Get cheesy: Explore Indian dairy traditions with cheeses across the country at this session

Stretching Kalari rotis in Pahalgam

A generous grating of a milky white cube of Amul cheese on an omelette or sandwich had to be well-earned in this writer's home when she was growing up. Mozzarella, our mother had us believe, was exotic - to be saved for home-style pizzas primarily, following a good report card, of course. So, a few years ago, when we stumbled upon cheesemaker and consultant Aditya Raghavan's adventures with the Indian mozzarella - kalari from Jammu and Kashmir - we were intrigued. Like the kalari, Raghavan will introduce cheese-lovers to other traditional cheeses from India's dairy-scape, halting to taste specialities from across the country, at a session curated by The Locavore this week.

Smoked Bandel cheese at New Market, Kolkata

The Canada-based academic, who hails from Mumbai, began experimenting with cheese-making in 2012 and went on to learn the nitty-gritty while working on cheese farms. "Cheesemaking appealed to me because when I visited India, I realised there's such a large dairy-consuming population but not a lot of artisanal cheese [back then]. I started working as a cheese consultant, teaming up with dairies to improve the quality of artisanal cheese, and setting up programmes," he shares.

Aditya Raghavan churning butter in West Sikkim

Amid all of this, Raghavan was drawn towards traditional Indian dairy products and travelled to West Bengal, Sikkim, Kashmir, Spiti Valley and different parts of Himachal Pradesh to learn cheese-making traditions. Through demonstrations and tastings, he will share his learnings at the talk, delving into techniques embedded in our culture, the context in which our traditional cheeses were born, the space occupied by yoghurt in our culture, the origins of paneer and the factors that influence traditional Indian cheeses. "For instance, I'll be talking about how the same chhurpi cheese from Himachal Pradesh tastes different when crafted by Buddhists and Hindus. Similarly, I spent time with Gujjars, a semi-nomadic pastoral community in Pahalgam, where I learnt to make kalari, which is quite different from the one prepared by Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu," he illustrates.

While soaking in this cheesy gyaan, participants can tuck into chhurpi, kalari, Bandel from Bengal, butter and ghee that Raghavan will churn out on the spot, among other varieties. "There will be three types of cocktails, too. It will be a semi-formal and semi-technical affair, but also quite approachable for the Indian audience," he adds.

ON October 27; 7 pm
AT IFBE, Ballard Estate, Fort.
LOG ON TO @ifbe.space for registration link
COST Rs 3,650