Chatamari: The Newari Rice-Flour Crepe (Nepal's 'Nepali Pizza')

Chatamari (also spelled chataamari or chatanmari) is a thin, savoury rice-flour crepe that belongs to the Newa (Newari) cuisine of the Kathmandu Valley. A ladle of thin rice batter is spread into a round on a hot griddle, and while it is still cooking the cook scatters toppings across the top, so the crepe and its filling set together into an open-faced round. Because it looks like a base loaded with toppings, foreign visitors and menus commonly call it the 'Nepali pizza' or 'Newari pizza', though Newars are quick to point out it is its own distinct dish, not a pizza copy.

The name is Nepal Bhasa (the Newar language): 'chata' means flat and 'mari' means bread or bread-like food, so chatamari is literally a 'flat bread'. Unlike a wheat pizza, its base is naturally gluten-free rice flour, and unlike a folded crepe it is served open, showing off the toppings. This guide focuses on chatamari specifically; for how it sits within the wider Newar table alongside samay baji, choila, bara/woh and yomari, see the Newari cuisine and samay baji khaja set guide, and for its place among all Nepali dishes see the Nepali cuisine and traditional dishes encyclopedia on this site.

The topping is what turns a plain crepe into the dish people queue for. The most popular versions are made with minced meat, most traditionally buff (buffalo), and also chicken, pork or keema, mixed with chopped onion, ginger-garlic, coriander, green chilli and Newari spices. A very common upgrade is to crack an egg over the top so it sets into the surface, and many shops finish with a sprinkle of cheese. Vegetarian chatamari swaps in onion, tomato, peas, carrot, greens and paneer or cheese, so the dish adapts easily to meat-free diets.

Menus in the Valley usually list chatamari by topping: plain, egg, buff, chicken, pork, veg, cheese, and a loaded 'mixed' chatamari that combines minced meat, egg and cheese. The toppings are seasoned assertively with red chilli powder, cumin, ginger-garlic paste and fresh chilli, which is why chatamari reads as spicy rather than bland.

The base starts with a thin rice-flour batter. The simplest method whisks plain rice flour with water and a little salt, but many cooks add black-lentil (maas/urad) paste, and sometimes a beaten egg, to make the batter smooth, pliable and non-stick so the crepe does not tear or cling to the pan. A more traditional route soaks long-grain rice with black lentils (and sometimes moong) overnight for at least eight hours, then grinds them into a smooth pourable batter. Getting the batter thin and lump-free is the critical step: too thick and it turns doughy, too runny and it breaks when spread.

To cook, the pan or tawa is heated and lightly oiled, a ladle of batter is poured and swirled into a round, and the toppings are added straight onto the wet surface. The chatamari is then covered and cooked through in roughly seven to eight minutes so the meat, egg and crepe finish together. Done well it is crisp and lacy at the edges, soft and slightly chewy in the middle, savoury and spicy from the toppings. It is eaten by hand, often torn and shared, usually with a fresh achar (pickle) alongside.

Chatamari is not only street food; it is a ritual and festive food with real cultural weight for the Newar community. Its everyday, topping-loaded form is a beloved khaja (snack), but the version made for worship is deliberately plain: a topping-free rice crepe offered during pujas. Newars prepare it for guthi (community and lineage association) observances and for the household lineage-deity worship known as digu dya puja, and for festivals such as Balkumari Jatra, Pahan Charhe and Ghyah Chaku Sanlhu, among others.

The dish also appears at life-cycle and calendar celebrations, including weddings, bratabandha (the coming-of-age thread ceremony), Sithi Nakha and family pujas, and it frequently shares the plate with the ceremonial samay baji platter and with yomari during the harvest festival Yomari Punhi. In these settings chatamari signals auspiciousness, hospitality and abundance, and its presence marks an occasion as special rather than ordinary. That double life, humble snack and sacred offering, is a large part of why chatamari is so closely identified with Newar identity.

The most authentic chatamari is found in Newari khaja houses (khaja ghar) and dedicated chatamari corners across the Kathmandu Valley, especially in the historic Newar towns of Kathmandu, Patan (Lalitpur), Bhaktapur and Kirtipur. Well-known spots include Newa Lahana (with branches in Kirtipur, Bhaktapur, Tokha and Kamaladi), Sasa Twa in Kirtipur, Harisiddhi Newa Sulee in Lalitpur, and neighbourhood favourites such as Shanvi Chatamari Corner in Naya Bazar and Chatamari Chen near Basantapur. Ordering a Newari khaja set will usually let you taste chatamari alongside chhwela, bara/woh and beaten rice.

Chatamari is cheap by design. Historic menu prices ran around NRs 100-150 per piece for a meat version, and as of 2026, allowing for inflation, expect roughly NRs 100-250 per piece in Valley khaja houses: plain and vegetable chatamari are the cheapest, while egg, buff, cheese and loaded 'mixed' chatamari cost more, and tourist-facing restaurants in Thamel and heritage squares charge above local rates. Treat these figures as an approximate guide, since prices vary by neighbourhood, toppings and venue.

The 'Nepali pizza' label is a useful shorthand, but chatamari and pizza differ in almost every technical way. Chatamari's base is a thin, unleavened rice-flour crepe rather than a leavened wheat dough; there is no tomato sauce or melted mozzarella blanket by default; and the toppings are cooked into the crepe on a griddle rather than baked in an oven. The result is lighter and more delicate than pizza, gluten-free, and flavoured with South Asian spices instead of Italian herbs.

For a Nepali audience, chatamari is one of the friendliest gateways into Newar cooking: it is inexpensive, quick to cook to order, adaptable to vegetarian toppings, and less intense than dishes like choila or sanya khuna. It pairs naturally with the rest of the Newar repertoire, so it is worth reading this guide together with the site's Newari cuisine and samay baji khaja set guide and the broader Nepali cuisine and traditional dishes encyclopedia, which place chatamari next to momo, sel roti, yomari, dhido, the Thakali set and Nepal's other signature dishes.