A common meal in many areas is the sdaal-bhaat-tarkaari combination. Rice is usually boiled and accompanied by a lentil soup. The daal is prepared from a variety of dried beans, lentils and peas. There are at least a dozen varieties of daal dishes and each has different tastes and flavors. Daal also accompanies the rice and is often eaten mixed together. Vegetables are the third component of this staple meal. A variety of fresh vegetables and many leafy greens predominate Nepali meals, and their preparation is varies based on the region and season. Many of the vegetables are cultivated, but also gathered in the wild such as young fern tips, bamboo shoots, even nettle greens. Nepali meals are often accompanied by a side dish of spicy pickles, which are either freshly made or preserved to enhance the flavor of the entire meal.
