Food · Nuwakot
Farm kitchen dal bhat at Nuwakot
Help pick greens in a farm garden and cook a Nepali dinner over a wood or gas fire: lentils, rice, seasonal vegetables, pickle and, at festival times, sel roti. Then eat it in the courtyard as the bells ring at the Bhairavi temple.
Dal bhat is the daily meal of Nepal, and in a farm kitchen in Nuwakot it changes with the season. In winter it might be mustard greens, radish and cauliflower; in spring, young pumpkin shoots and fresh coriander; in autumn, after the rice harvest, the new rice itself. We arrange the session at The Famous Farm or with a family in the village, depending on the season.
You start in the garden, picking what is ready, then learn the basic steps: tempering lentils with ghee, cumin and garlic, frying greens with fenugreek seed, and pounding a fresh tomato and sesame achar. Your cook explains the small rules of a Nepali kitchen, such as keeping the hearth clean and eating with the right hand.
Dinner is served on brass or steel plates in the courtyard. If it is a festival season you may also see sel roti being fried, rings of sweet rice batter. The session is relaxed and hands-on, and you leave with the method to repeat at home.
Good for
Questions
Is the Nuwakot cooking session vegetarian?
The core dal bhat is vegetarian, and we can keep the whole meal vegetarian or vegan if you ask in advance; ghee can be replaced with oil. Families in Nuwakot also cook chicken or goat curry for guests on request. Tell us about allergies, especially to nuts, sesame or mustard, which are common in Nepali cooking.
Do I need cooking experience for the farm kitchen class?
No. The class is hands-on but simple, and the cook guides each step. Children can help with picking vegetables and rolling or shaping dough. Expect a home kitchen, not a cooking school: low stools, a wood or gas stove and a small working space, which is part of the charm.
How long does the cooking session last?
About two hours including garden picking, cooking and eating. It is usually held in the late afternoon so dinner is ready around dusk. If you are staying at The Famous Farm, it can replace your included dinner. Timing is flexible, and we can shift it to lunch on a day trip.
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