Chatamari (Nepali Pizza)

Chatamari is a rice crepe topped with savoury ingredients mainly mince meat (buffalo) and egg. It’s a very popular newari dish. It can be found in many local newari eateries. It’s very delicious and easy.

Chatamari are traditionally made for a puja. When you make it for puja (performing rituals by worshipping and praying to hindu god), it is just plain rice crepe with no toppings.

There are few different ways to make rice flour batter. Some use plain rice flour and water, others use black lentil paste or eggs to make pliable and smooth.

This is very easy to make and so very tasty.

Here’s my version of Chatamari
500 grams Lamb mince
1 small onion finely chopped
2 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
4 cloves of garlic and a knob of ginger crushed into a paste
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 teaspoon of garam masala
Salt as per taste
1/2 cup of chopped coriander

In a bowl, put mince meat and add all the listed ingredients and mix well. Set aside

For Batter
2 cups of rice flour
Pinch of Salt
Dash of cumin powder
1 egg
2 cups of water or enough to make a batter that is not too runny or too thick and pasty. To make the right consistency check if batter coats the back of the spoon.

Add all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add water and whisk it. Add egg and whisk it through the mix.

Heat non stick pan on a low heat. When pan is hot, grease it with some oil. Pour a ladle of batter and swirl around to make a round crepe. Cook the crepe for 1-2 minutes until the looks set.

Top it off with mince meat covering the crepe. Crack egg on top and season with salt. Cover it with heavy lid (traditionally we use lid made of clay which looks like cover of tagine) and let it cook for on a gentle heat for 6-8 minutes until the egg and meat is cooked.

Serve hot and enjoy this delicious dish.

Chhoila or Choila (Grilled Spiced meat)

Chhoila is one of the popular spicy meat dish. It’s an authentic recipe from newari cuisine. It is eaten as a snack or an entree.

There are two types of chhoila dish, the grilled chhoila (Haku chhoila- black grilled meat) and mana chhoila (boiled meat).

In newari cuisine this is a much loved meat dish which is also part of samey baji (beaten rice with assortment of bean, meat, spicy potato, lentil patty, soyabean and achar).

Traditionally chhoila is made buffalo meat by roasting in the open fire made from hay. As only the tender cut of meat is used, the hay fire quickly chars the meat on the outside but cooking it only medium rare. This method infuses meat with a smoky and earthy flavour which is just out of this world.

The mana chhoila usually is made from offals like tripe and liver. It’s an exquisite but acquired taste. The aromatic spices and herbs make it a delectable dish.

Chhoila is made on special festivals as part of samey baji but it is also eaten as part of lunch or dinner. There’s a slight variation to this dish when it is made for regular meal. The grilled tomato purée is added to chhoila to be eaten with rice, veggies and curries.

I always make this dish when I have a craving for a spicy and hot food. It’s so simple and easy yet very tasty dish.
The beauty about Nepali cuisine and or newari cuisine is the variations it allows based on individual’s preference. You can try different versions of the same dish. The spices could be adjusted more or less on personal preference.

During winter you can get tender greens of garlic (leek). It’s not as big and fat as the ones we get here. It’s more like spring onion with flat leaves. The leek is finely chopped and added raw to chhoila mixed with all the lovely spices. This leek enhances the taste making it garlicky flavour and also adds a texture making it crunchy and fresh.

With this recipe, you can add grilled tomato paste to make it moist.

Here’s the recipe:
(Recommend to take a mint after to freshen your breath as this dish use raw garlic)

Ingredients
800 grams Meat
(I used chicken breast but you can use any tender cut of red meat)

6-8 cloves of garlic
Knob of ginger
1/2 tablespoon of chilli (or as per your preference)
10-12 Szechwan pepper (timoor)
Salt as per taste

2 tablespoon of oil (mustard oil for more authentic taste)
Dash of lemon juice
1/2 cup of chopped coriander
3-4 whole red chillies
10 Fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
Pinch of asafetida (if available)

Grill the chicken breast for 5 minutes on each side ensuring meat is cooked through but still tender and moist.

In mortar and pestle, pound fresh garlic (6-8) cloves and a knob of ginger (size of a thumb). Add red chilli powder, schewuan pepper and salt making it a fine paste.

After meat is cooked, rest it for 5-10 minutes. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and put it in a bowl. Mix the spice paste with chicken.

In a pan, heat oil and add fenugreek seed. Pop the seeds until it turns black. Take it off the heat. Add turmeric, asafetida and whole chilles and tip it onto the chicken chhoila.

Add dash of lemon and chopped coriander and it’s ready to be served.

Serve chhoila with rice and curry or with salad or on it’s own as you please.

Black Lentil patties topped with mince meat and egg (La woh)

This is one of the most authentic newari food at its best. Newari cuisine is epitome of culinary delights. The recipe are very authentic yet simple. The recipes are mostly based on fresh ingredients like buffalo meat, fresh vegetables, herbs, legumes and spices.
The recipe I’m about to share is one of the popular newari dish. If you are a vegetarian, you could make the lentils patties without meat and egg. Traditionally woh (lentil patties without meat and egg) are used for sagun. Sagun is basically a newari ritual where you bless a person who’s going to embark on a journey or for achievements, birthdays or any auspicious occasion. Sagun starts with puja (ritual involving putting vermillion and rice grains with flowers to pray to hindu god) of Ganesh ( hindu god) and then of the person who’s receiving a blessing. It’s followed by giving boiled and fried egg, dried whole fish ( kunya) , woh, yogurt and spirit called aila (homemade alcoholic drink made from rice or millet and look and taste like tequila).

There are few variations of this recipe you could try. You can alternatively use mung beans. Mung beans are healthier and full of nutrients and easy on stomach. You can also add chopped onion and coriander to lentil mix to add more flavour and texture.
With mince, instead of adding it as topping, it can be mixed through the mix.

I’m posting this authentic recipe inspired by a very famous local shop in Patan called Honacha. It’s a small local shop with a rooftop dining serving best of newari cuisine like lawoh, chhoila(grilled spicy buffalo- will share recipe in future post), piro aalo (spicy potato) and much more. It’s a family business which has been running for generations. It’s always packed with locals as it’s cheap and tasty. I quite like the rooftop dining as you can enjoy the view of Krishna mandir (temple) and durbar square and munch down all these delicacies. I miss the spicy, hot dishes so much that I try to recreate these recipe at home. I’m a food enthusiast and love discovering new recipes, cooking and eating it especially Nepali cuisine. As I previous mentioned my hubby is from different town. He has tried few newari dishes but he doesn’t know about these local jewels where you can get mind blowing food. I tell him about all these local places where you can get great food and I’ve promised him that I will take him to all these places when we go for a visit ( we haven’t been back to our place as a couple yet).

Let’s get started now.

Ingredients

250 grams of Black lentils ( you can get it from indian grocery shops. Get the ones where skin has already been removed, trust me so much easier if it’s skinless)
250 grams of mince ( buffalo if available, if not I use lamb mince)
Eggs (one for a patty)
2 tablespoons of fresh ginger paste
1 tablespoon of fresh garlic paste
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1/2 tablespoon chilli powder
Salt as per taste
Pinch of asafetida
Oil

Soak lentils overnight. Rub the lentils to take the skin off and wash it in the water. The skin will float on the top so drain it and repeat the process until all the skin is washed off.
I used the skinless lentils which I soaked for overnight and then washed it under the tap until the water runs clear.

Blend it with half a cup of water to make a fine paste.

Pour mix in a bowl. Add pinch of asafetida, salt, cumin and ginger paste and mix through.

In a separate bowl , put mince and add ginger paste, garlic paste, chilli, salt, cumin and some oil and mix through. The mince is ready.

Heat pan on low heat. Put a teaspoon of oil in the pan. Take a small amount of lentil and make a ball in your hands. Use some water while shaping it into small balls so it doesn’t stick in your hands. Gently put it in the pan and with wet spatula spread it thin about 2 cm thin. Top it of with thin layer of mince on lentil patty and egg. Cook on a on gentle heat for 2-3 minutes and then flip the patty. Cook it for few minutes and and it’s ready to be served.
It is used served with buffalo meat curry gravy to enhance the flavour but can be eaten as it is. Will share a goat curry recipe in later posts. Till then enjoy this delicacy.