Category Archives: Nepal

Happy New Year from Kathmandu

Hello from Kathmandu again and Happy New Year 2013.

‎”May the stars carry your sadness away… May the flowers fill your heart with beauty… May hope forever wipe away your tears…”. Wishing you a fabulous 2013 full of great achievements and experiences.

I am having an awesome time in Nepal but been busy as well so I am updating with a photo post for now. Hope you enjoy it.

View of Kathmandu form Swayambhu

View of Kathmandu form Swayambhu

Celebrating AS's Birthday

Celebrating AS’s Birthday

mahadev in sanga

Visiting Kailashnath Mahadev : World’s Tallest Statue of Lord Shiva 

Makka Ku

Still celebrating our wedding 🙂

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Shopping in Kathmandu

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Kathmandu Valley with the Himalayan range as backdrop

Patan Darbar Square

Patan Darbar Square

Glimpse from my nephew's Pasni

Glimpse from my nephew’s Pasni

Seto Gumba (1)

Visiting Seto Gumba

Seto Gumba (2)

Visiting Seto Gumba

Seto Gumba (3)

Visiting Seto Gumba

swayambhu (1)

Visiting Swayambhu

swayambhu (2)

Visiting Swayambhu

swayambhu (3)

Temple lights in Nepal

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Visiting the Zoo

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Visiting the Zoo

Lots of things are happening in Kathmandu and I will update on them soon.  One good news this new year is that I am extending my stay  by another 2 weeks. 🙂

Till the next post, take care.

Namaste from Kathmandu

Finally I am in Kathmandu now. We had a fun time in Bangkok about which I will write in detail when I get time :). It was really hot and humid in Bangkok. From the extreme hot weather there I am now in Kathmandu where the weather is really cold.

The flight to Kathmandu was very emotional for me; I was really happy but anxious at the same time. It was a short 3 hours flight so it went really quick. Almost half the plane was full of Nepali people returning home so I could hear people speaking in Nepali from all direction. It took a while for me to adjust mentally as it is not common in Sydney to hear so many people speaking Nepali at the same time.

Almost 2 hours after take-off we entered Nepal and I could see the beautiful Himalayas. It was so nice to feel the beauty of the place. The snow-capped mountains and hills looked magnificent.

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But as we got closer to Kathmandu, I could also see a layer of smoke just above valley blurring my view to the beautiful panoramic mountains. It is so sad to realise that Kathmandu is really polluted these days.

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As we got closer I could see some villages with small houses and large fields and then suddenly, there were houses everywhere. I knew we were in Kathmandu then as the view was only of houses after houses. Finally we landed in Tribhuvan international airport.

The airport hasn’t changed a bit from our last visit. There was a queue to clear the immigration and then we took the luggage and were out. I was not expecting my parents to pick us up as I mentioned in my last post but as soon as I came out, I saw my dad waving at us. I was really happy to see him. It was a good surprise from him.

At the airport, the place looked really chaotic. I am not sure why they don’t manage the place properly. There were so many cars and taxis parked everywhere. There were drivers haggling people offering rides and then there were lots and lots of people I am not sure doing what.

My in laws were still on the way when my dad called them so we waited for a few minutes. It was nice to see all my in laws including my BILs coming to pick us up from the airport. We hopped into the car and made our way home.

From airport to home (AS’s home) was not a bad ride but I got to witness Kathmandu’s chaotic traffic and the pollution. I reminded myself that I will be fine and just need to take care that I drink good water and food so I can enjoy my holiday without getting sick.

My dad also came to AS’s home with us and stayed for lunch so it felt good to see him. After that he left and we spent some time with the rest of the family. They all liked their gifts and were happy to see us in Nepal.

My MIL had already prepared lunch for us as well so I had my first meal in Nepal which was rice, goat curry, cauliflower curry and the yummy lapsi ko achar. It was nice to eat home-made food after many days of Thai food in Thailand.

Dal bhat

Lapsi ko achar

After lunch I went to my house with AS. My FIL dropped us there which was really nice of him. I took all the gifts I had brought for my family with us. Mum was already back from work and dad was home as well.  My brother, SIL and little nephew travelled to Nepal from Australia a week before us. It was so nice to see all my family. My nephew is looking so good and cute. I saw him after 10 days.

We spent some time with them and it was time for me to go back to my new home. My FIL picked us up again and we were back to my new home.

It was our first night here so all the family members were waiting for us. We all sat together in one room having a good conversation. It was nice to see AS spending quality time with his family and they welcomed me into their home with open arms.

We went to bed around 11pm but my body was still in Australian time so was really tired.

Finally I am in Nepal with our family. Will keep you posted from Kathmandu.

Take care everyone and hope all the Christmas shopping are done  🙂

Ready for holiday

I meant to write this post yesterday but I have been really busy this week. So finally I got some time to write this morning.

Right now I am at Sydney International Airport waiting for our flight to Bangkok. We checked in, passed immigration so nothing else to do but wait. AS is busy on his mobile playing Sudoko while I am browsing the net and writing this post.

This week has been really busy as my brother with SIL and little nephew left for Nepal. Then the whole week at work I had meetings and trainings that kept me very busy.

Anyway I am just glad that we are going on a holiday. Luggage wise I didn’t have much problem. I think it is better when I fly out from Sydney but coming back is always a problem with so much stuffs that I bring with me. We have more than 30 kgs in our luggage which is only gifts for my family and AS’s family. I always think I haven’t bought much but when we started packing, OMG there is so much. I really hope everyone will love our gifts as we spent lots of time on them.

First stop will be Thailand where we will spend 4 days going around and shopping in Bangkok. We will also meet AS’s cousin with his wife and little girl (she is under 2 and this is the first time we will be meeting her) so that is really exciting. After that we will be in Nepal for the rest of the holiday.

Really looking forward to spending a good time with our family. All the fear I have expressed in this blog before has gone away and I am really looking forward to having a great time.

I will have a cold but not a white Christmas this year so that is completely different than Christmas in Australia as I have mentioned in my post here, no BBQ, no beach.

I will be updating my blog  and reading other blogs less frequently until I come back to Sydney so till then take care everyone. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

If you wish to send me a Christmas Gift, please read here to know what I want :).

Samay Baji

Samay Baji is one a traditional Newari dishes in Nepal that is prepared during festivals.

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Typically it consists of  a variety of baji (beaten rice), haku musya (black soyabean), chhoela (smoked meat), puka-la (spicy roasted meat), aalu acha (boiled potato marinated with pickle), bhuti (boiled beans with spices), khen (boiled egg), panchkwa (bamboo shoot, potato, beans mixed curry), wo or bara (black lentil shallow fried pancakes, lava-palu (ginger and garlic), achar (pickle), wauncha (green vegetables) and aaila (Newari liquor). If you don’t have aaila, it can be replaced with any whiskey.

Samay baji is Newari food which is offered to the Gods on many occasions by Newars. This is the traditional dish and a regular item in many Newari festivals. Samay Baji is popular among Nepalese people because of its unique taste, unique cooking style and natural spices used in it.

Samay Baji

This year during Dashain, we tried to make Samay Baji and it had

Chiura (beaten rice)

Chiura, called Baji in Newari is beaten rice which is very popular in Nepal. Chiura is a common snack  in Nepal. The snack is made by pounding rice. The dish can be served with yogurt, curry, and or meat.

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Wo (black lentil shallow fried pancakes)

Wo is a Newari word which means mashed lentils cake and it is prepared from black lentils or green lentils (Mugh beans). Wo is called Bara in Nepali. There are different kinds of Wo depending on what is put in it and how it is cooked.

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Please click here for recipe

Aloo ko achar

Aloo ko achar is a very popular Nepali potato salad which is used in most bhoj in Nepal. There are many variations of this dish.

aloo ko achar (14)

Please click here for recipe

Chicken chhoela (smoked meat)

One of my favourite dishes and very popular in Nepal. an be made with goat , buffalo or chicken meat.

Chicken chhoela (10)

Please click here for recipe

Fried bhatmas (soyabeans)

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry the soybean. When it is soft take it out of the pan and keep it aside and let it cool.

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Bodi (boiled black eyed beans with spices)

Soak bodi overnight. Press it in pressure cooker until cooked. Normally it will take 3-4 whistles. In a pan add oil, heat it a while then add the cooked bodi. Add garlic ginger paster, salt and chill and sauté for a while. Bodi is ready to be served.

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Saag (green leaves)

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You can use any type of green leave for this like English Spinach, Choy sum or Bok choy. You can either boil or fried it with some salt.

Khasi ko masu (Goat curry)

Khasi ko masu is one of the main dishes eaten during Dashain in Nepal. It can be made in different ways depending on personal preference.

goat curry (7)

Please click here for recipe

Fried fish

Just fry a few anchovies in oil.

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Lava-palu (ginger and garlic)

Peel fresh garlic and cut into half.

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Peel ginger and cut into thin slices.

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  • aaila (alcohol)

In Nepal, they make home-made rice wine aaila which is colourless. But that day we don’t have the typical newari wine so used rum.

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Nepali style Goat curry (using a pressure cooker)

goat curry (1)

Ingredients

  • 2 red onions sliced
  • 2 tomatoes dices
  • 500gm goat meat
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of coriander powder
  • 2 tablespoons of garam masala
  • 3 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
  • 2 teaspoons of turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh coriander to garnish

 Steps

  • Take a pressure cooker and heat oil in it.
  • When the oil is hot add curry leaves and the finely sliced onions.

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  • Add a pinch of salt so that the onion will get cooked quickly and becomes golden brown.

goat curry (3)

  • Add Ginger Garlic paste, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, chili and let it cook for 2 mins.

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  • Add finely diced tomatoes and let it cook completely, with the onion.

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  •  Add the goat meat  to this mixture.
  • Let it cook for 10 min .
  • Add some water, close the cooker lid and keep the flame on medium
  • After 6 full (long) whistles, turn the heat off
  • Let the pressure in the cooker dissipate by itself; do not force the steam out by lifting the whistle etc.

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  • When the pressure has dissipated, open the lid and check if the mutton is tender enough if not add some water if required and let the curry cook for about 3-5 min on low to medium heat
  • Garnish the goat curry with fresh coriander and it’s ready to server!

goat curry (7)

You may also like :

*Momo *Aloo ko achar *Chicken chili