Bhutanese Ezay: Chili, Tomato and Farmers Cheese Dip with Cucumber

Char the chilies and tomato quarters directly over a gas flame, under a hot broiler, or in a dry cast-iron pan for 4 to 6 minutes, turning until the skins are blistered and blackened in patches.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 fresh red or green chilies, stemmed (adjust to your heat tolerance)
• 3 ripe peak-season tomatoes, quartered
• 4 oz fresh farmers cheese, queso fresco or crumbled feta
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 small red onion, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 tbsp mustard oil or olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 2 English cucumbers, cut into spears
• 1 bunch radishes, halved, for serving

Instructions

1. Char the chilies and tomato quarters directly over a gas flame, under a hot broiler, or in a dry cast-iron pan for 4 to 6 minutes, turning until the skins are blistered and blackened in patches.
2. Let them cool for a few minutes, then rub away the loosest bits of blackened skin with your fingers. Leave some char behind — that smoke is the whole point of the dish.
3. Pound the garlic and salt to a rough paste in a mortar. If you do not have one, pulse everything in a food processor, but stop well short of smooth.
4. Add the charred chilies and pound them into the garlic until broken down but still textured, then work in the tomatoes a quarter at a time.
5. Stir in the chopped red onion, the mustard oil and the lime juice. The relish should be loose and chunky, not a puree.
6. Crumble in the fresh cheese and fold gently, leaving distinct white curds visible against the red. Fold in most of the cilantro.
7. Taste and adjust with salt and more lime. Let the ezay sit for 15 minutes so the flavors settle and the cheese softens at the edges.
8. Scrape into a serving bowl, scatter over the remaining cilantro, and surround with cucumber spears and halved radishes for scooping.
9. Ezay is the fiery table relish that accompanies nearly every Bhutanese meal, made fresh at each sitting and varied with whatever is on hand — some cooks use dried chilies, some use Sichuan pepper, some skip the cheese entirely. Bhutan grows and eats more chili per person than almost anywhere on earth, treating it as a vegetable in its own right rather than a seasoning. Served with crisp raw vegetables instead of the usual red rice, it becomes an appetizer that lands somewhere between salsa and a sharp fresh cheese dip.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 140 kcal
• Protein: 6g
• Fat: 9g
• Carbohydrates: 10g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 6g
• Sodium: 380mg