This recipe for Nepalese Curried Vegetable with Lentils and Home-made Chapathis was kindly given to me by a friend who travelled across Nepal in 2011. It's been a staple in our house ever since.
The origin story
A week ago, my family had an old friend come to stay. Her name is Aurelia, and when she was a child she came to stay with my family every year as an exchange student in the hope that we would teach her some English! It’s a tradition my family has had for generations, her father staying with my grandparents when he was a child too!
I think it’s fair to say that in the time she’s spent with us she has taught us just as much as we’ve taught her! When she came to stay this time round, she decided to teach me a new type of food – Nepalese. She visited Nepal for a couple of months and lived with a number of families eating their traditional food.
Ser out below is just one of the very many dishes she ate on her travels.
What is Nepalese food like?
Nepalese (or Nepali) food is complex. It's made up of a variety of cuisines which reflects the wide range of different ethnicities and climates that make up Nepal's people and geogrpahy.
There's a lot of Asian influence in Nepalese cuisine and you can often find dumplings and noodle dishes (like chow mein). Other dishes have more of a Tibetan or Indian Influence. This dish is more influenced by an Indian dal.
Is Nepalese Curried Vegetables with Lentils vegan?
Yes! This dish is vegan by design. By that I mean I've not had to make any changes to it to adapt it for my plant based diet.
This is, however, a bit of a happy accident as many people in Nepal eat meat, fish and dairy. Though, given Nepal's large Hindu population and culinary influences from both India and Tibet (see above) there is plenty of vegetarian and vegan food on offer. Just like this!
Are chapathis vegan?
Yes! Chapathis are a simple flatbread made from flour and water. No animal products in sight!
The recipe
Nepalese Curried Vegetables with Lentils and Home-made Chapathis
Ingredients
For the curry
- 2 cups seasonal vegetables
- 2 cups lentils
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 white onion
- 400 g chopped tomatoes
- 2 red chillies
- 400 ml vegetable stock
For the chapathis
- 50 g plain flour
- Water to bind
Instructions
- Begin by frying the spices and onion in a little oil in a pan.
- Once the onion has softened add the tomatoes and chillies (diced).
- Next add the salt and let the mix gently bubble.
- Add the lentils to the paste along with the rest of the vegetables. Top with 500ml stock and simmer until cooked. Leave to cook (roughly 20minutes) until the sauce is thick and the lentils cooked.
- While the curry is cooking, sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle.
- Slowly add the water and mix into a dough.
- Knead the dough until it forms a firm ball.
- Roll out the odugh on to a lightly floured surface.
- When the dough is roughly 2 to 3mm thick, transfer to a hot, dry frying pan.
- Let the doug heat through gently pressing the dough down with your knuckles covered in a cloth. This will push air bbbles into the dough and it will begin to puff up.
- After doing this on both sides for a few minutes transfer the bread to a direct flame. Again this will puff up an char slightly.
- Once it is puffed up and crisp, it is ready to servce
Nutrition
Have you ever had Nepalese curried vegetables? Or perhaps you know of other authentic recipes from the region? Please do share them below!
More global recipes
If you'd like to try more recipes inspired by cultures around the world, check out the global recipe archive.
Leave a Reply