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Eggs & dairy · Fresh cheese

Soft chhurpi (Himalayan fresh cheese)

Soft, crumbly Himalayan fresh cheese (chura) from buttermilk curds; melted with chillies in Arunachal, Sikkim and Nepal.

Also called: chura, churpi, soft churpi, chhurpi, yak cheese (soft), fermented cheese (Arunachal)

Around the world: छुर्पी (ne)

A kind of cheese

1 recipe with it

What it is

Soft chhurpi is made by heating the buttermilk left after churning butter from cow's or yak's milk until the curds separate, then draining them in a cloth. It is eaten fresh or left for a few days to sour slightly. In Arunachal Pradesh it is called chura and cooked with chillies into chura sabzi; a much harder, smoked and dried form is chewed as a snack.

How it’s used

  • Melted with green chillies for chura sabzi
  • Mixed into chilli pickles and chutneys in Sikkim and Darjeeling
  • Added to soups and vegetable dishes
  • Eaten fresh with rice

Characteristics

Taste
Mild, milky and pleasantly sour.
Texture
Moist and crumbly; softens into a creamy sauce when simmered.
Sold as
fresh, dried
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked

Storage

Refrigerated. Keep fresh chhurpi in the fridge in a covered container and use within 3–4 days.

Diet, allergens and safety

Contains Milk.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
98 kcal
Protein
11.12 g
Carbohydrate
3.38 g
Fat
4.3 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
2.67 g

USDA FoodData Central: Cheese, cottage, creamed, large or small curd (a close stand-in).

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

Related ingredients

Recipes with soft chhurpi (himalayan fresh cheese)

More fresh cheese