This is the ‘soft churpee’…an almost hardened version of the hung curd…
…..the Nepalis cook a slightly mouldier version of this churpee with onions, tomatoes and green chilies as “churpee ko aachar”…or sometimes it is even ground with roasted tomatoes and chillies into a paste as a chutney…also sprinkled over fried fiddlehead ferns loving called “ningro with churpee”…in Sikkim a homemade pasta locally known as “houloop” is prepared fresh, boiled and sauted with onions, tomatoes and green chilies and the final taste enhancement is of course this churpee crumbled and sprinkled just before serving…they also make a thickened broth of melted mouldier churpee with butter to eat with steamed rice on cold days…
…churpee is also used along with shredded cabbage , onions and ginger as a part of the filling of vegetable momos both by the Sikkimese as well as the Nepalis
…the Bhutanese use of churpee of course needs no introduction…it is the ubiquitous datshe of the now almost world famous “ema datshe” or chilli curry as the recipe….
….as for the uninitiated it’s totally another version of comfort food….steaming hot rice…a dollop of ghee mixed with fresh churpee and a dash of salt…#heaven on earth
