Kathmandu:

For me Thakali food is about the best you can get in Nepal, and for me the best Thakali food is at Tukche Thakali Kitchen on Durbar Marg. You have to actually book a table, it’s so popular.

Even given regional variations, the momos at Tukche are extraordinary in that the spiced and exquisitely flavoured chicken inside the wrap is not minced but finely chopped which adds to its juiciness.

Another snack that is unusual are the Buck Wheat Chips or even the Buck Wheat Bread (latter served with a pickle), both good for diabetics and subtly tasty. The chips are called Kanchaymba and according to the Master Chefs the Manjupurias, “This preparation is made on various festivals and occasions to welcome guests.”

Inevitably order the Set Mini Meal. With the rice, you get a number of unusually interpreted dishes like the Black Daal. Everywhere else it is thick and has additions that detract from the taste of the daal. But here the Khu (black lentil daal) has its taste heightened by a dab of butter and a little salt. Along with rice, daal bhat gets a whole new meaning. There must be digestives in there somewhere but the taste is pure.

According to Manjupurias, “This daal is very nutritious but is a little difficult to digest, therefore, always cook it with garlic, onion, ginger etc which helps digestion.” Or may be the Tukche trick lies in the thinness of the daal.

Every household in Nepal has its own version of the fried potato or Plaa. Also known as the Aloo Tareko, what the dish is like is best summed up by Madhur Jaffrey, the television cooking diva: “Can you imagine cubes of potato encrusted with a spicy, crisply browned ginger-garlic paste? Add to that a hint of other spices if you want them.” At Tukche, the potatoes are delicious from the fine crust to the soft tongue tingling inside. And the secret ingredient is timur, a famous Nepali spice.

The spinach or Dhau is cooked so that it’s resistant to the bite. Even the Manjupurias declare, “For this dish, various leafy vegetables are fried in ghiu or oil in their own juice. The heat is raised at the end to impregnate the aroma and taste of various spices.” Spices are sparingly used.

The mutton curry or Ra Sya tastes exactly like a curry should, which led me to ask Bishal Lama, who was serving us, whether curry leaves were used. He said no but the condiments included coriander and cumin powder and essential to the taste was a little fat from the meat itself.

Masterly were the radish and tomato pickles, which allowed tomato and radish tastes to waft through the spices. According to Manjupurias, “Achars or pickles are preserved in brine or oil, while chutneys are freshly prepared.” There are about 30 recipes for tomato achars. My favourite has green chilies added to fenugreek, cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic and mustard oil. You need to take home some Lapue achar or radish pickle. With a coating of sesame seeds, chilli powder, lemon juice and fenugreek they make for anytime snacks.

Actually Tukche Thakali Kitchen and its food is a anytime kind of place for all the time food. Call 4225890.