Opinion When the world loves an Indian cheese

Time was when all that Indians knew about cheese was that a cube of it, stuck on a toothpick with a piece of pineapple and a cherry, made for a party snack. Or that grated over vegetables and popped into the oven till it was golden, it was an effective inducement for fussy young eaters to consume some fibre. From those early encounters with (mostly processed) cheese to now, with the homegrown Eleftheria Cheese’s Brunost (Norwegian-style whey cheese) winning fourth place at the World Cheese Awards, India’s relationship with this dairy product has come a long way.

While the general lack of interest in cheese in a country that produces and consumes as much dairy as India, may have confounded turophiles, certain indigenous varieties have long existed. The ubiquitous paneer aside, these include the salt-cured and smoked Bandel cheese, developed under the auspices of the Portuguese in their Bengal colony; Chhurpi, a yak cheese made in the Himalayan region for centuries; and Kalari, a hard cheese found in Jammu and Kashmir that was made by nomadic communities as a way of preserving milk.

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It’s been about three decades since India, finally having wide access to affordable cheese (even if only the processed variety), fell in love with it. For Indians unaccustomed to the complex flavours of a Roquefort or Manchego, the saltiness and creaminess of Indian processed cheese helped make a number of everyday food items, from dosas and uttapams to kebabs and parathas, “special”. The mainstream appreciation that India’s indigenous varieties are now getting, as well as the domestic development of European cheeses with a distinct Indian spin — Cheddar rubbed with molaga podi, Cabecous infused with pav bhaji masala, among others — shows that the country is finally ready to take its place alongside other proud cheesemaking cultures.