Kewa Datshi
“Bhutanese potato-and-cheese stew — sliced potatoes simmered with onion, garlic, green chilies, and butter, finished with datshi cheese that melts into a creamy sauce coating the potato pieces. The gentle 'starter' Bhutanese dish — much milder than ema datshi.”
Where it comes from
Kewa datshi is the everyday Bhutanese family meal and the dish foreigners are eased into before tackling ema datshi. The potato base balances the cheese's richness; the green chili adds enough heat to remain Bhutanese without overwhelming a non-local palate. Often served alongside ema datshi as part of a multi-dish meal.
On the plate
Lift a potato slice glistening with golden datshi cheese sauce — onion crescents and green chili rings clinging to it. Bite: tender, almost-creamy potato; the cheese sauce coats with mild salty richness; the green chili adds a clean piquant hit, building gently rather than scorching. The butter and cheese sweeten the onion's bite. Over red rice, this is the dish a Bhutanese parent makes for a child on a cold mountain evening.
How it works
Boiling the potatoes in water before adding cheese ensures they cook through without the cheese breaking. The waxy potato variety holds its shape better; floury potatoes will turn to mash. Adding butter just before the cheese helps the cheese melt smoothly without splitting.
Variations
Kewa datshi with bell pepper (sweeter). With dried chhurpi (added depth). With mushroom (becomes shamu kewa datshi). Spicy kewa datshi (with extra green chili). With smoked sausage (Bhutanese sikam variant). Vegan kewa (cashew cream).
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
9 steps · Show ↓15 min active · 15 min waiting
How it's made
9 steps · Show ↓- 14 min
Peel and slice 600 g potatoes (waxy varieties work best) into 5-mm rounds.
- 24 min
Slice 1 large onion thickly. Smash and roughly chop 4 garlic cloves. Slice 2-3 green chilies lengthwise.
- 31 min
Crumble 200 g fresh datshi (or 150 g mozzarella + 50 g feta).
- 44 min
In a heavy pot, combine potatoes, onion, garlic, chilies, 1 tsp salt, and 400 ml water. Cover; bring to a boil.
- 514 min
Reduce to medium; simmer 12-15 min until potatoes are just tender when pierced with a knife.
- 61 min
Add 2 tbsp butter and the crumbled datshi. Swirl the pot; do not stir hard.
- 73 min
Cook gently 3 min until the cheese melts into a coating sauce.
- 81 min
Stir in 2 tbsp chopped cilantro and 1 sliced spring onion.
- 91 min
Serve hot over Bhutanese red rice or alongside ema datshi.
