Radhika Acharya, who was born in Bhutan and raised in a refugee camp in Nepal, grew up eating and cooking the traditional foods of her parents and grandparents. The rich blend of history and flavors she experienced as a child continue to reflect her cultural identity as an adult in a new country. Now a stay-at-home mother of three in Pennsylvania, she regularly prepares the flavorful Nepali chow mein, roti, potato curry and fried samosas of her youth for her own family.
That they love it goes without saying. “In our culture, our parents teach us to cook,” Acharya says. She learned to make the rice- and dal-based dishes alongside her mother, Tila, and maternal grandmother, Madhu, using deceptively simple techniques and lots (and lots) of fresh vegetables before immigrating to Pittsburgh at age 20 in 2009.
“Cooking is my passion, and my kids enjoy it.” They’re especially crazy about momo, a type of soft and pillowy steamed dumpling that’s a popular street food in cities such as Kathmandu. Home cooks also love serving it at birthday parties, holidays and other family celebrations.
Characterized by their distinctive, rose-like pleated shape, momo are thought to have come to Nepal via Tibet sometime in the 14th century. First filled with juicy yak meat (a lean protein similar in flavor to elk or bison), today they’re usually filled with minced chicken, pork or lamb (and sometimes cheese), vegetables and regional spices and herbs. Unlike Chinese dumplings, which featu.