Choila

Choila — sometimes spelled chhoyala — is buff (water buffalo) grilled or smoked over open flame, then tossed hot with mustard oil, garlic, ginger, raw chili, fenugreek, turmeric, timur (Sichuan pepper), and a fistful of chopped raw onions and coriander. The result is intensely smoky, fiery, oily, and aromatic — a dish built to be eaten with chiura and a copper cup of aila.

There are two main schools. Haku choila is the smoked-black version: marinated buff is laid directly on charcoal until the outside chars, then chopped and dressed. Manaa choila is the gentler boiled-then-fried version, common at vegetarian feasts where the same treatment goes on mushrooms, soy chunks, or even paneer. Old Newari households serve both at major bhojs.

In the Newari khaja set, choila is the unmistakable centerpiece — the dish you remember after the plate is cleared. Order it at any Patan or Kirtipur bhatti and the cook will ask one question: 'kati piro?' (how spicy?). Answer honestly. Newari choila is hotter than it looks; the timur leaves your tongue numb the first few times.

Buff choila is the canonical version, but pork and chicken variants are now common in Kathmandu restaurants. Purists insist nothing else carries the smoke the same way.