Ema datshi - Chillie and cheese

 
Recently when visiting Bhutan I was introduced to Ema datshi or chillie and cheese stew. The Buhtanese eat chillie as a vegetable and there are many variations to this recipe. This is the basic version minus the yak cheese for which I have substituted  equal portions of low fat cottage cheese and Costello Blue.

4-6 large green or red chillies
100 gms low fat cottage cheese
100 gms Costello Blue cheese
2-3 cloves Garlic
1  tsp salt (2 if you don't suffer from hypertension - Buthanese like lots of salt in their food)
1 tbs Ghee or butter
1 cup water

Cut the chillies in half  lenghtways and remove the membrane and seeds (if you want a milder version) then cut the chillies into wide diagonal strips about 4 per half chillie.
In a small fry pan add the butter, water, chillies, garlic and salt and gently bring them to a simmer for several minutes until the chillies soften and liquid reduced by half.
Add the cheeses to the mixture stirring untill the cheese has melted into a nice cheese sauce consistency.
Remove from the heat and serve with red or white rice.

Serve ema datshi as a side dish with any curry or bbq beef or lamb.
Leftovers are great as a dip or on toast for breakfast.