cheers for cheese

BY SHERYL DIXIT

Living and eating in Australia, it is almost inevitable that cheese will sooner or later cross your path. For the desperately unfamiliar, the white, chewy topping that you find over your vegetarian pizza is also cheese – Mozzarella or Parmesan. If you are used to the standard commercial varieties and our favourite paneer from back home, discovering cheese can be a delight for any foodie, and can enhance your boastful array of hors d’oeuvres at your next social do. Of all the over 1000 varieties of cheese available we are most familiar with Gruyere, Haloumi, Brie, Edam, Camembert, Provolone and the even humbler and more familiar ones like cheddar, Gouda, Colby. Blue cheeses like Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola and the aromatic Limburger are an acquired taste, while Fetta in all its varied flavour is a delightful accompaniment in salads.

Nowadays, cheese can found in different flavours of herbs and condiments, as well as smoked, aged, wood-fired, and many other interesting and unique varieties. Cheese is mostly made from the milk of cows, but cheese can be made from sheep, goat, buffalo, reindeer, camel and even yak milk.

Some extremely rare cheese like the one made from moose milk is also extremely expensive, priced at $500 per pound, and is produced in northern Sweden.

Lesser expensive varieties are Gorau Glas, an award-winning, blue-veined cow’s milk cheese from Wales, priced up to $40 a pound, or Bitto, a mixed cow and goats milk cheese from the Italian Alps. A cheese platter with grapes, crackers, olives and other antipasto options accompanied by a good white, red or rose wine can be an epicure’s delight.

Whatever the type, there’s something about cheese that lends itself to cuisines from all around the world. On its own or as an accompaniment, cheese can be an entrée, appetizer, ingredient, and can be trusted to make any meal special.

The recipes below are a mix of the traditional and the unusual, with the option of Indianising them to suit your palate, or dropping some ingredients to retain just basic flavours.

Cheese drops: Crunchy and chewy

1 cup cornflour

1 cup grated cheese (parmesan, cheddar or tasty)

½ cup milk

1 pinch baking powder

1 egg

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup finely chopped chives

1/3 cup finely cut ham (optional)

1 small garlic pod, finely cut

1 pinch pepper

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Sift the cornflour into a bowl, then add baking powder and milk, mix gently taking care that no lumps remain. Add egg to the mix, next stir in grated cheese to form a thickish mixture. Add chives, ham, garlic pod, breadcrumbs, pepper, salt and mix thoroughly. Keep aside for 15 minutes. The mixture will expand slightly. Next, heat oil in a deep-bottomed frying pan. Scoop out small circular portions of the mix and drop into the hot oil, deep frying until golden brown. Place on colander for excess oil to drain out, then serve hot.

Paneer burji: An old favourite

200 gms fresh paneer

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

2 green chillies, finely cut

1 small onion, finely cut

¼ tsp turmeric powder

¼ tsp garam masala powder

¼ tsp coriander powder

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 medium tomato, finely cut

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Salt to taste

1 tbsp cooking oil

Place a deep-bottomed pan on high flame, add the cumin seeds and roast lightly. Then add the oil and once heated, add the chillies, onions and ginger garlic paste. Fry for a minute until the onions turn soft. Add the turmeric, coriander and garam masala powders and fry for a minute. Next, add finely chopped tomatoes and fry till they become soft and pulpy, and are fully mixed with the masala. Add grated paneer and salt to the mix and fry thoroughly until the ingredients are well-combined. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with hot rotis or chappatis.

Blue cheese gougères:

A touch of France

1½ cups water

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ teaspoon salt

2 cups unbleached flour (or bread flour), sifted

5 large eggs

1 cup blue cheese, crumbled

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Butter a large baking sheet and keep aside. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine water, butter, and salt; bring just to a boil and remove from the heat immediately. Add all of the flour at once, to swell the starch and dry the dough. Stir constantly until blended, making sure that there are no lumps. Return pan to heat and continue stirring until the mixture starts to dry out and pull away from the edge of the pan. Remove and let it cool. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until well blended. The dough should be soft and shiny. Add the blue cheese. Season with black pepper and more salt if needed. Scoop up a tablespoon-full of the dough and place onto the prepared baking sheet; continue until all the dough is used up in cocktail sized puffs. Leave a small space between each as they will expand. Glaze the top of each with beaten egg, dusting black pepper over them, if you wish. Bake for about 30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Pierce the top of a gougère to ensure that it is fully baked. The inside should be hollow and dry. Remove and serve warm from the oven.