Around the World in 80 Dishes: Nepal

For many, the mention of Nepal conjures images of Mount Everest. Known locally as Sagarmatha or Qomolangma, Mount Everest boasts of the highest point above sea level. The thought of the mountain also conjures up images of intrepid mountain climbers moving from base camp to base camp, with their sherpas. Indeed, the mountain casts a long shadow, one that often obscures the tens of millions of Nepali who live not just in the mountains and the valleys, but also the plains below. 

I find the stories of the Nepali people far more interesting and compelling than those any person -- such as Sir Edmund Hillary or  George Mallory -- who ascended Mount Everest. Their stories told by the Nepalis are ones of struggle, resilience, and hope. Unlike those of Hillary or Mallory, these stories recount lived experiences that span three hundred and sixty-five days per year, each and every year.  

Many of those stories can be found on a website, Stories of Nepal. The website curates the short stories of everyday Nepalis by subject and by cmmunity. The subjects that got my attention had names such as A Right to Earn a Living, Of Hope and Resilience, Strive Struggle Trive, and The Future I Want. I also browsed the stories by communities, looking at the stories from each of Nepal's three ecological regions: the mountains, the hills and the terai (or plains). 

As I read through these stories, I began to notice the common threads: the poverty at home, the desire to have a better life, the paths that they took to achieve that goal, and the obstacles that they had to overcome. There are two measures of poverty: income poverty and human poverty. The former measures whether a person has enough income to meet basic needs, while the latter has a broader focus on whether a person has access to essential resources and opportunities necessary for a decent life. Significant portions of Nepalis across all regions suffer from both types of poverty: in the mountains, 38% suffer from human poverty and 42 percent suffer from income poverty; in the hills, 24% suffer from human poverty while 29% suffer from income poverty; and, in the terai, 33% suffer from human poverty while only 23% suffer from income poverty.

But, as they say, numbers don't tell the whole story. That is where the Nepalis themselves come in. Their contribution demonstrates the hard work that they endure, but the hope that they have for either themselves or their children. For example, Beyond these Mountains tells the story of one Nepali woman, Bhomo Karto Tamang, in Gatang, which is high up in the mountains. She was born in a relatively well-to-do family whose father herded 18 yaks, 200 sheep, and, in her words, "I did not count the goats." She talked about how strong her mother was and how she helped her mother prepare the barley flour. That flour was payment to her father's shepherds. When she grew up, she got married and her life continued much like her mother. However, unlike her mother, this woman decided with her husband to send their children to school. She wanted her children to experience what lies beyond the mountains, something that she never had.

Then there is the story of Hiralel Rai, who lives in Khotang, which is firmly nestled in the hills of Nepal. Rai loved to sing and dance as a kid. His conduct was frowned upon in school, as it was deemed the type of activity inappropriate for boys. That led to corporal punishment by teachers. Rai persevered and, eventually, became a teacher himself. In his own words: 

I am aware that the choices I make as a teacher, inside the classroom, will have a great impact on the lives of these children. Of what they will do and who they will become. So I am always careful as to what I do and what I say in class. I am not a strict teacher who only disciplines students. We all know we get bored in class so I make things fun. I tell stories. While I teach English, I also dance with them. I also sing with them. And everyone sings and dances with me. Freely, without any fear.

There are many more stories that are illuminating and inspiring about how people overcome their circumstances for the betterment of not just themselves but others. When one can see that in people, they are seeing the innate dignity that lies within all of us and that we all deserve. 

I strongly recommend reading Stories of Nepal, where the above stories and pictures come from. They provide a very good starting point to learn about the people. Now, it is time to learn about their cuisine, which is the focus of my personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes. The main course, Bhuketo Maso, and the side dish, Piro Alu Dum, have their own stories to tell.

MAIN COURSE

My love for eating goat meat has made its appearance in my culinary challenge on more than one occasion, with Goat Curry from Guyana and two dishes -- Chichinga and Jollof Rice with Goat -- from Ghana. In preparing those dishes, I only tangentially touched, at best, or completely missed, at worst, an important subject: the role that goats play to help lift the poor out of poverty. That subject is harder to miss when one looks at Nepal, because quite a few non-governmental organizations have pursued initiatives to introduce goat farming to those who have little, and researchers followed behind to measure the impact. 

Goats are often referred to as the "poor man's cow." Like cows, goats produce milk and meat, but at a cheaper price to purchase and at a lower cost to maintain. One study estimated that a person could maintain four goats at the same cost as one cow. In addition, one can raise goats in areas where, due to lack of substantial vegetation, it would be harder to raise cows or other animals.  

There are many organizations that have worked to provide goats to poor Nepalis, to provide them with a means through which they can earn money through the sale of goat milk, or, over time, goat meat. Those programs were, in turn, monitored through research, including efforts that were funded by the United States Agency of International Development or USAID. One such research effort found that the provision of goats by Heifer International to poor Nepali women, along with training in animal husbandry, had positive outcomes on the living standards of those women. (I had to look for sources other than those of USAID because the current American administration has taken down EVERYTHING that USAID has done to help the poor around the world.)

For my main challenge, I decided to prepare Bhuketo Maso, which is a dry curry. The dish could be prepared with any kind of protein, such as chicken or lamb. However, I decided to use goat as a nod to the importance that this particular protein has in lifting many Nepalis of poverty. 

BHUKETO MASO

Recipe from Nepali Tummy

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound goat meat (clean and cut in 2 inch cubes)
• 1/2 tablespoon of cumin seeds or 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds or 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 3-4 dried red chiles or 1/2 tablespoon red chile powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• Salt
• 4 tablespoons oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the spice mix. Add the cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried red chiles in a spice grinder. (If you are using ground spices, just combine). Grind until the spices are a powder. Remove to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water to make a thick paste.

2. Boil the meat. In a deep pan, add the meat, water (to cover) and 2 pinches of salt. Boil the meat until it is cooked, approximately 20 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook. 

3. Finish the dish. Heart the oil in a separate pan. Add the boiled meat and the spice paste, stir over medium heat and cook for 10-12 minutes. 

SIDE DISH

While Bhuketo Maso may be a dry curry, I prepared a side dish that did have a curry-like sauce. Piro alu dum is a potato curry that has a tomato base.  This provided a little contrast to the overall meal. 

Potatoes were actually introduced into Nepal back in the mid-19th century, when a British naturalist, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, during an expedition to that country. While Hooker ultimately left, the tubers remained and became a vital crop across the country. They have an adaptability that works well in a country with differing regions, soils and climates. Nepalis are able to grow potatoes in areas where other crops could not thrive, thereby enabling them to produce a commodity that has taken a featured spot in their cuisine.

PIRO ALU DUM

Recipe from Cookpad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized potatoes, cut into 4 pieces
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2 whole red chiles
• 1 medium sized tomato paste
• Salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chile powder
• 3 tablespoons mustard oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kalonji
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander leaves)

Directions:

1. Boil the potatoes. Peel the potatoes. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Add potatoes and boil until tender. Remove from heat and drain the potatoes. While the potatoes are boiling, mince the garlic cloves and chiles, and then combine the two into a paste. 

2. Prepare the tomato-spice paste. In a bowl, add the garlic-chile paste, tomato paste, salt, turmeric powder and Kashmiri chile powder. Mix well. 

3. Finish the dish. Heat the oil in the pan on medium heat. Add kalonji and fenugreek seeds. Add potatoes and stir, mixing well. Add the tomato-spice paste and mix well. Add hot water and continue to cook, while the sauce thickens. Once the sauce is at the desired consistency, add coriander leaves and serve hot. 

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In the end, I am grateful for having the opportunity to prepare this meal. I am much more grateful for taking the time to learn about the roles that the primary ingredients -- goat meat and potatoes -- has had in Nepali life and cuisine. Not everything that I read is reflected in this post. But, I wanted to make sure one thing is prominently set forth here ... the importance of development programs to help the poor lift themselves out of their poverty, and the critical work of those who oversee and implement those programs. Their work takes on moral and ethical obligations, which are gravely under threat. That is best saved for another post. Until then ... 

PEACE.