LALITPUR, April 19 -- Wild lichen, chicken feathers, pork blood and stinky soybeans--there is so much more to eastern Nepali cuisine than tongba and barbecued pork. Despite pork and millet beer being delicious in their own right, the Limbu and Rai communities have a rich culinary heritage that is far more eclectic and adventurous than pigs and millet grog.

Eastern cuisine uses wild ingredients, curious cooking methods and cunning fermentation to create a very distinct set of flavours. When it comes to finding this cuisine in the valley, however, it's relatively slim pickings. The food can mostly be found in Nakhipot, where many Limbu and Rai families have settled--both cuisines while distinct, share some similarities--but Limbu cuisine h...