Newari Food - Yomari

Yomari is derived from two words Yo and mari, where “yo” means “which you like” and “mari” means “bread”. So literally it means bread which you like. Yomari is a rice dumpling with confection of rice-flour dough shaped like fig and filled with “brown cane sugar” or "Chaku" in Newari and “sesame seeds” or "Hammo" in Newari, which is then steamed in a vessel called Potasi. The dough is often stuffed with other fillings like lentil paste, “milk solids” or "Khuwa" Nepali language, and spices as well.

This delicacy is the chief and important item on the menu during the post-harvest celebration of Yomari Punhi, which falls every year in the full moon day of December. There is a reason behind the dish being prepared during winter season as it contains Chaku which is believed to provide heat to our body. Yomari is the main item on the children’s second-year birthday. Traditionally, on this day, a two-yomari garland is made for the birthday child and they wear it to show that they are two old years now.

My son’s birthday is coming soon and I will make sure to put a right recipe that we used in my next post. For now enjoy a quick recipe that I found over the internet.

Ingredients :

• Rice flour
• Hot water
• Sweets
• Sesame seed
• Molasses
• Khuwa or Milk Solids (Nepalese Dairy product, which looks like Ricotta Cheese)

Method:

• Mix rice flour with hot water and make dough. Cover the dough with a warm and wet cloth and rest it for 10-15 minutes.
• Apply some oil on your both hands and shape the dough like as shown in picture but make sure that it is hollow.
• Fill it with mixture of sweets, molasses mixed with Sesame seed, khuwa, or whatever you like, then close the opening.
• Steam it for 20 min.
• Now it is ready to serve. Enjoy!

Newari Food - Alu Tama Bori And Its Recipe

I have been getting a lot of emails from my regular readers for the new and delicious Newari recipe. Amongst all of those requests, most popular has always been for the recipe of Alu Tama (Bamboo shoot soup). So today I managed to gather some good old and simple recipe of Alu Tama Bori. Though this is a modified version of the traditional alu tama soup, it surely will give a different taste to you. I will post the original and traditional recipe in coming future posts, so don't forget to visit the recipe section often.

So here goes today's recipe for Alu Tama Bori.

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 medium potato (Alu)
• 1 cup bamboo shoot (Tama)
• 1/2 cup black-eyed peas (Bori)
• 2 pieces tomatoes (Golveda)
• 1 medium onion (Pyaj)
• 1 teaspoon salt (Nun)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (Besar)
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder (Jeera)
  
• 1 piece ginger root (Aduwa)
• 1 green chilies (Hariyo Khursani)
• 50g Sunflower oil (You can use any cooking oil)
  

Preparation:

1. First of all, Soak black-eyed peas in water overnight.Wash and cut bamboo shoots in slices or cubes, whichever shape you like.
2. Heat a large sauce pan and then put oil and let it heat for a while.
3. Add chopped onion and green chili and fry it till the onion turns brown.
4. Add finely chopped ginger, turmeric powder,cumin powder, and chopped tomato.
5. Add some water so that that it doesn't stick on the pan.
6. Add black-eyed peas and then fry around 5 minutes.
7. Add the chopped potato and fry another 5 minutes put 1/2 cup water and simmer it.
8. Now add bamboo shoots and 1 cup water and cover it. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Finally garnish it with cilantro and chopped tomato.
10. Now the delicious and hot hot Alu Tama Bori soup is ready to serve. Serve it hot!

Newari Food - Mana Choyela And Its Recipe

Choyela is being popular among all people. There are two types of choyela; haku choyela (roasted choyela) and mana choyela (boiled choyela). In the ancient period, only Newari people used to take choyela as their delicacy. It is made up of buffalo meat. I too belong to a Newar family so I love having lots of choyela since my childhood. We have to celebrate guthi bhoj (guthi feast) once a year, and choyela is one of the most important food items in those feasts.

Do you want to how know to make choyela?

Today I am going to give the recipe of making choyela so that you can try and make it at your own home and taste what we Newars have as out one of the best delicacy.

First of all, you need the basic ingredient, buff meat, salt, red chili powder, garlic paste, ginger paste, jeera powder, methi, some mustard oil, and green dhania. Second, boil the buffalo meat for half an hour then cut it into small pieces and put some salt and chili powder according to your taste. You can put some jeera powder, garlic paste, ginger paste, and mash it for few minutes. Heat the mustard oil and put some methi over the oil. When the methi changes its color from brown to black, you can put the oil including methi into the choyela. Put some dhania for decoration and taste in the choyela, and then your choyela is ready to eat.

I hope you will enjoy this delicacy that we have been enjoying over many years. If you want any questions about the recipe you can always comment and ask for more details.