Newari Specialties
Yomari
योमरी
Yomari is a steamed rice-flour dumpling pinched into a distinctive fig-like point and filled with molten chaku, the dark cane molasses of the Kathmandu Valley. It belongs to Yomari Punhi, the December full moon that closes the rice harvest, when households steam trays of them as an offering to Annapurna, goddess of grain. The shape is said to echo a flame or a stalk of paddy, and the first bite — hot syrup meeting soft rice dough — is the whole point of the festival.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 65 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
At the stove
Method
Bring the water to a rolling boil with the salt, take it off the heat and tip in the rice flour all at once. Stir hard with a wooden spoon until it comes together as a shaggy dough.
Cover and leave for 10 minutes, then knead the warm dough with ghee-slicked hands until it is completely smooth and no longer cracks when pressed. Keep it under a damp cloth.
For the filling, melt the chaku in a dry pan over low heat until it loosens into a thick syrup. Stir in the sesame, coconut, nuts and cardamom, then spread it on a plate to firm up.
Pinch off a golf-ball of dough and roll it smooth. Press your thumbs into the centre and work the walls outward and upward until you have a thin-walled cup.
Spoon in a generous teaspoon of filling, then draw the rim together and roll the top between your palms into a long, slightly curved point. Seal it firmly so no syrup escapes.
Set the finished yomari on a lightly oiled steamer tray, leaving space between them.
Steam over vigorously boiling water for 12 to 15 minutes, until the dough turns translucent and glossy.
Rest them for a minute or two before serving — the filling inside is scaldingly hot. Eat warm, from the pointed tip downward.
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