Traditional wedding feasts are served on banana leafs, which are easy to throw away, and have all the guests sitting on grass mats on the floor. But as Nepal rapidly modernizes, many of these old traditions have been exchanged for new ones.
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Nepali Wedding Food and Desserts – You’re here!
Photo Courtesy of Annata Mila
Throughout the wedding, something called fried paddy or popped rice is thrown. Fried paddy is puffed rice. It is a cheap cereal that when added to sugary syrups can be a filling snack.
The wedding feast itself incorporates a variety of dishes, styles, tastes. Most of the selected dishes will be determined by the traditions of the families involved as well as their caste, but here are a few that will pop up:
Chiura, a pounded rice dish often served with meat and yogurt, is an every-day food in Nepal. During the wedding though, it may be included with the brideprice and may be involved in a ceremony during which the bride is fed chiura and the groom asks her three times for it, saying ‘you’ while he requests it. The use of ‘you’ when addressing the bride shows her diminishing social status (yikes!).
Photo Courtesy of Himalayan Fusion Cafe
Kasaar is a must at Nepali weddings. This mitai is made from rice flour and concentrated sugarcane juice. It is rolled into a ball, much like a ladoo.
Photo Courtesy of Boss Nepal
Khir is a sweet rice pudding which may be served to guests and the couple during the final feast. It is often eaten as a breakfast or snack item but makes a show at Nepali weddings too.
Photo Courtesy of Namaste Nepalese Kitchen
These are just the few dishes that show up at every Nepali wedding. Besides these traditional foods, Nepali weddings often feature a variety of meat curries, legume soups (daals), fried vegetable (sabzis), and sweets. As weddings modernize, many Nepali couples opt for Western wedding cakes and cookies. Ultimately there is no set menu for Nepali weddings.
Nepali weddings are beautiful, week-long celebrations of tradition, family, and love. They are marathon events with all night vigils and prayer ceremonies. By the end the couple are completely bound by law, love, and the power of their faith.