A cheesy affair need not always require you to take a foreign route. And though the pursuit of cheesy deliciousness might not exactly strike you as something very Indian, there are actually quite a few names in the cheese trove that are quintessentially local. Read on to know more about these cheesy wonders that are native to the Indian mainland.
Kalari
A dry feast with some trapped in moisture, this cheese native to the region of Jammu and Kashmir in India, is the secret behind those delectable kalari kulchas that you would inevitably encounter on your sojourn in the northernmost land of the country.
Chenna
Not exactly a cheese per se with the texture being a bit grainy rather than the solidified mass of ‘actual’ cheese, chenna is essentially curdled milk and bears resemblance to cottage cheese. Most Indian sweets are bound to enrich your palate with a generous mould of treated chenna.
Paneer
Hands – down the most popular cheese from India. Paneer is an upgraded version of the chenna that has been dried completely to arrive at a more conventionally acceptable mass of solid cheese. Non melting and un aged, paneer is a prime occurrence as an all time favorite in Indian meals.
Kudan
A ricotta like cheese made by the Gujjars in Kashmir, Kudan is a spin off of Kalari and uses the leftover whey of the mozzarella dummy to arrive at this lesser known, chewy fare.
Bandel
Bengal has much to offer to the culinary world than the rosogolla. Bandel is a form of cheese that is native to India, courtesy the Portuguese presence here. A salted, smoked and dried treatment of the chenna, this pressed bar makes for quite a nice drinks accompaniment.
Churpee
A Himalayan staple, churpee is a traditional cheese made from yak’s milk that you can prefer your way- hard or soft. Essentially a munch on to generate the warmth that you would require in a place of higher altitude like the mountains of Himalaya, churpee is also preferred as a source of protein for dogs.
Churu
This one’s another spin off cheese, that makes use of the curds of chhurpi to dish out this light blue colored stuff that forms the focal point of the Bhutanese dish, ema datsi.
Kalimpong
A rare variety that is native to Kalimpong in West Bengal, Kalimpong is a cheese that is perfect as a tasty and nutritious salad crumble as it isn’t particularly smelly.
Le Pondicherri
Obviously an invention from Pondicherry, this is a dense and heavy cheese that is aged in curry leaves and made from cow’s milk. This is one of those cubes that is good to eat as it is.
Camembay
This is essentially a revamped Camembert with a creamy, smooth consistency that comes in a shell of areca nut fibre instead of the traditional round wooden box that gives the native its unique taste.
Also check out another Indian staple: Pickles
