Nepali Party

We have been blessed with the greatest piano teacher ever! Like ever ever!! If you would have told me 1.5 years ago when we found her piano lessons ad on Craigslist that we'd spend as much time with her as we do, I'd have doubted it... But here we are now, and Mrs. Parker is pretty much one of the family.

A few years ago, Prati, a young lady from Bhaktapur, Nepal lived with the Parkers as a student, and now she's moved back... Mrs. Parker knows how much Halli loves anything to do with India, so she said she and Prati would love to come give Halli and a few friends a Nepali cooking lesson (since it's somewhat similar to India). Prati is a fantastic cook, and we enthusiastically agreed! So today was Nepali day!

Mrs. Parker and Prati went above and beyond, and we had a FABULOUS time!! Prati even brought a full length (like 8-10 yards l-o-n-g!!) sari for Halli to wear, so this was the first thing...

Prati explained that the forehead dots in Nepal are two colors, black for unmarried and red for married... Halli chose red before she knew that! ;) 

We started the afternoon off with homemade chai and samosas. Prati had a couple different sauces for dipping the samosas in. They were delicious, and I'd forgotten how wonderful REAL chai is!! Mmmm!! It is custom in Nepal to have tea time each afternoon, where the family/friends sit down together and visit. We decide we kind of love that custom!!

During tea time, Prati answered questions about Nepal and taught the girls a few Nepali words. Afterwards, it was time for the dumpling lessons! Each girl got plenty of chopping time in, as they all helped mince cabbage, carrot, onion, garlic, mushroom, zucchini, fresh ginger, tofu, and probably more(!) for the filling. Mrs. Parker expertly fried it all up...

Chop chop chop!!

So many smiles and lots of laughter!

Mrs. Parker :)

The girls also took turns frying the veggies... Spices were added and then it was time to make the dumplings. 

Tiny sheets of dough were used, and wetted with a finger dipped in water, then filled with the veggie mixture. Each little package was pinched closed and then steamed. The girls got a bit creative and all sorts of little shapes were made! ;)

Then back to the table to sample our efforts! We also made up mango lassi (YUM!!) and mango chutney was added for dipping the dumplings in. Some of the girls balked upon seeing the mushrooms and onions go into the dumplings, but I think they all enjoyed the outcome. And they truly were fabulous! I'd sit down to a plate of fresh steamed dumplings any day!!

I caught Halli mid-bite, but you can see the dumplings.

Here's our group of gals plus Trey.

The sari was unwound and soon the party was over... But we LOVED it and the girls are planning another "cultural cooking" day, I've heard! :) 

(See, pretty great teacher, wouldn't you say?!) :)