For appreciating Bhutanese cuisine, it’s almost a pre-requisite that one should like hot, spicy food while the greatest passion of Bhutanese are chillies. The number of ways in which locals use chillies or chilly powder in their cuisine defies imagination.
The national dish ‘Ema Datshi’ is made of chillies braised in salt, butter, onion, water and ‘Datshi’ – a local cottage cheese made fromes buttermilk.
Some of the quite popular mouth burning yet mouth watery local dishes made of Chilli are, Chilli-spiked ‘Ezay’ which resembles the Mexican ‘salsa’. Ezay comprises chopped chillies, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and cheese. This is taken with fried rice for breakfast. The other is raw chillies dipped in salt and served with a spring of green onions. Interestingly, an average Bhutanese family uses more than two or three dozen Chillies in a day.
For most of the Bhutanese dishes, the cooking method is quite simplistic, and one can easily attempt at home following the preparation suggested for some of the below mentioned mouth-watering typical Bhutanese dishes:
Ema Datshi – The National Dish of Bhutan (Chilli & Cheese Dish)
Ingredients:
12 no Bhutanese green chillies
1 no medium-sized onion
1 no medium-sized tomato
3/4 cup Bhutanese local cheese
3/4 cup processed cheese
1 tablespoon butter
Salt to taste
Method:
* Cut the green chillies lengthwise and discard the seeds.
* Slice the onions and tomatoes.
* In a frying pan or a saucepan, take the butter and melt it.
* Add the onions to it and simply sweat them. Keep the heat at medium so that the onions don't turn brown.
* When the onions have become soft, add the tomatoes and then again cook for about five minutes and add the Bhutanese green chillies.
* Cook the chillies for five minutes and then add the local cheese and the processed cheese.
* Immediately add 2 cups of water and cook till the cheese is melted and forms a nice sauce. It takes about 10 to 12 minutes for the sauce to be prepared.
* Finally add salt if required and turn off the heat.
* The dish is now ready. Serve hot with a side of Bhutanese white rice or red rice.
Note: Ema Datshi can be prepared with either green or red chilli. Also, there are several variants of this dish. Few people like to have it cheesy with no soup while others prefer with soup. Some love to add tomatoes, garlic, onion & stalk onion leeks while others prefer It simple with only garlic, chilli and cheese. Whichever way we prepare, this simple looking dish is indeed highly delicious and any visitor should not miss it while touring Bhutan.
Kewa Datshi (Potato & Cheese Dish)
Kewa Datshi is one of Bhutan’s famous specialities. Basically, it’s a vegetarian cheese stew with potato in it.
Ingredients:
4 small potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Water - enough to cover the potatoes
45g Datshi (cheese), crumbled into small pieces (you can substitute with feta cheese or cheddar)
1 tablespoon butter or soya oil
1 fresh green or red chilli - remove seeds and finely chop (for extra heat use birds eye chilli)
1 garlic, finely chopped
1 shallot finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
* Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks.
* Pre-heat a pan on medium flame. Once the pan is hot, add the butter followed by the potatoes.
* Next add enough water to cover the potatoes and let it cook until the potatoes are cooked through. Add enough water to cover the potatoes and season with salt.
* Next add the chilli, garlic, shallot, and pepper as well as the crumbled cheese. Cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring gently throughout until the cheese has completely melted.
* The dish is now ready. Serve hot with a side of Bhutanese white rice or red rice.
Shamu Datshi (Mushroom & Cheese Dish)
Ingredients:
250 gm Cremini mushroom
1 Onion
5-6 Green chilli
½ Tomato
Salt to taste
3 tablespoon oil
1/3 cup water
2-3 tablespoon cheese (a combination of Amul cheese and farmer cheese)
4-5 Sliced garlic
Coriander leaves
Method:
* Rinse the mushrooms, chillies, tomato, onion and garlic.
* Cut mushrooms into four pieces. Also, cut tomato, chilli, onion and garlic into slices.
* Put the above cut mushroom, onion, tomato, green chilli, garlic, water, oil and salt together in a pot and cover and cook on high flame for 3-5 minutes.
* After 3-5 minutes, add cheeses, cover again and cook until cheese begins to melt.
* Now without mixing, turn off the flame and let them sit for 1-2 minutes to set.
* Finally, mix well and check salt.
* Garnish your mushroom Datshi with coriander leaves.
* The dish is now ready. Serve hot with a side of Bhutanese white rice or red rice.
Phaksha Paa
Pork cooked with spicy red chillis. Radishes or Spinach can also be added to this dish.
Ingredients:
One medium onion (about 4 ounces, 110 g), peeled and quartered
Fresh ginger, peeled and cut into a 1 -inch (2.5 cm) cube
One medium daikon or white radish (bout 31/2 ounces, 100 g), peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise to fit the feed tube
One stick unsalted butter (4 ounces, 40 g)
1-pound boneless pork shoulder (450 g), cut into 6 by 1/2-inch (15 by 1.25cm) strips
1/2 cup water (120ml)
2 tablespoon chilli powder
2 teaspoon salt
3 large heads bok choy [about 3 pounds total, 1.3kg], stems removed and leaves cut into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) strips
6 ounces dried pork (170 g), cut into 3 by 1/2-inch (7.5 by 1.25 cm) strips
1 large fresh green chilli pepper (about 1/2-ounce, 15 g), seeded and cut into julienne strips
Method:
* Chop the onion coarsely with the metal blade of a food processor, about 4 pulses. Set aside.
* Drop the ginger through the feed tube with the motor running and chop finely for about 10 seconds. Set aside.
* Slice the daikon with the thick (6mm) slicing disc.
* Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
* Add the pork shoulder, onion, daikon, water, chilli powder, and salt and simmer over low heat until the pork is just tender, about 1 hour and 25 minutes.
* Meanwhile, cook the bok choy in a saucepan of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain.
* Add the ginger, bok choy, dried pork, and chilli pepper to the stew and simmer over low heat until heated through 5 to 10 minutes.
Jasha Maroo (Bhutanese Minced Chicken)
Ingredients:
Boneless chicken – 500 gm
One large, chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
One tablespoon grated ginger
2 small, chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons chopped green chillies
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chicken stock
Method:
* Heat oil in a pan
* Add the chopped onions and sauté until soft and translucent
* Add the chicken and fry for about 5 minutes
* Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil
* Now add the chopped garlic, grated ginger, tomatoes and chillies. Season well
* Cook until chicken is tender, and the liquids have been reduced. You can also add some chopped cilantro on top
* Turn up the heat
Puta (Seasoned Buckwheat Noodle from Central Bhutan)
Ingredients:
4 cups of sieved buckwheat flour
1 egg
Enough water to make a dough
Seasoning
4 tablespoon mustard oil
2 finely chopped green chillies
1 onion
An omelette using two well-beaten eggs
3 cloves garlic
Fresh coriander & chives
Thi-ngay (sechuan pepper)
Salt to taste
Method:
* Break egg over buckwheat flour and add water.
* Knead into a smooth dough and pass through a noodle press.
* Immerse the noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes. Stain and dip in cold water. Leave aside to train.
* Heat mustard oil and add chopped onion, chillies, garlic, coriander and chives.
* Saute and pour over noodles.
* Add salt to taste and a pinch of thi-ngay.
* Cut omelette into strips and use them to garnish noodles.
* Serve the noodle with fresh yoghurt.
