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| Pittar – a special platter offered to forebears by the Tharus in Western Nepal. Picture by Hari Prasad Chaudhary. Used with permission. |
“Some food platters served during festivals taste way better than the ones served in restaurants,” says foodie and adventure biker Hari Prasad Chaudhary.
He shares a platter (‘pittar’ in Tharu) prepared by Tharus from Western Nepal during the Dashain festival and offered to their forebears – a dish consisting of curries of ash gourd, taro, Malabar spinach and peas, mustard greens, water snails, locally raised chicken meat, fresh fish and roselle, dried fish, ambarella pickle, rice and an omelette.
Add a glass of ‘mahua’, alcohol made from Madhuca longifolia flowers.
Called ‘paoe’ in Western Nepal and ‘poro’ in Eastern Nepal, Malabar spinach could be found in most of the kitchen gardens, along with roselle called ‘amilcha’ the western part while ‘tutroom’ in eastern part. However, they are vanishing from the villages. Likewise, ambarella called ‘amar’ locally and resembling hog plum is a rare species these days.
Would you like to try ‘pittar’?
