Masyoura and Aamchoor

MASYOURA is a typical Nepalese food made from the Black lentil and Small shreds of different vegetables. It is believed that Masyoura contains good combination of the carbohydrate and protein. The masyoura preparation includes cleaning of lentils and soaking to remove the husk, grinding to powder , addition of other vegetables shreds and pidalus ( neglected tuber vegetable of Araceae family commonly found in Nepalese forest)., shaping into ball and dried on the sunlight to reduce moisture content and improve the shelf life.

Aamchoor is the dried product made from preripened mango flesh. Its production in Nepal is only limited to house hold level. It's made from the preripening stage of mango and contained high organic acid. Mangoes are destining and longitudinally cut into small piece, mixed with salt and turmeric powder and dried in sun. It can be stored in more than one year in tight glass container. It’s mainly consumed as Achar (pickle) with general dish of Nepalese (Dal, Bhat and Tarkari).It helps on digestion process of elderly people whose rate of decreasing PH in stomach is very slow during meal.

Chook-Amilo and Dried Amala (Amala KO sukuti)

Chook-Amilo is the concentrated form of sour citrus juice. It is generally prepared in hilly regions due to the availability of citrus fruits known as Jyamir, Kagati, or Nibuwa (lemon and lime varieties). Ripe sour citrus fruits are collected and juice is extracted with the help of a Kol, ( a pressing device traditionally used in rural areas to extract fruit juice, sugarcane juice, mustard oil, and Chiuri-Ghiu), boiled with occasional stirring until the color of the juice changes from white to grey and then black. The concentrated juice is stored in a mud container with tight lid. The Chook-Amilo can be stored and used for 1 to 2 years.  

Dried Amala is dried products of fruits Amala (Phyllanthus emblica, syn. Emblica officinalis) abundantly found in many part of the Nepal. It is a deciduous tree of the Euphobriaceae family well known for beneficial fruit for health. It contains ascorbic acid (Vit C) in high quantity. It can be used as Achar whereas the powder from dried Amala can be used in various ayurvedic medicines also.

Sulphating (0.5% KMS) can be done prior to drying to preserve its colour and ascorbic acid loss during preparation of dried Amala.

Bhakka

Bhakka is a traditional indigenous food of Tharu community of Nepal and is popular in the eastern part of Nepal especially Morang and Jhapa where there is superfluity of tharu community. It's a product prepared from rice. The rice is pounded into the flour on traditional milling device 'Dhiki' or 'Jato' or 'Okhli'.

The prepared flour is placed in a small bowl and the bowl is covered by the muslin cloth from the top and cooked over the steam for about 5-10 minutes produced by a special type of pot in which the water is boiling. The steaming process gelatinise the flour and make it edible cake like product known as Bhakka. It is served along with macerated chilly and salt. It's mostly consumed during the cold season. 

The product may not be accepted by the one who occasionally take it but it is the best product for the one who is habitual in it.  

Kinema

Kinema is a soy fermented product prepared from soybean (brown or white) indigenous to Nepal. It's mostly prepared and consumed by limbus of eastern Nepal especially in the hills. The preparation is limited to household level. Methods followed for its preparation are often subject to variation. Some of the more important factor contributing to variation are locality, convinience, availability of raw material and processing steps.

Kinema preparation is a relatively simple process. The process involves cooking of soybean, cooling to room temperature, mixing with small amount of vegetable ash , wrapping in sal leaves or banana leaves and leaving for 2-3 days in warm place for fermentation. The beans are usually mashed in a wooden pestle or macerated with hands so as to split them apart. A well fermented kinema has a slimy appearance tend to form cake and has persistent nutty to musty flavor. The preparation has a very short self life of 2-3 days at room temperature.

Mahuwa Raksi and Toddy

It is the distilled alcoholic fermented liquor of juice from a flower called Mahuwa (maduca indica).The alcohol production is carried out by adding Khameer (yeast) or by means of natural yeast presence in the flower and distillation is carried out by traditional pot to concentrate the alcohol volume.

Toddy (Taddy) is the naturally fermented alcoholic product of sap from a palm trees. Sap from different palm varieties can be use in making toddy but in Nepal especially wild date (phoenix syslvestris) and Palmyra (Borassus flabelliefert) and dwarf date palm (phoenix humilis) are used. The collected sap generally contains 10-15% sugar and is converted to alcohol by means of yeast present in pot (mud pot/HADI/ GHAILA) as a culture from former Toddy. It contains mainly Saccharomyces as well as some other species of yeast like kloecdes, Pichia, Candida, and endomycopsis.  

Chiura (flaked rice) and Murai (puffed rice)

Chiura and murai are also the indigenous food of Nepal. Though it's popular through out Nepal, it's indigenous to Tharu community of Nepal. Chiura is prepared by boiling the paddy with suitable amount of water. The paddy is then drained and dried and roasted and flaked. Traditionally flaking is done in Dhiki or Okhli but today mills are also available. It's mostly consumed as a breakfast and has great importance in some of the festival like Dashain, Ashar 15 (special day to take dahi and chiura).

Murai (puffed rice) is prepared by soaking the paddy in water overnight and roasted. During roasting the rice kernel get changed into puffed rice. It's also consumed in the form of balls by mixing with chaku. It's the major ingredient of 'Chatpate'(product prepared from boiled potato with spices mostly consumed in India and Nepal).

Jand Nigar and Raksi

Jand is an undistilled beverage indigenous to Nepal. It's prepared by solid substrate fermentation of starchy material specially 'Kodo' (millet), rice and wheat but the good quality jand is prepared from kodo. Jand is popular among the Kirat and Newari community of Nepal. Jand is offered to fitular god. Beside this jand and raksi is the most essential in most of all the ceremony on Newar and Kirats though it's strictly prohibited in Brahmins.

Murcha is a mixed culture used in the preparation of jand. The culture contains saccharifying molds, lactic acid bacteria and fermenting yeast.

The basic step of jand manufacturing are cooking of cereals, cooling to room temperature mixing with murcha powder, leaving it for  a day to two day for a biomass development and fermenting in a tightly plugged container 'ghyampa'. Fermentation may range from a week to several months during which the alcohol content will reach 4-15% alcohol by volume.

Due to continued saccharification and ethanol production the mash gradually turns limpid. At some point, a nearly clear supernatant is observed in the fermentation vessel. This is called nigar.

The pot distilled jand is known as raksi

TAMA (MESU)

Tama (Mesu) is the salted lactic acid fermented bamboo shoot product consumed in bamboo growing region of Nepal. It is also consumed in the Nepalese originated people of Darjeeling and Sikkim part of India. The young shoot of bamboo is used in the preparation of Mesu. The commonly used bamboo are CHOYA BANS(Dendroclamus hamiltonii),KARATI BANS(Bambus tulda Roxb),BHALU BANS(Dendrucalamus Sikkimenens),DHUNGRE BANS(Dendroclamus Gigantea)and MAL BANS(Bambusa nutans)It is commonly consumed as a Curry or making pickes (ACHAR).The micro flora found in the Tama are Pediococus pentaceus( initiation) and dominated by , lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus plantarum. The curry Called AALU-TAMA-BODI (made by potato, MESU and white beans) is one of the popular item in NEWARI community of Nepal. The final acidity in TAMA ranges from 0.o4 to 0.95% as lactic acid.

Gundruk and sinki

Gundruk and sinki are the traditional fermented food of Nepal. It's the non-salted lactic acid fermented vegetable product indigenous to Nepal. It's made from vegetable leaves such as those of mustard, radish and rayo. The fermentation is spontaneous caused by epiphytic  microorganisms collectively known as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that inhabits the vegetable leaf.  

Gundruk is believed to have existed in Nepalese culture since time immemorial. In the rural areas gundruk is primarily used for flavor reasons. It's valued for its uniquely appetizing flavor. In the villages, where gundruk is generally produced it's used as an alternative to green vegetables in the lean season. In Nepal only 2% of the gundruk produced is commercialized.

Lactic acid and acetic acid (10:7) determined the quality of the gundruk. Gundruk fermentation is primarily initiated by heterolactic lactobacilli and the fermentation is subsequently completed by the more acid producing homolactic bacterium. 

Sel-roti

Nepal is a country of ethnical, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity so also diverse kinds of traditional foods can be found in Nepal, which the people have inherited from their ancestors.

Sel roti is a delicious deep fat fried puffed ring shaped spongy doughnut like Nepalese indigenous food prepared from the batter of rice, flour, ghee and sugar. 

Mention of sel roti is found in ancient sacred and religious hindu books like Puran and Swasthani. This food has ever since had special ritual value and regarded essential or special to offer in worship and other holy occasions, marriage ceremony and many other hindu rituals.

According to sel roti makers a good quality sel roti can be prepared from the old rice instead of the new one and by the use of 'daun' (improving agent that improves the eating and textural quality of sel roti).

The process used for making sel roti is still traditional. The rice is soaked in water for overnight and drained. Pounding is done in Dhiki or Okhli such that fine grits are also produced to some extend. The flour thus obtained is made semi-viscous by the addition of water. Sugar banana ghee are added as daun. The mix is finally deep fried in oil.