Choila (छोयला): The Newari Spiced Grilled Meat, and Where to Try It

Choila (Nepal Bhasa: छोयला; commonly romanised chhwela, chhoyela or chhoila) is the signature spiced grilled-meat dish of the Newar (Newa) people of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. In its most authentic form it is made from buff (water buffalo), the everyday meat of Newar kitchens, though chicken, duck, mutton, pork and even mushroom versions are all common today. It is one of the dishes travellers are most likely to meet on a Newari menu, and one of the strongest reasons to eat beyond the tourist trail in the Valley.

What separates choila from an ordinary kebab or barbecue is its two-stage method. The meat is first cooked over fire, then sliced thin and dressed hot with a pungent, chilli-and-mustard-oil seasoning; the spice mix is added after cooking rather than as a raw marinade. The result is smoky, oily, garlicky and fiercely spicy, usually served warm or at room temperature so it can be carried, shared and eaten by hand. Because it keeps well without refrigeration, choila works equally as festival food, packed-lunch protein and a drinking snack (chakhu) alongside the local spirit aila.

Choila is inseparable from ceremony. It is a fixed component of samay baji, the auspicious Newar offering platter, and is treated as a near-essential item at Newar festivals and life-cycle rites. For a fuller picture of the platter it belongs to, see this site's guides to Newari cuisine and samay baji and to the wider Nepali cuisine encyclopedia; this page focuses on choila itself.

The most prized version is haku choila. In Nepal Bhasa haku means 'black', and the name refers to buffalo meat charred directly over a rice-straw fire until the surface blackens, giving the dish its deep, earthy, smoky character. This is the traditional festival form, and the smoke is considered part of the flavour rather than a byproduct.

A gentler variant is mana choila, in which the meat is boiled (or par-boiled) before being spiced rather than charred over flame. It is milder and less smoky, and is easier to make on a modern gas stove, which is how many home cooks now prepare it. A third distinction sometimes drawn is between a fully spiced choila and a 'plain' choila that is more lightly seasoned; in practice most restaurant choila is the rich, spicy, mustard-oil style.

Choila is also named by the meat used, and the animal changes the eating experience. Buff choila is the classic; chicken choila (kukhura ko choila) is the most widely served today and appears as a spicy grilled-chicken salad; duck choila (hans ko choila) is a delicacy prized for its richness and usually costs more; mutton and pork versions are also common, and mushroom choila is the standard vegetarian stand-in.

Mustard oil is the non-negotiable heart of choila. Newar cooks are emphatic on the point, one summarising it as 'we make chhoila only in mustard oil'. The technique is a hot-oil tempering (tarka): mustard oil is heated until it reaches its smoking point, whole fenugreek seeds (methi) are dropped in and allowed to blacken, and this searing, fragrant oil is then poured over the sliced meat and the aromatics. Blackened fenugreek is essential for the signature aroma but must not be over-burnt, or it turns bitter.

The core aromatics are raw garlic, ginger and chilli, often pounded to a paste, plus generous dried red chilli for heat and turmeric for colour. Ground cumin and coriander, salt and a squeeze of lemon round out the seasoning, and many cooks finish with timur (Nepali Sichuan pepper) for its tingling, citrusy numbness. Handfuls of chopped raw onion and fresh coriander are tossed through at the end for crunch and freshness.

The defining trick is that the seasoning goes on after the meat is cooked, while everything is still hot, so the flavours coat rather than penetrate the meat. This 'season-after-grilling' approach, built on smoking mustard oil and blackened fenugreek, is what gives choila its distinctive smoky, oily, chilli-forward taste and sets it apart from most other South Asian grilled meats.

Choila is almost always eaten with chiura (beaten or flattened rice, called baji in Newari). The plain, dry, cooling rice flakes are the perfect foil for the oily, spicy meat, and the pairing is designed to be eaten by hand and at room temperature. Thin cucumber slices, a wedge of lemon and a tangy achar (pickle) are common accompaniments, and choila is a classic partner to aila (a home-distilled spirit), thwon (rice beer) or simply a cold beer.

On the ceremonial samay baji platter, choila supplies the grilled-meat element alongside bara/woh (a black-lentil pancake), roasted soybeans (bhatmas), a boiled or fried egg, chopped raw ginger (palu) and pickles, all arranged around a base of chiura. In one common symbolic reading of the platter, choila stands for fire, the life-force Agni, complementing the other elements represented by the rice, ginger, soybeans and alcohol.

For a first taste, ordering a 'Newari khaja set' will usually bring a samay-baji-style plate with choila on it; asking specifically for choila (and naming the meat, for example chicken or buff) gets you a larger portion of the dish on its own. Vegetarians can request mushroom choila where it is offered.

Choila is considered a necessary part of the diet at festivals among the Newar community, not merely an optional dish. It appears across the Valley's ritual calendar, including Indra Jatra and the Indrayani Jatra chariot festival, Mha Puja and Nepal Sambat (Newar New Year), and Dashain (Dussehra), as well as at feasts such as Kuchi Bhay and at weddings and death-anniversary rites.

Its ceremonial weight comes from its place in samay baji and in the full Newar feast (bhoj or bhoye), where specific foods carry specific meanings and are served in a fixed order. As the platter's grilled-meat and 'fire' element, choila is one of the items set out as an offering before it is shared, tying an everyday-tasting dish to worship and hospitality.

The dish also reflects Newar food history. It grew out of a cuisine built on buffalo, beaten rice and fire-cooking in the trading towns of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, and the older haku-choila technique of charring over rice straw links it directly to the agrarian, harvest-time roots of Newar cooking. That heritage is why choila and its parent platter are discussed as living intangible cultural heritage rather than just restaurant fare.

The best choila is found in the historic Newar towns: Patan (Lalitpur), Bhaktapur, and Kirtipur, plus the old core of Kathmandu. Well-known spots include Newa Lahana and Sasa: The Newa Restaurant in Kirtipur, the Harati Newari Restaurant near Thamel in central Kathmandu, Nandini Newari Food Court and Paalcha Newari Kitchen around Patan Durbar Square, and The Nanee and the tiny Amako Bara Pasal near Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Simple bhatti taverns and khaja ghar (snack houses) across the Valley serve it too.

As of 2026, a plate of choila at a typical eatery runs roughly NPR 100 to 300 depending on the meat and the venue, with premium duck (hans ko) choila often around NPR 400 or more. A full Newari khaja set that includes choila generally costs about NPR 200 to 900, with dedicated Newari restaurants and tourist-area venues at the higher end. Prices vary with location, meat and season, so treat these as ballpark figures.

A few practical notes: choila is genuinely spicy, so ask for a milder mana version if you are heat-sensitive; it is meant to be eaten with chiura and by hand; and duck and buff versions are the most traditional, while chicken and mushroom choila are the easiest entry points for newcomers.