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Nepalese

Yomari

Vegetarian

योमरि · yomari

Fig-shaped Newari dumplings of soft rice-flour dough filled with molten jaggery and toasted sesame, steamed and eaten warm during the Yomari Punhi festival.

Yomari is a Nepalese dumpling dish, ready in about 1 hour 15 minutes and made with rice flour, jaggery / palm sugar and sesame seeds. It serves 6 and is rated advanced to cook.

Start cooking
Two white teardrop-shaped yomari rice-flour dumplings on a brass plate
Photo: Raunak Maskay / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
40 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h 15 min
Serves
6
Level
Advanced
Calories
343

Ingredients

6 servings (12 yomari)

Dough

Filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Melt the jaggery with the ghee (opens in a new tab) and 2 tbsp water, then simmer until thick and sticky. Stir in the sesame (opens in a new tab) and cool until thick but still spoonable.

    Food safety: Molten jaggery is extremely hot — let it cool before handling.

  2. Step 2

    Mix the rice flour (opens in a new tab) and salt, pour in the boiling water and stir, then knead while warm into a soft, smooth dough. Rest covered.

    • 10 min

  3. Step 3

    With oiled hands, shape a lime-sized ball of dough into a deep, thin-walled cone. Spoon in the filling, then pinch the opening closed and draw it out into a pointed tail.

    • 25 min

  4. Step 4

    Steam on an oiled steamer (opens in a new tab) until the dough looks glossy and slightly translucent.

  5. Step 5

    Cool for a few minutes before eating — the filling stays very hot.

    • 5 min

About this dish

Origin
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal · Well documentedA Newar sweet associated with Yomari Punhi, the December full-moon harvest festival.More food from Nepal
Dish
Snack · Dessert · Dumplings · Sweets & confectionery
Cooking method
Steamed
Taste
sweet, nutty, mild
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-sodium · DASH-style
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Rice flour · Jaggery / palm sugar · Sesame seeds · Ghee
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Steaming · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom ghee
  • Contains: Sesamefrom sesame seeds

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

343 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 130 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 5%
  • Carbohydrate 77%
  • Fat 18%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy343 kcal264 kcal
Protein4.2 g3.2 g
Carbohydrate66.2 g50.9 g
Net carbohydrate64.2 g49.4 g
Sugars24.3 g18.7 g
Added sugars24.3 g18.7 g
Fibre2 g1.5 g
Fat7 g5.4 g
Saturated fat2.1 g1.6 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol6 mg4 mg
Sodium106 mg81 mg
Salt equivalent0.3 g0.2 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
103 mg
Calcium
95 mg
Iron
1.3 mg
Magnesium
44 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
19 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
9 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Jaggery / palm sugar: Brown sugar (FDC 168833) used as a stand-in for unrefined cane jaggery and palm sugar.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Keep the dough covered while you work; rice dough cracks as it dries.

Common mistakes

  • Making the walls of the cone too thick — the yomari are doughy and the filling is lost.

Serve with

  • Some families also fill yomari with sweetened khuwa (milk solids).

Storage

  • Best eaten warm on the day; re-steam leftovers.

Variations

  • Khuwa yomari (Nepal): Filled with sweetened reduced milk solids instead of chaku and sesame.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

Dough

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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