Jimbu is massively used in Thakali Kitchen. Thakali is one of the 128 communities from Nepal. Their cooking technique is uniquely keeping simple so what you eat what you taste. I love their Thakali Khana set, Daal Bhat Tarkari, and Achar. They know to cook naturally without adding so many additions of spices. This cuisine is a true representation of the whole of Nepal cuisine.
In the rest of Nepal, it is most commonly used to flavor Kalo Daal (Black lentil or just simply lentil). The dried leaves are fried in Ghee Clarified Butter to develop their flavor. It is a wild and seasonal herb and harvest between June and September after harvest, people store Jimbu dried for later use since it is a seasonal herb.
It has traditionally proven medicinal value for flu, stomach aches. My grandma used to make clear soup, it was kind of stock and drink as medicine even keep away winter.
- 95% of households in the Upper Mustang region of Nepal use jimbu in cooking, in curries.
- 38% of households use jimbu as the medicine usually as a treatment to curb flu.
- 52% of households report having been involved in jimbu collections.
- Ornamental Onions, or Alliums, are grown from bulbs.
- The flower head also produces seeds, but most gardeners plant the easy to handle bulbs.
- Plant Allium bulbs in the soil in the fall, as soon as the ground can be worked.
- Plant them to a depth of twice the diameter of the bulb.
- If planting Allium seeds, sow them directly into the garden.
- Plant the seeds just 1″ deep (2.5 cm).
- Average Spacing 6 to 12Inches between the plants is required.
- They like full sun to partial shade.
- It is best to provide afternoon shade in hot climates.
- The plant needs hardiness of USDA: 3 (mulched), 4-10
- They tolerate poor soils but prefer it to be well-drained.
- Adding a general-purpose fertilizer once in early spring is beneficial.
- Keep the soil moist to slightly dry.
- Water them during dry periods, once or twice per week.
- Keep them well weeded, or apply a 2-3 inch layer of mulch around the plants.
- Allium plants should come back yearly for many years.
- Alliums make good flowers. But, they will give off a slight onion scent.
- Alliums have few insect or disease problems.
