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Introduction
MY RECOLLECTIONS go back to the day when my father was back from some place in Gujarat and had brought something in a tin. It was meant to be eaten with bread. While the elders relished it, I was ready to push it away but didn't dare, as the house rule was "nothing on the plate was to be wasted". So grudgingly, I finished it. I was told it was called Cheese. Not a very great beginning for cheese and me. The only thing nice about it was to stand in front of a camera and say it.
Later an uncle from abroad brought something called `Kraft' and it was treated with great respect and rationed out. Today it is as common as butter. Cheese is an acquired taste and the more you eat it, the more you seem to relish it. In today's world we are getting far more than just the processed cheese. Cheddar flavoured cheese seems to have caught on, people use Mozzarella for pizzas or as now available pizza cheese. Internationally, there are many types of cheese available and they are slowly but surely entering the Indian market and soon they will be available all over.
But what is cheese? To simply put it, it is the curd of milk, either cows or buffalo or even goat as in some Middle-Eastern cheese. This curd is left to mature. Due to the agents added, the type of milk, the weather conditions and other contributing factors, we get different types of cheese. Some of these especially, blue vein cheese make me look at cheese the way I did in my childhood - but others such as Philadelphia, Cheddar, Camembert, Bel Pase I have grown to love. Today I ration them out.
Well, what does one do with cheese at home? There are many things one can do. Take grated cheese; mix it with a little chilli powder and very little salt (Please remember that cheese is naturally a bit salty and care needs to be taken not to over salt). This can be used to stuff hollowed mushrooms, covered with batter and coated with breadcrumbs and fried for a delightful snack. Take a pan (thick-bottom). Toast one side of the bread, apply cheese and chopped green chillies, mix on toasted side and place untoasted side down on the pan. Wait till the cheese starts melting and then remove, cut and serve as Cheese Chilli toast. It goes beautifully with any pasta. Boil pasta, keep aside. Make a white sauce (equal quantities of butter and flour, cooked together - but do not let it change colour and then add 10 times the quantity of milk - keep whisking till the milk reduces to half - proportions are 1:1:10). Add to it grated cheese, seasoning and the pasta. Yum! Mrs. Zahera Waqif from Gaffer Khan Colony has given us her recipe for making a great pizza at home. Prepare a stiff dough using atta, water, salt and yeast. Knead well. Set aside for at least three hours. Knead dough again till soft. Make even size balls. Roll out to ½ cm thickness. Put a non-stick pan on the stove. Grease it and then put the thick base on it, add tomato puree, veg or non-veg filling, chopped onion, coriander leaves and in the end lots of cheese. Cover the frying pan and cook on a slow flame till base is crisp and brown.
Do let us know your specialities, which your family enjoys so that we can all, share in the joy that it brings. After all, this column is ours. I hope the recipes bring a cheesy smile on your face.
Keep sending in your questions to hydphoto@thehindu.co.in or, snail mail them to Metro Desk, The Hindu 6-3-879 & 879B, Begumpet, Hyderabad. 500 016 or just call Ph: 6667587 (Between 12 and 7 p.m.)
VIJAY BANJA
Executive Chef, Taj Krishna
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