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Yomari in Australia

Name: Yomari
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 12 yomaris
Cuisine: Nepali
Ingredients: 2 cups fresh rice flour; Warm water for a soft dough; 200g chaku (molasses) or dark palm sugar, melted with a splash of water; 3 tbsp roasted sesame seeds, ground; Khuwa or grated coconut (alternative filling)

Steamed rice-flour dumpling filled with molasses and sesame

1 restaurants serving Yomari across Australia

About Yomari

Yomari is a steamed Newari dumpling made from fresh rice flour dough, shaped into a teardrop or fish-like figure and filled with chaku (molasses) mixed with roasted sesame seeds — or sometimes khuwa (milk solids) or coconut. It is the signature food of Yomari Punhi, the Newar festival marking the end of the rice harvest. In Australia, Nepali community groups hold yomari-making events each December, and a growing number of restaurants serve it.

How to Make Yomari

Prep: 45 min Cook: 15 min 12 yomaris ≈ 190 kcal/serving

Ingredients

2 cups fresh rice flour
Warm water for a soft dough
200g chaku (molasses) or dark palm sugar, melted with a splash of water
3 tbsp roasted sesame seeds, ground
Khuwa or grated coconut (alternative filling)

Instructions

1Knead rice flour with warm water into a soft, pliable dough; keep covered.
2Mix melted chaku with the ground sesame for the filling.
3Shape a ball of dough into a teardrop with a hollow centre — pinch the walls thin and even.
4Fill with the chaku mixture and seal the top into the classic pointed tail.
5Steam 10–12 minutes until glossy and firm; serve warm while the chaku is molten.

Recipes vary between households and restaurants — use the listings below to find Yomari made by Nepali cooks near you.