“Hema shares her favorite Nepali foods”
In the late 19th and early 20th century many Nepalese were invited to help settle parts of Bhutan to begin cultivating food. This Nepalese population increased and became threatening to the Bhutanese Government. In the 1980’s the government implemented a One Nation One People policy in order to preserve the Bhutanese culture. The government would not grant citizenship to the Nepalese living and working in Bhutan and enforced Bhutanese language and dress codes. Conflict escalated in the 1990’s and many returned to Nepal but were now considered Bhutanese refugees. Nepal is unable and unwilling to take in the returning population which created the need for relocation. Read more about the history and current situation of ethnic Nepalis here.
Hema is from Nepal but is considered one of the Bhutanese refugees. She and her daughter were living in one of the refugee camps in tents. She decided her daughter needed a better future and applied to participate in the refugee relocation program. She ended up in New Hampshire living with an aunt and uncle.
Her life is stable, but she misses living with a larger family and the support that provides. She has been a gardener at the Sycamore Community Garden in Concord for four years. In Nepal, it was her mother-in-law who tended the garden but Hema’s mother-in-law remains in Nepal, so Hema had to learn to garden. She grows several types of hot chili peppers, pumpkin, cucumbers, long beans, marigolds from seeds she brought with her, along with mustard greens and tomatoes. She also saves seeds from year to year. Growing and eating these foods helps her and her daughter remain connected to their culture and traditional diets. Hema shared some favorite dishes including momo, a meat filled dumpling, rice puffs chatpatey, Nepali chow mein, and khir, a rice pudding. Both she and her daughter enjoy cooking.
Connect with the NH Harvest of the Month foods featured in Hema’s Nepali favorites:
Hot chili peppers and Tomatoes in September
Cucumbers in July
Mustard Greens in August