Chhurpi () or ''durkha'' is a traditional

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

consumed in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. The two varieties of chhurpi are a soft variety (consumed usually as a side dish with rice) and a hard variety (chewed like betel).

Preparation

Chhurpi is prepared in a local

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

or at home from

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...

. The buttermilk is boiled and the solid mass that is obtained is separated from the liquid and wrapped and hung in a thin cloth to drain out the water. The product is rather like the Italian

ricotta Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after th ...

, which also is made from

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...

. It is soft, white, and neutral in taste. However, it is often left to ferment a bit to acquire a tangy taste. To prepare the hard variety, the soft chhurpi is wrapped in a

jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...

bag and pressed hard to get rid of the water. After it dries, it is cut into small cuboidal pieces and hung over fire to harden it further.

Consumption

Soft chhurpi is consumed in a variety of ways, including cooking with green vegetables as savoury dishes, as a filling for ''

momo Momo may refer to: Geography * Momo (department), a division of Northwest Province in Cameroon * Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon * Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, in northern Italy * Joffrey Tower, in ...

'', grinding with tomatoes and chillies for ''senpen (''

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sa ...

)and as a soup. In the mountainous regions of Tibet, chhurpi is consumed as a substitute for vegetables because it is an excellent source of protein. Hard chhurpi is usually consumed by keeping it in the mouth to moisten it, letting parts of it become soft, and then chewing it like a gum. In this manner, one block of chhurpi can last up to two hours.Cooper, Robert and Yong Lui Jin "Cultures of the World: Bhutan".

References

{{Reflist Bhutanese cuisine Indian cheeses Nepalese cuisine Tibetan cheeses Tibetan cuisine Yak's-milk cheeses

Preparation

Consumption

See also

References