Nepali culture is only complete if we include authentic Nepali foods. With the rich culture and food that tingles all our taste buds, we are proud to come from a Nepalese background. Choila is one of the very popular dishes in Nepal. The dish is ubiquitous in Newari culture but Choila is becoming more common daily.
The dish was originally created in Kathmandu and is served in many households on a daily basis. Traditionally Choila is eaten with flat or puffed rice also known as beaten rice but with its growing popularity and availability, it has become a common food among everyone. Choila was first made with buffalo meat but now we can make Choila with any type of meat and also some veggies like mushrooms.
Here we will be looking at different authentic Choila recipes that we can easily make in the comfort of our homes.
Chicken/Buff Nepali Choila Recipe
Ingredients used to make Nepali Choila
- (Chicken or Buff) 1 kg of preferred meat cut out into small pieces with no bones
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1tbsp chili flakes
- 1 tbsp red chili paste
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 small red onion, cut into small pieces
- 1 boiled tomato
- ¾ tsp salt or to your taste
- 1 tsp plain masala
- 1 tblsp lemon juice
- Fresh coriander to sprinkle
Steps to make Nepali Choila
- You can either boil the meat or slightly grill the meat until it’s golden on the outside but still soft and pink on the inside. After the meat is cooked you can set it aside and turn it into smaller bites.
- Grab a bowl and let the meat rest in there.
- Heat the pan at medium heat and pour mustard oil on the pan. After the oil is hot, fry the fenugreek seeds for five seconds before adding all the other ingredients and frying them until it’s golden. Fry it for about a minute in medium heat
- Scrape the fried ingredients in the bowl with the meat and mix the meat well letting the ingredients soak through the meat inside out.
- Add fresh coriander leaves to the meat and Choila is ready to be enjoyed.
The meat can be changed to chicken, mutton, or duck instead of buffalo meat. However, the authentic Choila is considered to be made out of Buffalo meat which is also called a Haku Choila.
Vegetarian authentic Nepali Choila Recipe
Even though Choila is originally made out of meat, we still have options for vegetarian people. We can replace the meat with some fresh veggies like mushrooms, soya beans, or tofu. Even though the recipe is still the same for veggie Choila, here are the ingredients you can use to enjoy the same taste of Choila but with a vegetable.
Ingredients needed for a vegetarian Choila
- 250 grams of the veggies of our choice (mushrooms, tofu, or soya beans)
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1tbsp chili flakes
- 1 tbsp red chili paste
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 small red onion, cut into small pieces
- 1 boiled tomato
- ¾ tsp salt or to your taste
- 1 tsp plain masala
- 1 tblsp lemon juice
- Fresh coriander to sprinkle
- 2/4 Sichuan pepper (optional choice)
Steps to make Nepali vegetarian Choila
- Chop the veggies into small bites and wash them. Boil the veggies on medium heat till they are cooked and set them aside in a different bowl.
- Heat the pan at medium heat and pour mustard oil on the pan. After the oil is hot, fry the fenugreek seeds for five seconds before adding all the other ingredients and frying them until it’s golden. Fry it for about a minute on medium heat.
- Scrape the fried ingredients in the bowl with the veggies and mix the veggies well letting the ingredients soak through the veggies inside out.
- Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves and enjoy your vegetarian Choila.
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