Cooked Up With Achar

The plate most Nepali households eat daily: lentils, rice, a vegetable curry, and achar on the side. This version keeps the curry simple so the achar can do the talking.

Momo lives and dies by its dip. This one skips the usual tomato base and lets akabare achar do the work straight from the jar.

Beaten rice, tossed with whatever's crunchy and bright that day. Lapsi achar brings the sour-sweet hit that usually needs three separate ingredients to fake.

Sel roti is usually sweet on its own. Serve it with lemon achar instead of the usual jam or yogurt and the meal tips savory.

Bara is a Newari lentil patty, fried flat and usually topped with a fried egg. Timur achar takes the place of the usual chili paste.

Real aloo tama starts from scratch with fresh bamboo shoot. This shortcut starts from a jar of tama achar and gets dinner on the table in half an hour.