Ema Datshi Recipe: Bhutanese Chili and Cheese Stew

Q: Can you make ema datshi with dried red chilies?

Yes. Wikipedia says the chilies may be dried or fresh, and The Druk Girl says the method is the same for green, dry red and dry white chillies. Lhamo's recipe on Explore Parts Unknown switches from sliced onion to spring onions when she cooks with dried red chili. Dried chilies also soak up water, so check the pot halfway through Step 2 and add a splash if it runs low.

Ema datshi is a spicy Bhutanese stew of hot chili peppers and cheese, recognized as the national dish of Bhutan. In Dzongkha, ema means chili and datshi means cheese (Wikipedia). This version simmers long green chilies, split lengthwise, with onion, garlic and butter in a cup of water. Farmer cheese and white processed cheese then melt over them into a loose, pale sauce. It takes 25 minutes and serves 4 with rice.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4

Difficulty: Easy | Calories: ~230 per serving

Which Chilies Work for Ema Datshi?

In this stew the chili is the vegetable. Daily Bhutan says it plainly: to the Bhutanese, chillies “are not just a seasoning; they are a vegetable” (Daily Bhutan). The amounts show it. Little Bhutan, a tour operator in Thimphu, starts its ema datshi recipe with 300 grams of green or red chilies for one fist-sized ball of cottage cheese (Little Bhutan).

Bhutanese cooks have several kinds to choose from. Wikipedia lists green chili, red chili and “white” chili, which is green chili washed in hot water and sun-dried, any of them fresh or dried. The chilies are called sha ema, a Capsicum annuum cultivar that Wikipedia describes as much like cayenne, poblano, ancho or Anaheim (Wikipedia).

Of those four, the Anaheim is the long, fresh green one you can buy in most supermarkets, so this recipe uses 1 pound of them. On their own they are mild. Three or four serranos or Indian green chilies, slit and left whole, put the heat back. Chef Varun Inamdar of Get Curried takes the same route: his ingredient list pairs 12 to 14 quartered banana chillies with 3 to 4 slit green chillies (Get Curried).

For a gentler pot, Little Bhutan says you can remove the seeds if you don’t like it too hot (Little Bhutan). Step 1 takes the pale ribs out with them. To push it hotter, add more serranos rather than cutting back the cheese. If hot chilies sting your skin, wear gloves for Step 1.

What Cheese Can Stand In for Datshi?

Datshi is a fresh Bhutanese cottage cheese, usually made from cow’s milk. Butter is churned out of dahi (fermented milk) in a wooden container called a theki. The liquid left behind is gently heated until the casein curdles, and the curds are squeezed in a cloth and rolled into balls (Wikipedia).

A 2022 study in Food Science & Nutrition compares its texture to cottage cheese, with minute granules of curd and a mild flavor. Unlike other cottage cheeses, it has no added salt. The same paper describes zoety, datshi stored at room temperature until it smells pungent and grows a slimy outer layer. A small amount added to a curry is thought to improve its taste (Nair, Choden and Pradhan).

Outside Bhutan, every cook builds a different mix:

Little Bhutan uses a fist-sized ball of cottage cheese and an optional slice of cheddar (Little Bhutan).
The Druk Girl says processed cheese is completely fine if you don’t have local cheese (The Druk Girl).
The Foreign Fork blends feta, farmer’s cheese and sharp cheddar. Its author notes that farmer’s cheese tends not to melt into water, so her version ends up more watery (The Foreign Fork).
Daily Bhutan suggests farmer cheese, blue cheese and cheddar, and advises against stringy cheese like mozzarella (Daily Bhutan).

This recipe takes two of those ideas. Six ounces of farmer cheese stand in for datshi’s soft, mild curds. Three slices of white processed cheese melt completely and pull the water and butter into a smooth sauce. Buy white slices, not orange, or the pot turns yellow. A few crumbs of blue cheese, as in Daily Bhutan’s mix, add a sharper edge.

How Loose Should the Sauce Be?

Ema datshi recipes disagree. The Foreign Fork points out that some versions are watery or soupy, while others look more like peppers smothered in melted cheese (The Foreign Fork). This one sits nearer the soupy end: the sauce should pool around the chilies and run into the rice.

The Bhutanese recipes cook the cheese right in the pot with the chilies. Lhamo, a mother of three from Thimphu, shared hers with Explore Parts Unknown. She puts chili, garlic, onion, salt and butter in half a cup of water and sprinkles a ball of cottage cheese on top. Then she covers the pot and cooks it on a low flame for about 10 minutes (Explore Parts Unknown).

Daily Bhutan is quicker. It cooks its pot covered on high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, then leaves it off the flame for 1 to 2 minutes before stirring (Daily Bhutan).

Here the chilies get 8 minutes in the water first, so they are soft before any cheese lands on them. The cheese then melts under the lid on low heat, with no hard boil. If the sauce sets too thick in the bowl, stir in 2 tablespoons of hot water. The Chilli Workshop thins its sauce with a little milk instead (The Chilli Workshop).

Ingredients for Ema Datshi

For the Chilies:

1 lb (450 g) long fresh green chilies such as Anaheim (about 8), or a mix of green and red
3 to 4 serrano or Indian green chilies (about 1 oz / 30 g)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons (30 g) butter
1 cup (240 ml) water
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

For the Cheese:

6 oz (170 g) farmer cheese, crumbled
3 slices (about 2 oz / 55 g) white processed cheese (white American), torn into pieces

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Split the Chilies

1Rinse the chilies and shake them dry. Cut each long chili lengthwise into two halves, tip to stem, as Little Bhutan does, and cut any half longer than 6 inches (15 cm) in two crosswise. Slit the serranos lengthwise but leave them whole. For a milder pot, scoop the seeds and pale ribs from the long chilies with the tip of a teaspoon. Slice the onion and garlic thinly.

Two hands splitting a long green chili lengthwise with a small knife on a wooden board, beside a pile of split green and red chilies, three thin green chilies, sliced onion and garlic — Step 1- Split the Chilies

Step 2: Simmer the Chilies

2Put the chilies, onion, garlic, butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 cup (240 ml) water in a small heavy pot of 2 to 3 quarts (2 to 3 liters). Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, which takes about 2 minutes. Put the lid on, lower the heat to medium and let the chilies bubble for 8 minutes. They are ready when they turn a deeper green and bend easily but keep their shape.

A hand lowering a stainless-steel lid over a small two-handled pot on a gas burner, split green and red chilies, onion and garlic simmering in clear water with a melting pat of butter — Step 2- Simmer the Chilies

Step 3: Melt In the Cheese

3Turn the heat to low. Scatter the farmer cheese and the torn cheese slices over the chilies, cover and cook for 2 minutes without stirring. Uncover and stir gently for about 1 minute, until the slices melt into a loose, pale sauce with small soft curds of farmer cheese through it. Keep it below a boil; a few lazy bubbles at the edge are enough.

A hand scattering crumbled white farmer cheese over split green and red chilies in pale, cloudy liquid in the stainless-steel pot on the stove, with a bowl of more cheese on the counter — Step 3- Melt In the Cheese

Step 4: Rest and Serve

4Turn off the heat, cover the pot and leave it for 2 minutes. Taste the sauce and add salt a pinch at a time; farmer cheese brands vary a lot in salt. Serve hot with red or white rice, giving each bowl a few chilies and plenty of sauce.

A hand spooning a split green chili and runny pale cheese sauce from the stainless-steel pot over a bowl of red rice on a wooden table — Step 4- Rest and Serve

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make ema datshi with dried red chilies?

Yes. Wikipedia says the chilies may be dried or fresh (Wikipedia), and The Druk Girl says the method is the same for green, dry red and dry white chillies (The Druk Girl). Lhamo’s recipe on Explore Parts Unknown switches from sliced onion to spring onions when she cooks with dried red chili (Explore Parts Unknown). Dried chilies also soak up water, so check the pot halfway through Step 2 and add a splash if it runs low.

What do you serve with ema datshi?

Red rice is the usual partner. Wikipedia says ema datshi is often served as the main dish, with red rice and other dishes such as phaksha paa (dried pork with red chilies) or jasha maroo (spicy chicken curry) (Wikipedia). Daily Bhutan serves it with rice (Daily Bhutan), and the video from Dickeydol Recipe says it can be enjoyed with rice and tingmo (Dickeydol Recipe).

Can you add tomato to ema datshi?

Yes, many cooks do. Daily Bhutan’s recipe uses half a tomato (Daily Bhutan), Chef Varun Inamdar’s ingredient list has one diced tomato (Get Curried), and The Chilli Workshop uses three (The Chilli Workshop). Lhamo and Little Bhutan leave it out, and so does this recipe. To add one, chop a small tomato and put it in with the chilies in Step 2.

Is the video recipe the same as this one?

Close, but it gives no amounts. Dickeydol Recipe lists Bhutanese chili, Amul cheese, fresh cheese made from milk, onion, tomato, garlic, salt and oil (Dickeydol Recipe). This page uses butter for the oil, farmer cheese for the fresh cheese and white processed slices for the Amul cheese, and leaves out the tomato.