Yomari

Yomari is a Newari Cuisine made with the rice flour. Yomari is prepared mostly on the festival of Yomari Punhi, Marga or Mangsir Shukla Purnima (The full moon day observed in November/December) or on birthdays. Yomari has a typical taste of the Chaku or molasses with sugar. However, Yomari can also be prepared with Khuwa (a milk product), meat or lentil paste inside. Yomari is a steamed food which has the rice flour dough on the outside covering the semi-solid Chaku which lies inside.

Ingredients:
For Rice-flour dough (outside covering)

• 2 cups rice flour
  
• water
  
• 1 tbsp mustard oil

For Paste (Inner content):

• ¾ cup chaku
  
• ½ cup sesame seeds (grounded)
  
• 3 tablespoons shredded coconut

Preparation:

• Pour ½ tsp of oil on flour and mix it well. Then pour boiling water enough to make dough. Knead the dough with the hands until smooth. Adjust water as necessary. After the dough is ready cover it with a damp cloth to preserve the moisture.
  
• Heat a pan and fry sesame seeds on the pan until it starts cracking and spreading fragrance. Cover the pan with lead to prevent the seeds from jumping out of the pan. Take it out and grind it into fine powder. Also grind the shredded coconut into fine powder.
  
• Boil the Chaku with some water for some minutes. Pour it on a vessel through a dry cloth to filter it. Add the sesame seed powder and the coconut powder and mix thoroughly and give it a quick boil to make it dense liquid paste.
  
• Roll the dough to make a long cylinder. Divide it into 15-16 pieces.
  
• Mix ½ tsp of oil on luke warm water to use it each time the dough is getting Yomari shape.
  
• Spread some oil on palm to avoid sticking the dough. Take a piece of dough and with the hands mould the dough into a conical shape with an open end at the base. Make sure that the walls are not thick. Use the oiled luke warm water on the index finger to smoothen the work.
  
• Fill ¾ of the space with the paste of Chaku and sesame seeds. Seal the opening by sticking together the edges of the base gently. Ensure that there is no opening and check for any leakages.
  
• Boil enough water on the lower part of the steamer and place the Yomari on the upper steamer tray with sufficient space in between. Before using, grease the tray with oil to avoid sticking of Yomari. Steam the Yomari for about 10 minutes or until it turns into soft watery color.
  
• Take out the Yomari gently and serve it hot.

Note:

• Yomari can be prepared in a variety of ways. Instead of using coconut, Khuwa can be used. Also Yomari can be prepared not with the Chaku inside but with Khuwa or meat or lentil paste inside.
  
• The sesame seed powder and the coconut powder can be added while boiling the chaku. This will ensure that the mixing is thoroughly done.