Kwātī ( (where (kwā) = 'hot' and (tī) = 'soup'); ) is a mixed soup of nine types of sprouted beans. It is a traditional Newari dish consumed on the festival of Guni Punhi, the full moon day of
Gunlā which is the tenth month in the
Nepal Era
Nepal Sambat (, ''nepāla samvat'', meaning "Nepal Era") is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newar people of Nepal. It was the official calendar of Nepal since its inception on 20 October 879 till the end of the Malla dynasty in 1769. During ...
lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are br ...
. It is also known and widely consumed as gedagudi () in the Mithila region of Nepal, historically aligned down to Kingdom of
Nepali people
Nepali or Nepalese () are the permanent citizens of Nepal under Nepali nationality law. The term ''Nepali'' strictly refers to ''nationality'', meaning people holding citizenship of Nepal. Conversely, people without Nepalese citizenship but wi ...
.
Consumption
Kwāti is eaten as a delicacy and for its health benefits and ritual significance. Kwati is considered to be a healthy food. Because the soup contains varieties of beans, this recipe is high in proteins.
The feast day coincides with Shravan Poornima of the month of
Shravan
Sravana, Shravana or Shravan may refer to:
* Shravana (hearing), Sanskrit term for hearing
* Shravana
Shravana (Devanagari: श्रवण), also known as Thiruvonam in Tamil and Malayalam (Tamil: திருவோணம், Malayalam: ത ...
in the
Hindu lunisolar calendar which is celebrated as Janāi Purnimā (
Raksha Bandhan
Raksha Bandhan Quote: m Hindi ''rakśābandhan'' held on the full moon of the month of Savan, when sisters tie a talisman (rakhi q.v.) on the arm of their brothers and receive small gifts of money from them. is a popular and traditionally Hin ...
), the festival of the sacred thread. The festival occurs in August.
Production
Nine varieties of beans are used to make kwāti. The most commonly used ingredients are
black gram
The black gram or urad bean (''Vigna mungo'') is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the genus ''Phaseolus'' to ''Vigna''. The product sold as black gram is usually the whole urad bean, wher ...
,
green gram
The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-Extracts P ...
,
chickpea
The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual plant, annual legume of the family (biology), family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, ga ...
,
field bean,
soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed.
Soy is a key source o ...
,
field pea,
garden pea
Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...
,
cowpea
The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus '' Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inpu ...
and
rice bean.
The beans are soaked in water for three to four days until they have sprouted. They are boiled with various spices to make a thick soup.
Ajwain
Ajwain or ajowan (''Trachyspermum ammi'') () —also known as ajowancaraway,
thymol seeds, bishop's weed, or carom—is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Both the leaves and the seed‑like fruit (often mistakenly called seeds) of the pl ...
seeds are tempered in oil and added to it as the special seasoning.
Flatbread
A flatbread is bread made usually with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are Unleavened bread, unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pita bread. A Se ...
cut into one-and-a-half-inch squares can be boiled with the kwāti for variety.
Gallery
File:Ingredient of Kwati.jpg, alt=Ingredients of Kwati, Ingredients of Kwati
File:Mixed bean kwati.jpg, alt=Nine types of beans and legumes used in kwati, Nine types of beans and legumes used in kwati
File:Kwati 01.jpg, Kwati sprouts
File:Buba kwati.jpg, Kwati soup
See also
*
List of Nepalese dishes
Nepali cuisine, Nepali/Nepalese cuisine refers to the food eaten in Nepal. The country's Cultural diversity, cultural and Geography of Nepal, geographic diversity provides ample space for a variety of cuisines based on ethnicity and on soil and C ...
*
List of bean soups
This is a list of notable bean soups characterized by soups that use beans as a primary ingredient.
Bean soups
* 15 Bean Soup – A packaged dry bean soup mix produced by the N.K. Hurst Co. in the United States.
* Asopao de gandules – ...
*
List of soups
This is a list of notable soups. Soups have been made since ancient times.
Some soups are served with large chunks of meat or vegetables left in the liquid, while others are served as a broth. A broth is a flavored liquid usually derived from ...
References
{{Soups
Newari cuisine
Bean soups
Legume dishes