By Rajlakshmi
April 27, 2026
This cheese is hard, dried and can be in different forms with different cooking uses and different tastes. Several choices are available to the wondrous home enthusiast or chef to play with.
Chhurpi is a type of cheese that comes from the Eastern Himalayas. You can find it in Sikkim, Darjeeling and McLeodganj as well as neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan.
The mountain cheese is made with through chauri milk, which is obtained by a cross between a male yak and a female cow. It is due to this cross-mating that a unique kind of milk is produced.
Another factor that lends to the distinct taste and texture of milk is the herbs and grass that chauri graze on. Chhurpi also has variations from the way its made to the way it tastes.
Comes loosely knotted with jute thread and is neatly packed in plastic or broad green leaves, has a strong smell and a sour taste. Used in Nepali cooking to produce achar, dumplings, or, in the local vernacular, eaten with edible ferns called ningro.
Its hue might be either white or brown. The brown ones generally tasteless, whereas the white ones have a sweet flavour. When bit into for an extended period of time, it turns white and releases milk from within. It has a gritty texture
Smoked chhurpi is one of the most delicious types of cheese that gets produced in the Himalayan regions. This variety of chhurpi is smoked, giving it a deep, fragrant smokey flavour that balances its natural saltiness.
A savoury, earthy note can be added to chhurpi infused with aromatic herbs like rosemary or thyme, but variants infused with chilli peppers offer a scorching kick.