Timmur: Stories and Flavours from Nepal

This richly informative and handsome guide to Nepalese culinary realms can be eye-opening to those of us who did not know that “Nepal has over a hundred different castes and ethnicities, each one with its own food culture rooting with its socio-ecological milieus.”

The book’s title, Timmur, refers to a relative of Sichuan pepper which is prized in Nepal. While both have a numbing quality, timmur’s dark brown color and citrusy flavor contrast with Sichuan pepper’s vivid red and flowery herbal qualities. Author Prashanta Khanal writes a blog about Nepalese food culture called thegundruk, named for a popular dish of fermented greens.

The 100+ recipes are organized regionally, helping to distinguish the geographic, ethnic, and political elements in Nepalese cooking, which includes dishes such as:

• Kwanti, a soup made from assorted sprouted beans

• Yangnen Phaska, a dish of black pork and wild lichen

• Arikanchan, fried taro leaves filled with lentil paste

• Chakauni, potato and yogurt salad

• Thekuwa, deep-fried whole wheat cookies

Fascinating and carefully presented.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.