Aloo Achar (Nepali Spicy Sesame Potato Salad)

Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There is aloo curry, and then there is aloo achar. The first is a hot, gravied potato dish you eat with rice; the second is a cool, tangy, sesame-rich salad that lives at room temperature on every Newari khaja platter and every dal-bhat side plate worth eating. The two are completely different things and should not be confused.

Chicken Choila (Newari Smoky Spiced Chicken)

Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you have ever eaten a proper Newari khaja set, at Honacha in Patan, or any old Newari home, choila is the small mound of dark, glistening, fiery meat in the center of the brass plate. It is what Newaris reach for first, and what they remember last. The traditional version is buffalo (ranga choila); the modern version is chicken, lighter and more familiar, but built on exactly the same idea: cooked meat tossed in a dressing of mustard oil that has been bloomed with charred dried red chilies, then sharpened with raw ginger, garlic, lemon, and timur.

Salad on Nepali Taste

Aloo Achar (Nepali Spicy Sesame Potato Salad)

Chicken Choila (Newari Smoky Spiced Chicken)