EMA DATSHI from The Land of The Thunder Dragon

EMA DATSHI

From the kingdom of happiness, straight into our kitchens 

The first time I had Ema Datshi in Bhutan, I was blown away by the fiery heat of the chilies blending smoothly and perfectly with the rich creaminess of the cheese. Being the national dish of Bhutan, it is exceptionally popular and unbelievably cheap over there (given the huge quantity of cheese that goes into it).
There we (Gourab and I) tried several versions of this national dish, Ema Datshi. Ema Datshi is basically chilies in cheese soup. The other variants that we also tried there, were Kewa Datshi (potato cheese soup) , Koka Datshi (noodles cheese soup), Shamu Datshi (mushroom cheese soup) and Mixed Vegetable Datshi. The two main components of all the different versions were fiery chilies and rich, smooth cheese.

Here goes my version of Vegetable Ema Datshi, which we totally adore and gorge on! Hope you will like it too. Quantities can be altered as per your personal preference. You can also add or omit any ingredient (not the chilies and cheese of course :-p) if you fancy.
Do try it out and let us know how it went.

Vegetable Ema Datshi.
Serves - 2 (generously! ) to 3 (moderately!)
Time required - 50 mins approximately.
Level - Medium

Ingredients which I used:

1.    1 medium sized carrot

2.     200 gms green beans 

3.    1 large capsicum, deseeded and cut into cubes

4.    100 gms of steamed sweet corns

5.    3 large potatoes (peeled, boiled and then sliced)

6.    1 red tomato, cut into small chunks

7.    2 small onions, thinly sliced

8.     About 1tbsp ginger - garlic mince (6 fat cloves of garlic and a 1/2 inch              piece of ginger)

9.    1.5 cups of milk

10.  Half cup cream

11.  4 Amul cheese cubes

12.  Around 12 fat green chilies

13.  Salt for seasoning

14.  1 tsp pepper

15.  1 tsp sugar

16.  White oil for cooking (Can also be substituted with extra virgin olive oil, for        a little twist ;-) :-D )

Method:

Wash and peel the carrot and cut into carrot sticks that are 2 inches long and 1/3-inch by 1/3-inch thick, approx! Cut the beans into 2 inches long pieces. Wash properly, drain and keep aside.

Heat a little white oil in a deep pan or kadai (if using extra virgin olive oil, be careful not to heat it too much, otherwise it might lose its flavor), and sauté the carrots and beans for a couple of minutes.

Then sprinkle some water inside the pan, turn the heat down and cover for 3 to 4 mins, or till the veggies soften. But be careful not to soften them too much.
Once done, take the veggies off the heat, and keep aside.
Now in the same pan, once again heat 1 tbsp white oil and sauté the ginger -garlic mince. Do not let it brown! Once it gives off the aroma, add in the sliced onions and continue stirring.

Once the onions turn golden, add in the largely cubed capsicums and sauté on medium heat for 3 to 4 mins.

Once the capsicums soften, add the 1.5 cups of milk and turn the heat low. Now add in the cream and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

At this point add the pre cooked carrots and beans, along with the steamed sweet corns.

Now grate in the 4 cubes of cheese and stir properly. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Be careful not to add too much salt, as the cheese is already salty.

Add a little bit of water if, you want to loosen the consistency of the soup. Now add the slit green chilies to the soup, and let it simmer for further 5 to 7 minutes.

At the end of the five minutes simmer on low heat, add the already boiled and sliced potatoes. Finally add the tomato chunks before turning off the heat.

SERVE HOT!!!

In Bhutan Ema Datshi is generally served with rice but we prefer having it by itself. Do not forget to let us know about your experience and experiments. Happy Cooking...

- Thanks and much love, 

Bangali Backpacker team