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Have you heard about Katiya mutton? Of course, you have. But have you heard about Katahariya town in the Rautahat district? Probably not. Despite being the birthplace of the Katiya mutton recipe, Katahariya has struggled to brand its culinary heritage properly. As a result, what was originally known as Katiya mutton is now gaining fame under the name Champaran meat.

Katiya mutton is a traditional dish featuring slow-cooked goat meat prepared in a ‘handi’, a type of clay pot. The meat is marinated with onions, garlic, and a blend of whole spices including ginger, coriander, bay leaf, cloves, dried chili, red chili powder, turmeric, cumin, and mustard oil. This cooking method and the unique combination of spices impart a distinct flavor to the dish.

A few years ago, Champaran meat was virtually unknown. Today, Indian chefs claim the dish originated in Ghorasahan, a village near the Indo-Nepal border in East Champaran. Renowned Indian journalist Vir Sanghvi once wrote about Champaran meat, quoting famous chef Manish Mehrotra, who is originally from Bihar. Mehrotra said, “When I was growing up in Patna, I had never even heard of this dish. Even when I traveled in Bihar, it never turned up. Yes, there were dishes like taash kabab. But this Champaran meat? Never.”

This new identity for Katiya mutton seems to be a result of rebranding. Despite this, many chefs and food writers agree that the best Champaran meat is made with Nepali goat, which is known for its superior quality.

For centuries, the people of Maithil, Bhojpuri, Rajbanshi, and Tharu communities have been cooking Katiya mutton. This dish, steeped in tradition, is prepared by slow-cooking the mutton in clay pots over a coal bed. This method is essential to achieve the dish’s rich, smoky flavor.

The transition from Katiya mutton to Champaran meat is a tale of missed branding opportunities. Despite the dish’s origins in Katahariya, the lack of proper marketing has led to its association with Champaran. This shift underscores the importance of recognizing and preserving culinary heritage.

Making Katiya mutton

Below is a detailed recipe for Katiya mutton, intended to serve three people. If you want to make it for six, just double the ingredients.

Ingredients:

•       1 head of garlic, 5-6 pieces

•       50 gm ginger paste

•       2-3 pieces dried red chili

•       1-2 bay leaves

•       4 pieces black pepper

•       2 cloves

•       1 or ½ inch cinnamon stick

•       2 cardamom pods

•       1 tablespoon coriander seeds

•       1 tablespoon cumin seeds

•       300-400 gm chopped onion

•       1 tablespoon turmeric powder

•       1 tablespoon garam masala

•       ½ tablespoon fennel seeds

•       Salt to taste

•       500 gm medium-sized mutton pieces

•       5-6 tablespoons mustard oil

•       1 tablespoon butter

Instructions:

Prepare the clay pot. Make sure your pot is of suitable size and has a lid. Immerse it in water for more than 20 minutes.

Season the pot. After soaking, dry the pot slightly by heating and apply a thin layer of mustard oil inside the pot.

Add Aromatics. Pour the garlic and ginger paste into the pot along with the dried red chili.

Add the bay leaf, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, chopped onion, turmeric powder, garam masala, fennel seeds, and salt.

Add the Mutton. Drizzle five to six tablespoons of mustard oil over the meat.

Cover the pot with its lid and place it over burnt hot coal. Cook for approximately two hours, stirring the meat two to three times during the cooking process.

While cooking, add a head of garlic and a spoonful of butter to enhance the flavor.

After two hours, remove the lid and check if the meat is tender. If not, cover and cook for another five to10 minutes. Cook uncovered for the last five minutes.

Finally, garnish the dish with fresh green coriander. Serve with salad, pickle, beaten rice, or roti.

The unique preparation method and the distinctive taste of Katiya mutton deserve to be celebrated. As more people discover the rich flavors of this traditional dish, it is crucial to acknowledge its true origins in Katahariya. By doing so, we can ensure that the cultural and culinary heritage of this region is preserved for future generations.

Moving forward, there is a pressing need to re-establish the connection between Katiya mutton and Katahariya. This can be achieved through increased awareness, proper branding, and the celebration of this dish in its true form. By highlighting its authentic origins and the traditional methods of preparation, Katiya mutton can reclaim its rightful place in the culinary world.

In conclusion, while Champaran meat continues to gain popularity, it is essential to remember and honor its roots in Katahariya. The rich history and unique preparation of Katiya mutton make it a dish worth celebrating and preserving. I wish we could rebrand our Katiya mutton and share it with the world.

The author is a UK-based R&D chef

The monsoon system now has influence in the eastern part of the country while the local wind and the low-pressure area developed around Bihar in India has influence in the rest of the country.

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the weather will be completely cloudy in Koshi and Madhes Provinces, generally cloudy in Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and partly cloudy in the rest of the country.

Light to moderate rain is taking place at a few places of Koshi, Bagmati and Karnali Provinces and at one or two places of Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and partly cloudy in the rest of the country.

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places of Madhes and other parts of the country. There is also a possibility of heavy rainfall at one or two places in Koshi province.

Similarly, the weather will be generally cloudy in Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and partly cloudy in the rest of the country tonight. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places of the rest of the country.

There are chances of heavy rainfall at one or two places in Koshi Province. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places of the rest of the country during the next 24 hours.

The Department has urged the people to remain cautious in view of the partial impact of heavy rainfall on daily life, agriculture, health, tourism, mountaineering, road and air transport in those areas and to avoid the risk or damage of flood, landslide and soil erosion.

The Armed Police Force (APF) battalion number 13 has painted and repaired all big and small 400 border pillars in Parsa.

The APF has carried out maintenance of 399 of the 489 border pillars including the main, auxiliary and minor pillars.

Battalion commander of the battalion Radheshyam Dhimal said that the task of painting and maintenance of the border pillar is underway in coordination with the concerned government agencies including the Survey Office.

"Out of the 21 main border pillars in Parsa, 19 have been painted and repaired so far", he said, adding, "We will carry forward the repair works in remaining two border pillars after completing necessary legal process", he added.

The police force has to paint and maintain 13 auxiliary border pillars, but so far 12 have been completed. Similarly, of the 455 small border pillars, 368 have been repaired so far while only 87 are yet to be painted and repaired.

A total of 90 border pillars including main, subsidiary and minor are yet to be repaired in Parsa.

Plastic wastes, especially packets and bags, are discarded everywhere in public places, fields, farms, forests, mountains, and rivers across the country. However, no local government, which bears the primary responsibility for addressing this issue, has implemented the necessary measures to combat this environmental threat.

The problem of inorganic waste, including plastic pollution, poses a serious threat to farming, wildlife, aquatic life, and the environment in general. This issue is also contributing to climate change and environmental disasters in Nepal.

“No local body has taken serious steps to solve this problem, which endangers all of us and nature,” said officials from the environment section of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA). “Efforts to promote waste segregation at the household level have failed because local bodies have not enforced existing laws and regulations.”

The Waste Management Act of 2011 mandates the segregation, recycling, reuse, and management of waste as fundamental rights, akin to education and health. Despite this, local governments, which are primarily responsible for waste management, have done little to address the issue, with only a few exceptions.

A survey conducted in 58 municipalities of Nepal in 2012 found that the average municipal solid waste generation was 317 grams per capita per day, amounting to 1,435 tons daily or 524,000 tons annually. A 2019/20 baseline survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) of 271 municipalities revealed that only 12 (4.4 percent) used transfer stations for waste processing.

Additionally, 99 municipalities (36.5 percent) had waste management plans, while 57.2 percent did not. Among the surveyed municipalities, 114 (42.1 percent) used landfill sites, 117 (43.2 percent) did not, and 14.8 percent did not report about their landfill site status.

The CBS survey showed that inorganic waste collected by municipalities includes plastic, glass, rubber, metals, minerals, and other materials, all of which pose a significant environmental threat. Waste management responsibilities, including budget allocation and implementation, fall largely on local governments, as guided by the Local Government Operation Act of 2018. However, 94.8 percent of municipalities reported expecting funds from federal and provincial governments due to resource constraints.

Waste management in the 460 rural municipalities is chaotic, and the CBS survey does not cover these areas. Nepal has 753 local bodies, including six metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities, and 460 rural municipalities. Only a few local bodies, such as those in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Birgunj, have made efforts to address waste problems and improve environmental health.

Local governments have the authority to ban plastic bags and prevent the indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste in public areas. “They could place trash bins in public spaces, markets, and other open areas and strictly enforce anti-littering regulations. However, little has been done to address this problem,” said Joint-Secretary Suman Dahal, chief of the federal affairs division at MoFAGA.

Many local bodies lack landfill sites and garbage trucks. Although 85.6 percent of municipalities reported having at least one means of waste transportation, rural municipalities have made no significant efforts to manage plastic waste.

The Nepal government has issued the National Climate Change Policy 2019, the Environmental Protection Act 2019, and the Sustainable Development Goals 2016-2030 to guide government bodies in reducing climate change impacts and developing a climate-resilient society. Despite this, neither the federal government nor local bodies have initiated measures to resolve urban and rural waste problems.

Effective waste management should include provisions for population, income, electricity, and communication infrastructure. Current practices focus on collection, transportation, and dumping, rather than treating waste as a fundamental environmental and health issue. Waste should be seen as a resource, but it is often recklessly discarded. Although the waste management laws provide a framework for proper waste management, it remains a significant challenge for many local bodies.

Many local governments use forest land for waste disposal, which is problematic, while others dispose of refuse haphazardly. Even municipalities in the Kathmandu Valley, such as Bhaktapur, Madhyapur Thimi, and Kirtipur, dump waste on riverbanks and public areas.

The government frequently shifts the responsibility for the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilization Centre between MoFAGA and the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), creating confusion about waste management oversight. Amidst numerous waste management laws, the MoUD is finalizing a new waste management act.

Waste generation is expected to increase, presenting substantial challenges for the country’s current waste management mechanisms. It is high time the government developed effective waste handling procedures and strengthened institutional mechanisms to address solid waste management challenges.

Infographics

CBS Survey: Annual inorganic waste collection of all types (Metric tons)