Tibetan Cheese or Chura
I can imagine that many of you might think that I have disappeared for good and I am sure that you are right in thinking that but for me I simply had no energy to write a blog after a sudden change in my schedule due to a number of factors most of them being related to the amount of things I have to do in a day. Anyway I have enjoyed my time away from the blog, I will admit it. I am sure that now I will have a bit more to write about for the coming few days though the frequency may be a bit less at the beginning.
Some days ago I came across two big blocks of hard Tibetan Cheese called “Chura”. This type of cheese mostly eaten as a sort of a hard candy. I remember from my college days my deskmate was addicted to eatiing this cheese and he always had a couple of cubes of this in his pocket and one permanently in his mouth. This deskmate was always “high” and had a cricket kit bag full of hemp in his college hostel room. However he was fun to be around and had an extraordinary level of intelligence. So the cheese itself is pretty disgusting and there are many types of it. If I had to describe its taste I would say it tastes like rancid vomit but there is one particular variety that is shaped like flakes and if you throw those in a soup it gives a very nice flavour to it. I must admit my liking for Chura stops there. However this along with dried meat called Sha-Khambu has an extraordinary role to play in the Tibetan diet. This type of food hardly goes bad and it provides for a good source of protien in a climate where such type of nourishment is difficult to get especially while you travel for days. This is such a good travel food that they almost always string a couple of cubes of it together and you can carry it handily in your pocket without the fear of spoilage.
As for these particular pieces of chura, I plan to nibble on them even though its not really very tasty for me. Slowly but surely I am sure they will disappear.
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Chandigarh sure seems to have more Tibetan culture than I had imagined. Is this cheese prepared with yak’s milk ?
Btw, I recently watched a Bhutanese movie called Travellers and Magicians, if you havent watched it, I would recommend it.
Oh so its about chura or dried cheese…ha ha ha where did u get those. I used to eat loads of them when i was a kid. But now its been a decade since i haven,t eaten them.
U really know so much of tibet .
Welcome back Odzer
/*I remember from my college days my deskmate was addicted to eatiing this cheese and he always had a couple of cubes of this in his pocket and one permanently in his mouth. */
LOL
thats is quite an information odzer about Chura
I wondered where you had go to! I notice that after a year or so of blogging people tend to blog less. Happened to me too, or rather my blogging kept increasing gradually for 2 years and now its decreasing. One realises that one has too many things in real life which are getting neglected.
About the cheese, I have heard of hill people always sucking on something to keep their hunger at bay. A couple of times I asked the name but it made no sense. I didn’t pursue it further at the time but I guess it might have been churi. Unless there is some other hard stuff these people keep chewing the whole day.
good to see you back, i was wondering how long the no show is going to be…..he…he…
this reminds me of my dads favorite cheese…..blue stilton…ugh!!
yup, it is an acquired taste. i love eating churas. The taste differs depending on the type of chura you have. Majority of them have a milky, cheese like taste to them, but some are kind of sour, while others are sweet! I like the sweet ones, but i am addicted to the cube ones.
There is no myth or romanticism connected to the history of churas or the culture of those who eat them. It is a just a type of food, just like paneer in a dried form. I guess people in Tibet make them out of yak milk, but they can be made out of cow milk as well. happy chowing odzer-la!
Hey
What you described and that big block there is actually called “churpi”. It’s hardened crumbled cheese.
“Chura” is generic cheese, which can come in various forms…including crumbled and soft, flakes.
These cheeses are made from various milk, not stereotypically yak
If you had something rancid, it probably was rancid…cos there are also churpis which are very soft and soft- almost milky tasting.
You should try: chura momos!, and chura sauces with chillis and tomatoes…more of an eastern himalayan belt food….
Just clarifying …cos am Tibetan! he he
I am back after a long hiatus – hope to see you back soon as well mate
I have not tasted Chura, ever. I am also not into a very strong cheese. Something mild, like mexican cheese blend, swiss, ricotta or desi cheese makes my list
So, Geography shapes food and the taste for it! Like people acclimatize at new places, they acquire liking for new food.
Thanks.
Nanda
where are you odzer?
missing your foodie posts
@ Everyone : So sorry for such a late response but here we go!
@ Vikram : Yak’s do not give milk
They are like Mules or like your local friendly Eunuch. Though the animal that does give milk is called Dzomo. Anyway there are a number of Tibetans here.
@ Chemi : You should really start re eating it. Unless of course now it does not taste good to you anymore
@ Kanagu : Yep that was an interesting guy.
@ Aneeta : Does not Stilton smell like old socks?
@ Tenzin : Actually Paneer comes from Turkey, where it is called Peynir. So it has travelled a long long way to become part of the Indian cuisine. When it arrived it was shunned by the locals because Hindus do not like the idea of “splitting” milk because it is supposed to be a holy food. Yada Yada, here is the romanticism and the story of Panir. As for Chura yeah the sweet ones can be interesting!
@ Dechen : Thank you, Thukjeche for all the extra info lo. By the way I love this cheese in soup like Thukpa. Not a big momo fan. I am more of a tingmo boy.
@ Kiran : I love ricotta! Thank you for welcoming me back. I am so touched that everyone waited for me
Lets have a cheese party sometime.
@ Arpit : I think I should cook something eh!
@ An Nanda : Yep, that is why it is an acquired taste.
I MOSTALY LIKE TIBETIN FOOD CHURA IS MYN FEVRET TEST