Careful…it’s hot!

36 year old Aum Peday from Punakha believes eating Ema Datsi (Bhutan’s national dish, chilli and cheese) will make her two year old son strong. Further west, Tandin Zam from Shaba, Paro pours a generous helping of ema datsi on her plate and when asked whether it wasn’t too much, she returns an exasperated shrug. Such beliefs and chili-eating habits are very common in Bhutan where the chili is not a spice but a vegetable, and also the key ingredient in every Bhutanese recipe.

Bhutan’s national dish: Ema datsi may have an endearing name but one should not be deceived by that, for the dish has a fiery personality. But Kunzang Choden, in her book by the same name, ‘Chili and Cheese:Food and Society in Bhutan’ says this key ingredient in Bhutanese cuisine did not even exist during our ancestors’ time. “Not many will believe that there was ever a time when there was no chili in our cuisine. Its arrival in Asia from South America is perhaps only as old as 400 years ago - its introduction to the Himalayas may be even more recent. Once it reached Bhutanese kitchens, it transformed cookery and raised the thresholds of palates to new heights. Now, you’ll hardly meet a Bhutanese who can eat without chili.

Bhutan’s national dish: Ema datsi may have an endearing name but one should not be deceived by that, for the dish has a fiery personality. But Kunzang Choden, in her book by the same name, ‘Chili and Cheese:Food and Society in Bhutan’ says this key ingredient in Bhutanese cuisine did not even exist during our ancestors’ time. “Not many will believe that there was ever a time when there was no chili in our cuisine. Its arrival in Asia from South America is perhaps only as old as 400 years ago - its introduction to the Himalayas may be even more recent. Once it reached Bhutanese kitchens, it transformed cookery and raised the thresholds of palates to new heights. Now, you’ll hardly meet a Bhutanese who can eat without chili.

Although very common, chilies cannot grow above a certain elevation and are found only in the warmer regions of the country. Author Kunzang Choden reminisces a time when she waited for the chili traders to barter for wheat and barley grown in her home district of Bumthang. “There used to be great excitement in the village as soon as the chili sellers arrived. The sight of fresh chilies meant our meals were going to be tastier.”

Besides the culinary importance of the spice, chilies also have a strong influence on traditional social beliefs. “There is a definite cultural challenge in eating chilies. Being able to do so is seen as “grown-up” and children take pride in being able to take that challenge”, says Kunzang Choden.

Chili is a convenient vegetable. It is so because it can be prepared in more ways than one. Whether you like it fresh and crunchy, roasted with butter, split, chopped, minced in your curry or stew or as a red powdery spice on your paah, it is no wonder that it easily found its way into the Bhutanese palate and completely transformed our idea of what makes our meals delicious and complete.