Chicken choila (Nepali Chicken Salad) कुखुराको छोइला
Chicken Choila is a traditional Nepali chicken salad recipe that is beloved for its bold flavours of ginger, garlic, spices, and smoked chicken. This dish is a staple in Nepali cuisine, and it's no surprise that it's found in almost every restaurant and household throughout the country. Originally hailing from the Newari community in the capital city of Kathmandu, this dish is now beloved by Nepalese people all over the world. It is often served as an appetiser and is commonly enjoyed with local alcohol.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 5 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 500 g Chicken (Boneless chicken thigh or breast)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Timmur powder (Nepali Sichuan Pepper) (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 7 tablespoon Lemon Juice (You will need 1 whole lemon)
- 4 Spring onion
- 1 tablespoon Ginger paste (or 1 inch slice of ginger)
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 Onion (Medium size. Roughly cut into medium chunks.)
- 1 Tomato (Medium sized. Roughly cut into medium chunks.)
- 2 Fresh Chilli
- 5 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
Instructions
- 1
Cook the chicken
- 2
Start by cooking the chicken thighs in your preferred method. You can barbecue/ grill it for 20 minutes to give it a smoky flavor (my personal favourite method), bake it in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes, or pan fry it until it is cooked and golden.
- 3
Once the chicken is cooked, allow it to cool and then cut it into bite-sized strips.
- 4
Make the tomato spice paste
- 5
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan, and add ginger, fresh chillies, and lightly fry for 1- 2 minutes until aromatic.
- 6
Add onion, garlic, and chopped tomato, and lightly fry for 2-3 minutes until slightly soft. Be sure not to cook the tomato, onion, and garlic too much.
- 7
Once they are done, set them aside to cool and then blend them into a paste using a mechanical blender or crush them using a mortar and pestle.
- 8
Assemble the ingredients
- 9
Before making the tempered oil dressing assemble all the ingredients in the dish together into a bowl.
- 10
Add to a large bowl the chicken, spring onions (Press/squash the spring onions between your hands to release the flavour), lemon juice, tomato spice paste, coriander powder, paprika powder, timmur powder, salt.
- 11
Make tempered oil dressing
- 12
Then make the tempered oil dressing. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Add fenugreek seeds and cook until they are golden brown (takes 15-20 seconds), then add turmeric powder.
- 13
Remove the pan from the flame and pour the tempered oil dressing over the assembled ingredients mixture .
- 14
Mix everything together
- 15
Mix well and lightly crush the ingredients together either with a spatula or your hands. Serve the dish cold with a refreshing drink.