Chhwayla

If you are Nepalese and you go to a Nepali restaurant the first thing you are most likely going to order are some Momos followed by an order of Chhwayla. If you are not from Nepal and ask your Nepalese friends what to order at a Nepali restaurant, they are most likely going to tell you Momos and Chhwayla as well. Momos don’t need much introduction. They are what is Pizza is to Italy or what Borsht is to Russia. Likewise, Chhwayla is another popular dish in Nepal. It is often served as an appetizer (but I will eat it as an entree any day). I recently made Chhwayla for a potluck at my work. I must say for a person who learnt cooking by watching Youtube videos, this turned out pretty good. Anyways if you like what you see in pictures here and want give it a try then keep reading. It is pretty basic. Well, I have simplified it (a lot) but it still tastes good! So without further ado here is my version of famous Nepali Chhwayla.

Ingredients you will need:

• 1 Rotisserie chicken*
• 3 stalks of green onion
• Green chillies depending on how much heat you can take
• Fresh leaves of cilantro
• 2 tablespoons of oil (Mustard or sesame oil even better!)
• 1-2 teaspoons of fenugreek seed
• Salt and red chili powder as per preference and tolerance
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

Separate meat from bones and gather it in a mixing bowl. I usually pull them apart by hand and shred them into pieces. Discard the bones.

Chop green onions and green chillies and add them to the mixing bowl with chicken.

Add salt and red chili powder.

On a pan heat oil. Add fenugreek seeds. Once the seeds starts turning yellow, add the turmeric powder and cook until seeds are golden brown. Pour this mixture over the chicken. Be careful of the oil splattering.

Now mix the whole thing with hand. Make sure chicken pieces are well coated with spices and oil.

Finally garnish with fresh green cilantro leaves.

Serve!

*Authentic Chhwayla is made out of buffalo meat. Boneless buffalo meat are boiled in chunks and are sliced into small thin pieces. Oil and spices are then added and mixed well. Since it is pretty rare to find buffalo meat in America, I replaced it with chicken.