Cheese is a universal language of food lovers

Cheese is one of the most flavoursome foods in the world which is loved by millions. It is prepared by coagulating milk, and the flavour, texture and shape of each variety varies depending upon the kind of milk and other additives. Generally, cheeses are divided into soft, semi soft, semi hard and hard according to their textures.

There are more than 2000 cheese varieties and it is estimated that around 21 million tons of cheese are produced around the world in a year. The high quality milk of cow, goat, and sheep is usually used to make cheese. Feta, parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar, Gouda and Brie are the popular cheese varieties that are consumed around the globe. Mozzarella cheese, which is added in pizza and pasta dishes were made by the Italians for the first time, while Feta originated in Greece and cheddar in Britain.

Cheese is available in cubes, slices, blocks and spread in the supermarkets and groceries around the country. A storehouse house of protein, calcium and phosphorous, cheese can be included in the diet of children. Cottage cheese or paneer is the most common cheese consumed in India, and it is extremely easy to make paneer at homes as well.

Here's a way to incorporate cheese into the Kerala cuisine.

Cheese pepper dosa

Ingredients

1 cup dosa batter

1 small onion

1 tomato

½ cup grated cheese

Crushed black pepper as required

Preparation

Heat the dosa pan and grease it with some oil

Pour the dosa batter and spread it

Sprinkle finely chopped onions, thinly diced tomatoes, grated cheese and crushed pepper on top of the dosa

Cook the dosa well and serve hot with coriander chutney.