The count has only just begun.[break]
Offered to brothers, relatives, Deusi and Bhailo players, sel roti, or sel in short, is undoubtedly the food item during Tihar festivities.
Living with her husband and two children in a rented flat right behind the supermarket complex, Aruna is one of the three women who have so far made sel rotis for the departmental store. And this Nepali delicacy have found their way into the homes of people living as far as Bhaisepati and Budanilkantha.
“I don’t use anything besides rice flour, ghiu [refined butter] and sugar,” she laughs when asked why they are so popular. In her kitchen, she offers some sel rotis and points at the big table on the left side of the room. On it are neat stacks of the fried bread, ready to be packed.
“I make around 200 per day and they usually sell out the same day,” she keeps smiling.
At the store, one can purchase a packet of five sel rotis for Rs 65. While it goes for the same price at the older store located in Bhatbhateni, a different didi (sister) makes the sel rotis available there.
The supermarket added sel rotis in their items some four years ago, informs manager Indra Gurung, who has been with the store for 10 years.
“When it started, Pancha Kumari Gurung used to make sel rotis for us but she went abroad recently,” he adds. After Pancha Kumari’s departure, Gori Maya Gurung, who currently lives at Rato Pool, filled in her place at the ‘lower’ Bhatbhateni.
“Gori Maya used to supply sel for the ‘upper’ (Maharajgunj branch) one and when she shifted to the lower, Aruna Gurung replaced her,” clarifies manager Gurung.
Coincidentally, all three women – Pancha Kumari, Gori Maya and Aruna – are Gurungs from Khotang district, in the east of Nepal.
“But of course, we aren’t all from the same village,” puts in Aruna’s husband, Gyan Bahadur Gurung, also an employee at the store. The pair moved to Kathmandu 15 years ago. While Aruna makes her delicious sel rotis, Gyan Bahadur helps pack and deliver them to the store early in the morning.
“We make new sel rotis each day, and any piece that’s broken is replaced immediately,” he explains, adding that orders from customers range anywhere from 50 to 500 pieces. Usually, customers are advised to place their orders two days ahead. Even so, the department store is unable to meet the general demand of their customers during Tihar, reveals the manager.
On a regular day, i.e. when the couple makes 200 sel rotis per day, it takes nearly 10 kilograms of rice, which is a combination of Taichin and Mansuli grains.
“We soak the rice in buckets for about six hours before draining out the water and put them out to dry,” Aruna shares the process. Her husband adds, leading the way to the kitchen annex outside, “Here, we dry the rice under the shade. You shouldn’t dry it in direct sunlight.”
Gyan Bahadur also grinds the rice by himself in the mill set in the corner. Since it gets too hot indoors, all the cooking is also done out here and it surely is one lengthy and laborious process.
“At first, she used to make sels for neighbors, for their parties and different occasions,” Gyan Bahadur says of his wife and grins, “Well, let’s say that one can survive in Kathmandu being a sel roti maker, but then you need to have the talent as well!”