask for maida. If you say ’Pitho’, the vendor will not understand.