Wonderful Beautiful Nepal

Kwaanti or Biraulaa ko Ras -  Sprouted Bean Soup Colorful array of homemade sprouted beans A taste of tradition - celebrate the festival of Janai Purnima (August 21, 2013) by preparing the much loved kwaanti - sprouted bean soup. Mixed sprouted beans are known as kwaanti, quaanti (क्वाँटी), or biraula (बिरौला) in Nepal and are cooked a number of ways: in soups, in vegetable stir-fries, in salads, or in combination with meats.  During the Nepali festival of Janai Purnima or Kwanti Purnima , a delicious stew-like soup is prepared from a colorful array of mixed sprouted beans.  Traditionally, the sprouts are prepared from a combination of nine different types of colorful beans.  This wholesome soup is highly nutritious and usually eaten with steamed rice.  Today, kwaanti soup is cooked regularly in many Nepali households, and one does not have to wait for festival time to enjoy it.  Although this dish can be prepared quickly in a pressure cooker, some coo...

Young man dressed as a crow, harbinger of death Death is probably the most difficult thing for humans to deal with, but in Nepal they have found a way to laugh at it. They have a festival, Gai Jatra, where you can have the best time laughing at politicians and society's issues. This festival really does have something for tourists. Chariot for the deceased As the story goes, many years ago, before the three kingdoms united as one, the queen lost a child to death. This magical, Newari festival is held each year around August and is really worth experiencing, particularly if you’ve recently had a loss. This year I thought about a good friend who had passed away just last month. I have to tell you this festival helped me to process my own loss.  Children dressed as gods My friend, Paul Gaudiness, was a lot like the Nepali who has little materially and don’t even expect so much in life. He was a hard working man who found the love of his life quite late and buried her only a couple y...

One of the biggest unanswered questions for me before I left home was what does a person do when they are thousands of miles from family and friends? How would I fit in and what would I do? This blog post is about a day in the life of an expat just to show you how life goes on here and you can build a lovely life with as much love and family as you need.  My helper left me a couple weeks ago, after helping himself to a dip or two-no big deal. I didn't mind the little loss of a few rupee as much as having to search again for a domestic helper. I liked him, and like his name, he was really Some Thing! He cooked, he cleaned and he smiled as though he liked his job. But alas! he moved on and now I have No Thing.   So my laundry had been piling up. Kamal, my dear friend/son from Changu Narayan was kind enough to bring his daughter, Bimila age 15, to do my laundry for me and his son, Kiran age 9. But I had to go to Kathmandu so I left them here alone. What amazing, sweet, dear ...