Ema Datshi

 

Introducing Bhutan's pride: Ema Datshi. Despite its humble appearance, this national dish is a flavour powerhouse. It gets its name from "Ema", which means Chillies, and "Datshi", which means Cheese. With just three basic ingredients, including Bhutan's signature spicy chillies, it's a culinary delight that's worth the taste adventure. Originally, it is made using Bhutan's signature spicy chillies, however, in our version, we use the locally available not-so-spicy chillies. (You can use the local, big & fat chillies) Ingredients (3 Servings):

• Green Chillies: 6
• Cheese slices: 6
• Garlic: 2 Whole Bulbs
• Milk: 1/2 cup
• Butter: 3-4 tbsp
• Black Pepper Powder (optional): 1/2 tsp

Method:

• Coarsely grind with garlic and keep aside.
• Cut the chillies length-wise, into thin strips and keep aside.
  
• Heat butter in a pan and add the ground garlic and fry till it changes its colour a bit.
• Add the chilli strips to it and let it fry till it becomes soft. (It may take 3-4 minutes to soften). Add salt at the same time to speed up the softening process.
• Once the chillies soften, add cheese slices and stir them till they melt completely.
• Now, add milk and 1-1.5 glasses of water to it and bring it to boil on medium flame, stirring intermittently.
• Cover it with a lid and let it cook on low flame for 5 minutes.
• Add black pepper powder to it. (optional)
• Once it's done, serve it with steamed hot rice!

Tips: One can customize the flavours by adding mixed herbs, oregano, peri-peri powder etc., as per one's preference. In my opinion, it tastes superb as it is, without any of these added flavours.