Kathmandu - Before the Quake

Jonah M. Kessel captures the beauty of Kathmandu through the lens of his camera in footage that he took prior to the 2015 earthquake. Through his narrative, he also offers a view of Kathmandu and the livelihoods of people who live there.

To donate to Nepal relief efforts, visit:

• Facebook - Donation Matching to International Medical Corp

• Global Giving

Additional good reads:

• Perseverance and Grace as Nepal is Turned Upside Down

• Don't Rush to Nepal to Help. Read this First.

Bittermelon Chips!

Warning:  Bitter! Not for the faint-hearted....Here is a wikipedia article on the scientific features of the plant and culinary uses. This is a common dish in South Asia.

Fresh bittermelon from my mother's garden! 

Directions:

1. Slice clean bittermelon so that pieces are small circles as shown in the final product photo above.
2. Place in a bowl and salt liberally. Set aside for 30 minutes. This step helps to remove some of the bitterness flavor from the bittermelon.
3. Very important:  After the 30 minutes have passed, transfer the bitter melon into another container and squeeze out any remaining moisture.
4. Heat up oil in a frying pan.
5. Place sliced bittermelon in the pan so that the bittermelon slices are not on top of each other [they are all making contact with the pan.] This is critical to ensure a dried, crispy texture in the end.
6. Cook the slices for 30-45 minutes on low to medium heat, flipping slices over once in between.
7. When slices begin to brown, toss with minced garlic.
8. Add salt to taste.
9. Serve and enjoy!

How to make Raita

Family raita recipe

Here is a simple recipe for raita, which is a creamy, flavorful and healthy sauce that can be used as a side or dipping sauce. There are many variations of this dish. Here is ours!

What you need:

• Half a pound of cucumbers (about 2 medium-sized cucumbers), shredded*
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided into 1/4 teaspoons

*If you have a food processor, you may be able to use it to shred the cucumbers. Or, you can chop the cucumbers very finely by hand.

Directions:

1. Mix shredded cucumbers with 1/4 teaspoon salt and let it sit for 15 minutes. The purpose of this step is to reduce bitterness and separate water from the cucumbers.
2. After 15 minutes, remove the cucumber portion from the water and squeeze the cucumbers to remove even more water. After squeezing, your cucumbers may not look that attractive, but this is normal. They may look like those in the picture shown. 
   
3. Mix the cucumber, minced garlic, yogurt, cumin and remaining salt in a bowl.
4. Add more salt or other seasonings if needed.
5. Serve and enjoy! Or store for a few hours in the refrigerator to make the raita even more flavorful.

How to make Spicy Nepali Squash Curry

Seasonal Squash Curry

*Note: The photo was updated to show this recipe made with zucchini, not yellow squash. You can interchange your favorite seasonal squash.

This recipe is courtesy of my mother. For this, I used yellow, round squash that I picked up at the local farmer's market. However, you can experiment with different varieties of squash--some will have a sweeter flavor. You can play around with the texture too. This recipe creates a dish that has a soft consistency.

Makes 2-4 servings (varies based on portion size).

What you need:

• About 1 pound of your favorite squash
• 1/2 an onion [I used white]
• 1/2 a small tomato [or 1/3 of a large one]
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 dried chili [optional--if you want the spicy flavor]
• 15-20 fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/8 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Chop your ingredients as shown in the picture. [Note:  my garlic and ginger is combined in the picture and a whole tomato is shown even though I only used 1/3. ] Onions were chopped as small as I could get them. Squash was chopped into pieces of about 1 cm by 1 inch. The tomato was chopped about that size too. 
2. Heat the canola oil in a medium size cooking pan on the stove over medium heat. The pan should have a lid.
3. Carefully add fenugreek seeds and chili [optional] allowing them to brown. Be careful because the oil may splatter. [The lid can be used as a shield :P or you can cover the pot with the lid.]
4. Once the seeds and chili have browned, add the onions to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and cook until golden brown, stirring constantly. This may take several minutes. If you need to take a break from stirring, be sure to turn the heat down to low. You want to avoid the onions sticking to the pan and burning. 
5. Once the onions are golden brown, turn the heat down to low.
6. Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric and cumin
   and stir again for a minute or so. The reason why the heat is low at this stage is the ingredients that you just added can burn easily.
7. Add the squash to the pan, cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. You will have to stir the squash every few minutes to avoid burning. If you want to check less often, decrease the heat to low, but you may need to cook a little bit longer.
8. After 15 minutes, add the chopped tomato.
9. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over low heat.
10. Add salt to taste. 
11. Serve and enjoy!

Plan ahead tip:

Keep ginger and garlic chopped and ready to go. You can even freeze it so that it lasts longer.

How to make your own Nepali tea [chai]!

Nepali milk tea [Masala chai]

Here is a simple recipe for Masala Chai, a popular drink in Nepal and other Asian countries. Nepalese often pronounce it "Chia." There are many different variations of this tea--here is mine!

Makes 3 small cups of tea or 2 large cups.

What you need:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup milk [I use 2% cow's milk but you can try almond/soy milk or nonfat versions]*
• 2-3 whole cloves [optional]**
• 1 whole cardamom [optional]**
• 2-3 tea bags [black tea--I use Lipton] 
• Pinch of cinnamon [optional]
• Sugar to taste [I generally stir in 1 heaping teaspoon into my mug]

*The ratio of milk to water is based on personal preference. Some people use the same amount of milk as water for a creamier taste. My directions are based on using 2% milk. I would probably increase the proportion that is milk if I were using nonfat/skim milks. Experiment and see what you like!

**If you're not sure what cloves and cardamom look like, see below.

Directions:

1. Put water, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon [if desired] into a cooking pot. 
2. Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil.
3. Once the water boils, pour in milk. Keep watching the pot as the milk will rise and can overflow.
4. Once the milk rises, you can turn the heat to low and let the milk simmer for a creamier taste. Or, you can turn off the heat at this point.
   
   
5. Pour the foamy water-milk mixture into 2 or 3 mugs. 
6. Add sugar to taste [I use a heaping teaspoon for my cup of tea].
7. Add a tea bag to each cup. Let it steep for 1-2 minutes, then remove the tea bag. Serve and enjoy!
   
   

Happy Nepali New Year!

Happy Nepali New Year 2071! 

This photo was taken outside of my mom's childhood home in Thamel--an old part of Kathmandu--during my trip to Nepal in Fall 2013.

There are many groups of people that celebrate their new years in this time of the year, such as Bengal, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Nice of Secretary of State John Kerry to acknowledge them on behalf of the president.  Happy New Year!