Walk into almost any restaurant in Thamel or Durbar Marg and you’ll hear it before you see it: the hiss of a sizzler plate making its way through the dining room.
The sizzler arrived in Nepal by way of Western-style eateries, but Kathmandu cooks made it their own. They swapped mild steak sauce for a spicy, garlicky gravy built on mustard oil, timur (Nepali Sichuan pepper) and fresh green chilies.
The result is a smoky, tingly, crowd-pleasing platter that has become a weekend favorite for families and friends across the Valley.
- Serves: 4
- Prep: 20 minutes, plus 1 hour marinating
- Cook: 35 minutes
- 1 ½ lb (700 g) boneless chicken thighs, cut into large strips
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp Kashmiri or mild red chili powder
- ½ tsp ground timur (Sichuan pepper)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2–3 green chilies, slit
- 2 medium tomatoes, puréed
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- ½ tsp ground timur
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
- To taste salt
- Handful fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 cups cooked rice or 8 oz (225 g) stir-fried noodles
- 2 cups French fries or pan-fried potato wedges
- 1 cup mixed vegetables (carrot sticks, green beans, cauliflower and bell pepper), blanched
- 1 onion, sliced into thick rings
- 2 per plate cabbage leaves, to line the sizzler
- 2 tbsp butter
- Marinate the chicken. Combine all marinade ingredients and coat the chicken well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight for deeper flavor.
- Make the gravy. Heat mustard oil in a pan until it just begins to smoke, then lower the heat. Fry the onion until golden, then add garlic and green chilies. Stir in the tomato purée and cook until the oil separates, about 6–7 minutes. Add soy sauce, ketchup, timur and stock, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry, cook until glossy, then season with salt and finish with cilantro.
- Cook the chicken. Grill, pan-sear or roast the chicken over high heat until charred at the edges and cooked through, about 5–6 minutes per side.
- Prepare the sides. Fry or bake the potatoes until crisp. Sauté the blanched vegetables in a little butter with salt and pepper.
- Heat the sizzler plates. Place cast-iron sizzler plates, or a cast-iron skillet, directly over high heat for 5–7 minutes until very hot.
- Assemble. Line each hot plate with cabbage leaves and onion rings. Arrange the rice or noodles, fries, vegetables and chicken on top.
- Make it sizzle. Add a knob of butter to the plate, then pour the hot gravy over the chicken at the table. Serve immediately while it’s steaming and crackling.
Mustard oil matters. Heating it to smoking point mellows its sharpness and gives the dish its unmistakable Nepali flavor.
Don’t skip the timur. Its citrusy, tingling heat is what sets a Kathmandu sizzler apart from a Western one.
No sizzler plate? A small cast-iron skillet set on a wooden board works just as well.
Make it vegetarian. Swap the chicken for paneer or mushrooms and use vegetable stock.
Safety first. Warn guests that the plates stay extremely hot for several minutes after serving.
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