Winners are grinners and losers are boozers. (I couldn’t find anything else to rhyme with losers. And let’s face it, they probably need to drown their sorrows.)
Here are the results of “Best Black Tea – A Nepalese Food Quiz” posted a couple of weeks ago. Check out the answers along with a few tidbits about my experiences and then the winners will be revealed.
1. Tato Dudh – Hot Milk (or as one of our Sherpas called it, Hot Millick). Powdered milk never tasted so good. Offered at breakfast (into which one could mix instant coffee powder – shudder – or hot chocolate powder – that’s more like it) and also after dinner for that last warming drink before beddy-byes.
2. Anda Tarkari – Egg Curry. Admittedly, probably my least favourite of all the curries we were offered but still highly edible.
3. Saag – Spinach. But like no spinach you’ve ever tasted. Usually plucked fresh from one of the village gardens, I could eat this by the plateful (and occasionally needed to as my inherent low iron levels struggled with the lack of red meat on offer).
4. Alu Paratha – Flat bread stuffed with potato. One member of the group reckoned this tasted just like her Irish grandmother’s potato bread. I guess some food is universal.
5. Suji Ko Haluwa – Semolina Pudding. We were constantly spoilt with dessert after our evening meals – pineapple slices, chocolate pudding, apple pie – but the semolina pudding was the most Nepalese offering. One member of the group couldn’t bring herself to eat it as she was force-fed semolina pudding at boarding school as a child. Food has memories.
6. Chayote – Spiky Gourd. Our meals were a vegetarian’s delight (luckily for the one vegetarian in our group) with a multitude of different vegetables, most of them familiar but with the occasional new introduction. Chayote tastes a bit like zucchini (courgette).
7. Dal Bhat – Lentil Soup with Rice. This is Nepal’s national dish and is eaten in copious quantities. My absolute favourite dish of the trip. For our meals, the dal was poured onto the rice. One member of the group got most distressed when one of the Sherpas put some vegetable curry on top of her rice so there was no room for the dal. One must eat dal bhat as it is meant to be eaten.
8. Phini Roti – Fried Roti (also known as Tibetan Bread). We ate many different versions of bread but I think this would be my favourite. It is soft and slightly chewy with a hint of sweetness.
9. Rajma Tarkari – Kidney Bean Curry. Probably my favourite curry, this was absolutely delicious. And yes, we all know what happens when you eat a lot of beans but we were all in it together. Sharing is caring.
10. Momo – Dumpling. We were always served vegetable momos but they can also contain chicken. The first night these were offered, I was not feeling well and so was able to eat only one. I had to wait more than a week for them to reappear on the menu. (I was beginning to despair that they would not reappear at all.) I ate six.
So, how did you go? Here’s the results:
15 Points to Lynn at Life After 50 for being the first to provide all correct answers. However, she loses 5 points for not answering in numeric-alpha format (Rule #1). “But you said nothing would happen if we broke the rules!” Yeah. I lied. Don’t upset my system.
10 Points each to Joanne at My Life Lived Full, Cynthia at littleoldladywho.net and Sue at Travel Tales of Life who all managed to correctly identify every food item in the correct format.
5 Points to Bun at Bun Karyudo for providing answers to every item and getting two correct.
5 Points to Barbara at Barbara Pyett for her very creative answers. However, she loses 2 points for listing Dal Bhat as her least favourite.
1 Point each to all those who had a crack at identifying at least one dish and also to all those who commented at all because you know I love to hear from you even if you don’t want to play.
Congratulations to the winners. As soon as we’re all located in the same city, I will present you with your very large, very shiny trophies at an elaborate awards ceremony.
Now, I must leave you all to go and make suji ko haluwa for a family dinner this evening.
Namaste!
Well, now I know what all these dishes are I wouldn’t say no to sitting down to the table and trying some. They sound delicious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, they were. I suspect, however, that they will never taste the same when made at home as they did in that beautiful clear mountain air. (Well, plus someone else did the cooking and food you don’t have to cook yourself always tastes better.)
LikeLiked by 2 people
So true.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Its great to know that you got to try lots of Nepalese dishes on your trip, and that you liked them too! Our dishes are generally a bit spicy. Do try some more next time!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I love spicy food. And would happily spend months trying all sorts of new food if I could. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is great! Food everywhere tells so much about culture and the people. =)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congrats to the big winner and all of the players! I’m looking forward to seeing your formal wear and hearing your acceptance speeches.
Most of the dishes look delicious, although I am not a big fan of lentils. How much fun is it to experience another culture’s food (even if it makes you sound your trumpet)?
LikeLiked by 2 people
I thought you were accusing me of bragging. Then I realised you were talking about a different trumpet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes its a trumpet, sometimes a squawking duck, sometimes blazing saddles…
LikeLiked by 2 people
😀
LikeLike
I’ll have a number 2, 3, 4, 7 8 & 9 please!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent choices! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hee hee 🙂 I’ll await the delivery 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not sure I’d dare cook anything for you. How about I send you the recipe and you cook it? It will be much better for both of us. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like a perfect plan 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! I never have been very good ar following direction! Such a rebel😝
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m normally a fan of rule benders (well, within reason) but the OCD Mathematician Me almost had a nervous breakdown and wasn’t having any of it. Sorry about that. 😉
LikeLike
I love learning new things. However, I would remember these new foods/meal better if I actually ate them, I’m sure. And I think you’re right – those wonderful meals can never be replicated at home. Thanks for this great post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right, Pam. I also think it’s not just the eating of them but the experience surrounding the eating of it that makes you remember. I still have vivid memories of dishes I ate on another community project trip to Peru six years ago. I’m sure I’ll remember these foods for much the same reason – the environment, the people and why I was there.
LikeLike
They DO look good, and it turns out I could eat TWO: B and G. Although the flavor of cooked spinach grosses me out. I suppose mine could be left out of the pot and eaten raw.
Hey–I might have been the sole non-trumpeting tent-guest! A unique position to be in for a near-celiac who often inadvertently digests minuscule musical inspirations. Perhaps it would have been a case of “What blows around, comes around.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would have insisted you try the cooked version first because it tasted so much better than what we think of as cooked spinach.
I have more of an issue with boiled eggs than I do with beans, hence my curry preferences. To be honest, if you’re picturing a campsite at bedtime sounding like the brass section of an orchestra, I don’t actually recall this happening. Maybe Nepalese beans are less windy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Or maybe it was that the high winds of the high mountains overpowered the lesser zephyrs of the lower mounds.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow – you’re a tough game master!! Poor Barbara getting docked serious points like that!! My favourite line though? … As soon as we’re all located in the same city, I will present you with your very large, very shiny trophies at an elaborate awards ceremony.
I can hardly wait!
… but I won’t be having any hot milk, thank you. I wouldn’t drink milk as a child and I’m not about to start now. Ugh.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Tough but fair, Joanne, tough but fair. It keeps the world in order.
Well, Sue’s going to be here in a matter of weeks. How are you situated? Can you coordinate Cynthia and Lynn? This could happen. There will be wine.
LikeLike
You’re taunting me with wine and good company. I’m grinding my teeth with jealousy!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just planting the seed, my friend….
In the meantime, I suggest you wear a mouthguard.
LikeLike
ah, yes … the mouthguard.
Have you ever woke up with your mouthguard wrapped around your ear?
It’s charming.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Does it stop you getting earworms?
LikeLike
Don’t get me started on earworms! I finally got rid of the Steve Miller Band.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀
Last night my brother-in-law was showing me a book on Oberammergau and I happened to say about one picture “It looks like there should be singing.” He looked the photo and then started singing “Hosanna” from Jesus Christ Superstar. Then I had the darn thing stuck in my head. Until the Eldest Son pointed out there could be worse songs to have stuck in my head. Well, that was the end because whenever anyone says anything about the worst earworm, my brain immediately starts singing that awful song from that awful Disneyland ride about the world not being very large. Argh!
Honestly, they could use that amusement ride as an interrogation technique. “We won’t let you off until you confess!”
LikeLike
Then of course there is the Frozen song which is ironic in its refrain “Let It Go, Let It Go” …. because it sticks like glue.
God help me, please don’t let “It’s a Small World Afterall” get stuck in my head. Please.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! A food quiz. How did I miss the first post? Not that I’d have scored very highly (and probably have tripped up totally over the strict rules), but hey … I’m competitive, I’d have tried. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I’m so sorry you missed it. I have no doubt you would have given the others a run for their money. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 I just love the whole idea of it. Next Time!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Goodness me, they all sound so delicious! I guess I wasn’t feeling very well and off my food (most unlike me) when you posted the quiz, though I did correctly guess the spinach and saying that I got a bagful of spinach from the market this week and it was DELICIOUS! Best I have ever tasted. Am I an odd person loving spinach? So, let me get this clear, do we all need to be in your city AT THE SAME TIME to collect our very shiny trophies? I assume getting 1 point counts as a winner
LikeLike
I think the ‘like or loathe’ nature of spinach falls into the same camp as Brussels sprouts – it’s all in the way it’s cooked. Too many of us had bad experiences as children when green things were repeatedly turned grey by over-boiling and as a consequence have been turned off what can be an absolutely delicious vegetable if treated properly. Case in point – my kids love Brussels sprouts. At some point I plan to journey into the city to the Asian supermarket to see if they stock the same spinach as we had in Nepal. Hopefully one day we will grow it ourselves.
Oh, yes, all award recipients must be in attendance for the ceremony to proceed. In absentia awards are not available. Only those who scored 10 or above will be awarded trophies but all others are invited to the ceremony and will be given a Caramello Koala as an Encouragement Award.
LikeLike
A Caramello Koala? Oh, that sounds better than a shiny trophy (you always need to polish those, whereas one can just polish off the koala. I think.) I am booking my flight now…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, I got 5 points! Yay! I can’t believe I got two right. The food does look delicious, especially the curries. (I love curry.) Funnily enough, the one thing I absolutely could not eat is semolina. I also used to get this as a kid and I hated it. I’d just skip dessert and have an extra spoonful of curry instead.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t ever remember having semolina pudding as a child so I have the advantage of being introduced to it in exceptional circumstances that instantly endeared it to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Semolina is a bit like the slasher movie genre. It may not give you nightmares if you are introduced to it at the right age.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yippee!! Shall I make room in my suitcase for a large shiny trophy. Oh yes we shall have to get the others there for the ceremony. Where is that magic wand?
Lots of fun H! Delicious too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you can get the others here, there will definitely be trophies. Failing that, at least there will still be wine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent news. I shall settle for a shiny glass of wine. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
How I would love to be there in person to collect my trophy, but I am no longer a travelin’ woman, seeing as I now walk painfully, with three legs, and sometimes four, and move so slowly and look so pathetic that people are moved to kind gestures–holding doors, helping with parcels, etc—whenever I venture out into the public. In other words, I am a hermit. Let me know when the ceremony is, and I will pour a glass of wine and raise it to fair friends and a wonderful, if idiotic, occasion!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hm. I shall have to think on this. I think it not impossible to coordinate a group of people on several continents and in numerous time zones to simultaneously raise a glass and congratulate the winners. Let me get back to you. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
very nice words .. i realy enjoyed
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoyed reading your answers, and really, I think you were very generous giving me 5!! Shall be there for the winners receiving their shiny trophies! Congratulations to them!! Namaste xx
LikeLike
I am becoming a real lover of good food…my mouth was watering at the Rajma Tarkari – Kidney Bean Curry photo…not so much at what happens after eating it. lol
There’s nothing like good eating amongst good company!
LikeLike