Category Archives: Nepal

Dahi Chiura Ceremony

Posted on February 19, 2015 | 14 comments

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had my baby shower but I was waiting for my parents to arrive from Nepal to do a traditional baby shower, also known as Dahi chiura ceremony in Nepali or Dhau-baji in Newari.

In this ceremony, the mother-to-be’s family comes to feed Dhau-baji (yogurt and flattened/beaten rice) and brings Sagun and lots of food along with gifts for the mother-to-be as well as the unborn baby.

My parents have arrived in Sydney now so I am extremely happy as I will have a helping hand to look after the little one for the first few months. I could not imagine how I would have managed if they were not here.

Last weekend, my parents along with the help of my brother and SIL organised the Dahi Chiura ceremony. It was a traditional ceremony with the ladies all wearing saris.

My mum made Yomari and sagun (bara, boiled eggs, chicken and fish) for the occasion and bought some sweets, fruits and cakes as well. They also bought clothes for me along with jewelleries as well as things for little one.

It was a family affair with just me, AS, my parents, brother, SIL and my little nephew.

For the ceremony, my mum followed the followings steps, if anyone wants to know. It might be different for different cultures but I believe the basic will remain the same.

The ritual started with my mother worshipping Lord Ganesh in the Sukanda. She put tika made of vermillion, rice and yogurt and flowers on Lord Ganesh..
Then she put tika for me and AS.
Then she gave us the gifts of fruits, sweets, clothes, and jewelleries.
This was followed by Sagun and then the main event of dahi chiura, where everyone feeds me dahi chiura.
Everyone was given Sagun and sweet as well after this.
Thus the main event of dahi chiura is was conclude.
Cake is normally not a traditional inclusion for dahi chiura but we had one so I and AS cut the cake together

For many reasons, the dahi chiura ceremony is one of my favourite celebrations for our coming daughter.

In addition to normal family dahi chiura, the pregnant mother is often invited by her relatives to eat meals with them. I had invited many of my family and friends who were pregnant to my place and done the same ceremony so it is my turn to be invited to my close friends and family’s place for the dahi chiura ceremony as well.

It was really nice of all of them to get involved making me and the baby feel special. Here are some of the pics from various occasions of dahi chiura. I was spoiled with lots of blessings, yummy foods and lots of useful gifts .

I am so glad that we are keeping Nepali traditional alive living so far from home and I want to show all these photos to my daughter one day and explain the traditions and culture.

Hope you enjoyed the traditional way of Nepali/Newari baby shower.

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

14 Comments

Posted in My pregnancy, Nepali Culture, Nepali food, Newari Culture, Newari Food

Tagged australian nepali, babies, baby shower, baby shower cake, baby shower for a girl, baby shower games, baby shower photo booth, baby shower photos, baby shower theme, dad knows best game, Dahi chiura ceremony, Dahi-Chiura, Dhau baji, i am pregrant, kathmandu, M from nepaliaustralian, Nepal, Nepali, nepali australian, nepali baby shower, Nepaliaustralian, newari, newari baby shower, old wives tale, pink baby shower, pregnancy, pregnancy journey, pregnant belly, pregnant woman's tummy, Sagun, traditional ceremony, tummy, we are having a baby

Payaj ko pakoda (Crispy Onion Fritters)

Posted on January 19, 2015 | 2 comments

As you know mums love to cook and my MIL is no exception so when she was here we got to eat a variety of Newari and Nepali food like Yomari, Haluwa, aloo chops and she also made Pyaj ko pakoda.

Pyaj means onion in Nepali.

The process is very simple and I am sharing the recipe here.

Ingredients

3 medium size Onions, finely sliced
1/2 cup Gram Flour (Besan Flour)
1/4 cup Rice Flour
1 teaspoon grated Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
2 tablespoons finely chopped Coriander Leaves
Oil, for deep frying
Salt to taste

Method

In a bowl, mix sliced onion gram flour, rice flour, ginger, red chilli powder, coriander leaves and salt.

Add ¼ cup of water and mix well and keep aside for 5 minutes.
The onion pakoda batter is ready to be fried. Do not add more water unless required otherwise pakodas will not turn crispy.
Heat oil in a deep pan (or wok) and take a handful of batter mixture in the hand and gently drop 3-4 small fritters into the oil at a time and deep fry.

Fry the onion pakodas, till they look crisp and golden on both sides (once the underside is golden brown turn them over so both sides are golden). Repeat the process for the remaining batter and deep-fry in batches.
Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on the kitchen paper towels for excess oil to be absorbed.

Serve onion pakodas with your favourite sauce.

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

2 Comments

Posted in Foodie, Nepali food, Newari Food, Recipe

Tagged gram flour, nepali food, nepali snacks, Onion, onion pakoda, onion reci[pe, Pyaj ko pakoda, snacks, vegetarian

Our Story : Bride side Reception ceremony- Part 42

Posted on November 16, 2014 | 6 comments

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

My family had not had a chance to throw a big party for a while so this reception was more of a reason for my family to invite everyone to celebrate. In Nepal, you need to invite all your relatives, your neighbours and friends if anyone gets married. So to have close to 1000 guest is very normal. When we started the guest list, we thought it won’t be a lot but then we added up all the relatives and extended relatives, my parents’ friends, my friends, my brother’s friends and my uncles and aunts friends, the big number was inevitable. And this number didn’t include Groom and his family. They don’t attend this reception as, it is only for the Bride’s family. This is a tradition in Newari / Nepali wedding.

Surprisingly, the party venue was well equipped for more than 2000+ guests so it was not a problem at all.

In Nepali/Newari culture, you give all your close female relatives and friends Sari as wedding gift and they wear that at the reception. My mum usually gets at least a few from her relatives and friends each year. So this time it was our turn. Mum had already picked the red Sari and has ordered 60 of them. She picked the same Sari for everyone and had already given it to them.

For the reception, I was more relaxed than before. It was just a party with hundreds of people but all of them are my friends and relatives.

Like every bride, I wanted to look my best for the wedding and I am glad I was happy with the choices of clothes and accessories. My parents had gone well above and beyond my expectation and bought me so many sets of jewellery that I was lucky enough to be able to pick different ones for different functions.

I wore a marron lengha with bead and pearl work on it. It was expensive but I convinced myself that I get married once so it was all worth the money. I went to the beauty parlour again to do my hair and make-up. I wore golden shoes with flower and golden clutch (both gifts from my new MIL).

I was happy with the final outcome as the hairdresser followed my instruction so well and did the hair exactly the way I wanted it.

Once I was done at the beauty salon, I went home where the photographer was waiting for me. We had planned to take a few shots at home before going to the venue. I had photos at home with my parents, brother, sister in law and a few friends.

Then we all headed toward the party venue.

Guests were invited from 6pm. All our close relatives were there already when we arrived, woman and girls wearing red Saris given by mum. The stage was close to the main entrance and that is where I was going to stay for the rest of the night. I had my cousin and friends for company as guests started arriving.

Within an hour, the empty venue was filled with guests, some of whom I knew , some I have not seen for years and some I had never met. Some handed me flowers and others envelope with money. I greeted them, talked with them and made small conversation before they moved on to the hall to start the dinner and snacks.

The party was in full swing and I could see everyone enjoying the evening. At one end of the hall, there was the cocktail area and on the other side, there was dinner area. There was loud music going on with DJ playing all types of music and many of the guests were on the dance floor.

Guests as little as 1 year old and as old as 70 years old were rocking the dance floor. I couldn’t leave to join them on the dance floor yet as there were more guests coming. I was still busy greeting the guest and talking to them for next few hours.

Looking around I was happy everyone seemed to be enjoying and eating. I had my friends from kindergarten to high school there. Most of them were there with their partners and kids. It was so nice to see all of them at my wedding after so many years. All of them made me feel like I never left Nepal and were so welcoming and nice.

After few more hours when guests stopped arriving, I was free to leave the stage and join my friends and family on the floor. I went to the dance floor and danced my heart away. It was so much fun and was on the dance floor for almost an hour. Everyone was dancing around me and I felt really happy.

After 10 pm, guests started leaving slowly and it was time for the family to have dinner as well. When things were winding down, I felt really good and both my parents were so happy that things went without a hitch. I was so happy and relieved at the same time that I had no appetite at all. Still someone got me a plate of food and I have no recollection what I ate.

I was tired from getting up and sitting down constantly.

On top of that I had to have a big smile on my face all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I was very happy but constantly smiling was hurting my face.

To be quite honest, my wedding reception was by far the most fun party I had during the whole process. Everything I planned went well and it was pretty awesome. Everything turned out exactly how I wanted it. Everyone I cared about was there and I was so honoured to have so many friends and family there. My parents were extremely proud of the reception as everyone was raving about how much they enjoyed and they loved the food.

After it was all over, we went home and I couldn’t wait to go to bed. Every muscle in my body was tired. On top of that, next day was Janti so I would have to wake up early.

Our Story : Supari ceremony – Part 40

Posted on November 13, 2014 | 6 comments

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

The Supari is the Newari equivalent of the engagement ceremony in western weddings; a formal announcement/acceptance of the relationship. The bride’s family isn’t able to proceed with any of the wedding parties until the Supari is received from the groom’s side.

Supari is the Nepali word for betelnut and the deal is sealed by an event called ‘Gway Bigu’ or the sending of 12 pieces of supari (betle nut) from the groom’s family to the bride’s which is used during the “Swayambar” ceremony. The family of the groom-to-be also presents a set of clothes along with jewellery, lots of rotis, fruits for the bride as a sort of first gift to the soon to be daughter-in-law. In most cases, this supari-taking ceremony occurs four days before the actual wedding ceremony, but it can be earlier or later to suit the families.

When I woke up that morning, I had butterflies in my stomach. I was relaxed before but suddenly I was a bit scared as it was getting very real with the upcoming Supari ceremony. It is funny how you can easily get overwhelmed by the situation looking at what is happening around you. My house was full of people, relatives and friends. It was noisy and everyone was busy doing something or other. They all seemed to be busy but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I asked my mum what things are to be done before I go to beauty parlour to get ready. She asked to have breakfast and go so I can come back as soon as possible. I had made an appointment in nearby salon and the lady had told me, it would take up to 3 hours to do my hair and makeup.

When I came out of the parlour, I felt like a real bride. I was wearing a red sari with green border which had golden work done with beads. I had bought this sari while I was in India and loved the simple style and the border. I had my hair made up in a bridal way complementing my bridal makeup. I wore lots of Chura (glass bangles) to match the sari.

I also wore a gold necklace set and golden chura my parents had made as part of my wedding jeweleries.

My friend came to pick me up when I was done. From there it was straight to the venue where Supari ceremony was happening. As we were early and the photographer was already there, we had the opportunity for some photos. I am not sure what I was feeling because it was the first ceremony with so many people and things started to get more real.

Then most of the relatives and friends started to come. The groom’s family informed us that some of the family members were on the way for Supari ceremony. Like in most Asian society, wedding is the time when the family status is displayed by showering the bride with expensive jewelleries. My parents and MIL had made sure that nothing was spared in planning so I was getting lots of jewellery from both side of the family.

For this occasion, the groom doesn’t come but had sent his 4 cousins with trays of gifts like jewellery, Saris, cosmetic, shoes, bags (I went shopping with my mother in law beforehand and she let me pick everything of my choice which was so nice of her), fruits, Nepali Roti, Masala and much more. There was Supari (betle nuts) and coconut nicely decorated in red clothes and beads, fish decorated with lots of glitter, and decorated yogurt.

One of the biggest highlights was the cake(remember all the drama I had to get this cake done and I am so glad the final outcome was so good). It was a white forest two level cake with a traditional topper (two men carrying bride in Doli) . Everyone loved it. I am glad we selected that.

There was a diamond necklace with earrings, a pearl set and the important Tilhari (necklace made of small pote beads with a gold pendant) and Sindoor (Vermilion).

But the most important out of all this is Sahit paper (The paper which has the details of date and time for our Swayambar). An astrologer decides on an auspicious date, or Subha Sahit, after gauging the influences of the celestial bodies on the bride and groom based on the dates and times of their birth. Fixing the date is but an end of a long, tedious process of setting everything on a right course. Preceding it are labyrinth of activities, like matching of kundalis and comparing and cross-checking of gotras, or ancestral lineages, of the couple. The Sahitpaper was framed nicely in a silver frame.

The ceremony started with my aunt (eldest woman in the family) doing some Puja and then they handed me all the gifts including Sahit paper, Sindoor and Tilhari. The priest was instructing my aunt on what to do and with the help of my mum the ceremony was concluded.

I was so preoccupied during the ceremony that I missed lots of the things that happened. Luckily, there is a video as well as photos for me to relive all the wonderful memories from the day.

I wore all the jewellery and some glass bangles.

Then it was time to cut the cake. In Newari wedding, both the cakes are cut by bride herself. I cut a cake and it was given to everyone. A big piece that said A weds M was sent for AS so he can have later.

As you know, no ceremony in Nepali culture ends without the big Bhoj (party) so there was Bhoj and refreshment for everyone including AS’s cousins.

It was a simple ceremony but it had a great significance as it formally started the wedding 🙂 .

Our Story : Mehendi ceremony- Part 39

Posted on November 12, 2014 | 13 comments

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

Finally after so many ups and down, the wedding rituals began. The first ritual was the Mehendi ceremony.

Mehendi ceremony is not a traditional part in Nepali wedding but I wanted to do something similar to hen’s night in Nepal. I did have a hen’s night in Australia but I still wanted to do something in Nepal with my cousins and friends as well to remember my wedding as a fun ceremony.

Mehendi means henna and, during this ceremony, a henna artist applies mehendi to the bride’s hands and feet, as well as to the hands of all female relatives and friends. This is purely done for decoration and to make the bride look even more beautiful on her wedding day. So I arranged a person to come to my place to put Mehendi on. I invited all my close female relatives and good friends. So it was going to be a girl’s night with Mehendi and music.

I went for bridal Mehendi while all my friends and family had simpler ones. The bridal designs are so intricate, that they require several hours to be drawn and then to dry. My mehendi took more than 3 hours. It was hard spending 3 hours sitting on a chair, with somebody painting your hands and feet, you just cannot move even to eat, drink, go to the loo or basically do anything at all except for talking.

I waited for another hour for the mehendi to get a little dry and then applied a mixture of lemon and sugar. It is supposed to make it darker. Whole day passed with us having fun while the mehendi guy was applying mehendi to everyone’s hand.

The mehendi was followed, in the evening, by dancing and music. It was great to see people dancing including my aunts and cousins and having fun. My mum was also having a great time and even though she was busy at the same time as she was making lunch for the guests. It was worth all the effort and money I paid the guy at the end of the day.

When I scrubbed off the dried out Mehendi, it had left a deep red coloured design. It is a common belief that the darker the colour of the mehndi on the hands on a bride, the more will she be loved by her husband. I was thinking, of course I know that and that is the reason I am getting married to him 🙂

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to vote your favorite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

Go to Part 40

13 Comments

Posted in Marriage, Nepali Culture, Newari Culture, Our Story, Our Wedding

Tagged australian nepali, Bachelorette, dance, family, friends, hen's night, kathmandu, love, love story, M from nepaliaustralian, Mehendi, mehendi fun, move, Nepal, Nepalese wedding, Nepali, nepali australian, nepali wedding, Nepaliaustralian, newari wedding, our love story, Sydney, wedding cakes, wedding ceremony

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Category Archives: Nepal

Dahi Chiura Ceremony

Payaj ko pakoda (Crispy Onion Fritters)

Our Story : Bride side Reception ceremony- Part 42

Our Story : Supari ceremony – Part 40

Our Story : Mehendi ceremony- Part 39

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Category Archives: Nepal

Dahi Chiura Ceremony

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Payaj ko pakoda (Crispy Onion Fritters)

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Our Story : Bride side Reception ceremony- Part 42

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Our Story : Supari ceremony – Part 40

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Our Story : Mehendi ceremony- Part 39

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