Top 4 Bhutanese Stews

Ema datsi is an exotic, intensely flavorful and spicy national dish of Bhutan. It is simplicity itself, focusing on two main ingredients - hot chilis (ema) and cheese (datshi). Bhutanese cuisine is not heavy on seasonings, but they prefer to add lots and lots of chili peppers, beloved throughout the country and eaten both cooked and raw. Served alongside almost every meal in Bhutan, usually with red rice, and scooped up with pieces of Tibetan senkong, the result is a cheesy, soupy sauce with peppers. Cooked in boiling water, with addition of onions, tomatoes, and garlic, this extremely spicy dish is guaranteed to make the consumer sweat.Expand

Jasha maroo is a traditional dish consisting of diced chicken that is cooked with garlic, ginger, chiles, and tomato sauce. This combination of ingredients is usually served on top of red or brown rice. The dish is quite spicy, as most of Bhutanese dishes usually are, since the most distinctive characteristic of Bhutanese cuisine is its spiciness. Along with chili peppers, rice is another staple of many Bhutanese dishes, so it is common to find it accompanying many meat dishes in Bhutan.Expand

Easy to prepare, yet extremely nourishing, kewa datsi is a traditional dish consisting of potatoes stewed with cheese, onions, and chilis. It is usually served with rice or flatbreads such as puri. The dish can be mild or hot, depending on the amount of chillis added, but it is generally less hot than ema datsi, another popular Bhutanese dish, which is why kewa datsi is preferred by most children and foreigners. Since potato consumption in Bhutan was quite low until the 1970s, when farmers started growing it for export, it can be said that kewa datsi is a relatively new Bhutanese dish that became popular over the last few decades.Expand

Shamu datshi is a flavorful Bhutanese stew consisting of various types of mushrooms stewed in a combination of water, oil, and green chilis. Cheese is added in the end and left to melt slowly with other ingredients. When served, it is recommended to pair shamu datshi with hot rice or crusty bread on the side.Expand