Cheeses of South Asia
Paneer and chhena, the smoked Bandel of Bengal, Kalimpong cheese, and the yak-milk churpi and datshi of the Himalaya. 13 cheeses on EveryCheese so far.
Cheese towns, markets and caves
Odisha 2Alla 1Anggeraja 1Bandel 1Baraka 1Dashapalla 1Hooghly 1Kalimpong 1Kolkata 1Ramnagar 1Tarakeswar 1Udhampur district 1West Bengal 1BumthangDarjeelingJammu divisionKodaikanalLangtang and Kyanjin GompaLeh and the ChangthangNayagarhPahalaSalepurSuratThe NilgirisUdhampur and Ramnagar
Dishes of the region
Palak paneerPaneer tikkaShahi paneerMatar paneerPaneer bhurjiRasgullaSandeshRas malaiChhena podaEma datshi
Days
Diwali, paneer and chhena sweetsDurga Puja and the Bengali sweet shopNavratri fasting and paneerRasagola DibasaRaksha Bandhan sweetsPoila Baishakh, the Bengali New YearJamai SasthiJagaddhatri Puja in Chandannagar
Countries
🇮🇳 IndiaKalari
A semi-soft cow or buffalo milk cheese from Jammu and Kashmir, dried and sautéed until gooey.Cow · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇳 IndiaKalimpong cheese
A mild, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from a West Bengal hill station, started by a Jesuit priest.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇳 India and 4 morePaneer
A fresh, non-melting acid-set cheese made from cow or buffalo milk in South Asia.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKhoa
A soft South Asian cheese made by simmering whole milk until thick and dry.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇳🇵 Nepal and 2 moreChhurpiछुर्पी
A smoked yak and cow milk cheese from the Himalayas, available in soft or hard forms.Yak · Smoked · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChhenaଛେନ୍ନା / ছানা
A fresh, acid-set cow or buffalo milk cheese from eastern India and Bangladesh.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇧🇹 BhutanDatshiདར་ཚི
A fresh Bhutanese cottage cheese made from cow milk, central to daily meals and curries.Cow · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇳 IndiaBandel cheese
A small, smoked cow's-milk cheese from West Bengal with a crumbly texture and tangy taste.Cow · Fresh · Salty
🇮🇩 IndonesiaDangke
A fresh cottage cheese from South Sulawesi made with buffalo or cow milk and papaya leaves.Buffalo · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇳 IndiaChhena Podaଛେନାପୋଡ଼
A baked Odisha dessert of caramelised cottage cheese and sugarCow · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kalari: Zeeshanqazi786, CC0, source
- Paneer: Sonja Pauen - Stanhopea, CC BY 2.0 de, source
- Chhurpi: Arijit Dasgupta, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kalimpong cheese: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khoa: Miansari66, Public domain, source
- Chhena: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Datshi: Nair A, Choden D, Pradhan M., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bandel cheese: Rangan Datta Wiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dangke: RianHS, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chhena Poda: http://recipes.oriyaonline.com/content_images/chhena%20poda.JPG, FAL, source