Benazir Ahmed Siddique

Every country in the world has its unique local foods many of which are sold at streets by local vendors. According to a survey of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, around 2.5 billion people eat street food regularly. Fast foods, traditional foods, drinks, or fruit mixtures, etc. are available on the street food list.
There are a lot of buyers of these street foods because they are available at a slightly lower price than they are found at restaurants. The street food of each country in the world is almost different in taste and presentation.

Variety
Nepal also has a variety of street foods. Most Nepalis usually eat street food as snacks or khaja. Let us take a look at some of the traditional and regular street foods in Nepal.
Momo and Thukpa:- Momo, a Tibetan dish made with Nepali spices, is one of the most popular dishes in Nepal. When you go out on the street, you will see big aluminium utensils in which momos are generally steamed. In the meanwhile, momo is prepared through the steam of hot boiling water.
In the beginning, momos dumplings used to be filled with the meat of Yak, but at present buffalo, goat, chicken meat, as well as vegetable, are put inside the momos.
Thukpa is made of meat and vegetables, influenced by food made from Chinese noodles. During the winter Thukpa is found everywhere in the street.

Sel roti:- Sel roti is one of the most popular dishes in Nepal, mainly it is prepared during the religious festivals of Tihar and Dasain. This round doughnut made of rice flour is hardened and fried. As a result, the outer covering is hard at once and the inner is quite soft. This bread is usually eaten for breakfast.

Gundruk:- It is another very popular dish in Nepal. It is made by some Nepali green leaves, which are usually used to make pickles. These leaves are kept in a clay pot for one or two days along with mustard, radish and cauliflower for cooking gundruk.

Tongba:- If you visit Nepal, the name of the drink that will complete the tour is Tongba. This corn drink is a traditional drink for the Limbu people in eastern Nepal. It is also known as "Tibetan Hot Bear". This local beer is served in a bamboo pot.
Yomari, Chatamari, Chhoila, Lakhamari:- Yomari is a kind of steamed cake. The powder is boiled and made like doughs of which insides are filled with sesame, coconut, molasses, milk, ghee and flour. These are then steamed and eaten hot.
Chatamari is another popular snack of Newari restaurants. It contains plenty of edible and fragrant herbs, yak cheese, minced chicken and eggs.
Chhoila is usually made from buffalo meat. It is also made from goat and duck meat. It is eaten with a type of rice dish called Chura. Lakhamari is a light soft but crispy bread with a variety of designs. It is mainly made with flour, butter and sugar.
It is an important dessert in Newar culture and is used with special dignity in their wedding ceremonies.
Sekuwa:- It is a traditional snack of the Limbu community in Nepal. Here the meat of buffalo, chicken and goat are burnt by burning it with various natural spices and Himalayan salt. It is a popular street food among non-

vegetarian Nepalis.
Dhindo:- Corn and wheat flour are boiled together with salt and brought to a semisolid form. The people eat with pulses or vegetable broth.
It gives them a lot of energy and they can work all day once they eat dhindo. In earlier times, dhindo was regarded a food of the poor and downtrodden people. Over time, Nepal's middle and upper classes started eating this food, Nowadays, it is considered a staple food for many people in Nepal owing to its health benefits.

(The author, a Bangladeshi, is a pharmacist, writer and social activist)