Yomari
योमरी
A steamed fig-shaped rice flour dumpling filled with sweet chaku (molasses) or khuwa (milk solids), made during the Newari festival of Yomari Punhi.
Region
Newari (Kathmandu Valley)
Type
Dessert
Spice Level
(0/5)
Diet
Vegetarian
Where to Try
During Yomari Punhi festival (December) from Newari households and street vendors. Year-round at Honacha in Kirtipur and select Newari restaurants in Patan.
Yomari is one of the most distinctive sweets in Nepali cuisine — a steamed rice flour dumpling shaped like a fig or fish, filled with either chaku (hardened molasses mixed with sesame seeds) or khuwa (reduced milk solids, like a Nepali ricotta).
The dumpling is traditionally made during Yomari Punhi, a Newari harvest festival in December that celebrates the first rice harvest with the making and eating of yomari. The name comes from the Newari words 'ya' (to like) and 'mari' (bread) — bread that you like.
Making yomari is an art: the rice flour dough must be shaped into a hollow cone, filled with the sweet mixture, and carefully sealed into the distinctive fig shape before steaming. In traditional Newar homes, the whole family participates, and children learn the shaping technique from elders.
The chaku-filled version is the classic, with the hot molasses melting inside the soft rice shell. The khuwa version is richer and creamier. Both are extraordinary.