Ahmedabad's cheese addiction!

Ahmedabad's cheese addiction!

There seems to be no running away from cheese for Amdavadis. From chaats, sandwiches to noodles, everything comes with a generous topping of cheese. It's cheese time in Ahmedabad. Now cheese is no longer limited to a gourmet's palate. It has found its place in most households. The friendly neighbourhood grocer also stocks up a variety of gourmet cheeses while the streetside cafes of Ahmedabad are sure to have this dairy-delight on their menu. Right from cheese stuffed dosas to cheese topped idlis, samosas, vada pavs and parathas, the list moves on to more absurd combos like cheese dahi wadas, bhel, sev puri and much more. That's not all! The use of cheese in a regular Amdavadi menu is almost preposition-defying. One can find cheese on, under, over and inside everything. Food consultant Sujit Mehta says "From a business point of view, this cheese obsession is profitable. Any dish with cheese sells, but the authenticity of the dish is lost." He adds, "Mexican and Lebanese cuisines have very little cheese, but here it's a different story."

Mixing cheese with milk isn't new, but whoever's had cheese with curd! A range of chaats, from dahi batata puri to dahi wadas now offer a mountain of cheese as a garnish. Nilay Patel, co-owner of a popular street wagon in the city believes, "It is always about what the customer wants, and they love cheese. " At an average pav-bhaji thela, one is likely to find cheese pav bhaji, cheese masala paav and cheese pulao too! The obsession doesn't end here. If you thought only street fare incorporated cheese, think again. A lot of high end restaurants have Northern and Mughlai preparations with cheddar cheese in it. The most popular dish on the menu being 'Cheese Butter Masala' which is basically bits of spice-infused cheese floating in a rich, red gravy. Cheese based entrees are quite popular too! Another new addition to the menus is cheese stuffed papad! Youngsters seem to have a penchant for cheese topped instant noodles. The two minute kitchen wonder has been transformed into a roadside delicacy with the addition of stringy, melting cheese. These apart, regular food like sandwiches and pizzas, which are supposed to have cheese in it, have now gotten a new 'cheesy' makeover. A hot favourite, the roadside Amdavadi pizza, is a crisp baked base and barely-there sauce hidden underneath a mound of cheese. With Amdavadis ready to experiment with cheeses, more and more pizzerias are now offering pizzas with gourmet cheese. People are slowly moving away from the regular cheddar and mozzarella and are sampling the likes of feta, gouda, parmesan and even goat-milk cheeses. It is not the idea of trying something new that attracts people as much as the thought of trying a new kind of cheese. Upendra Dua, owner of a gourmet food store in the city, stocks up on a variety of cheeses, from edam to mascarpone. "We easily find takers for these cheeses. People are becoming increasingly aware about a variety of cheeses and the food that goes well with them." Vishnu Soni, stall owner of a place that sells sandwiches ranging from `70 to `1000 proudly says, "I have no sandwich on my menu that is without cheese, except a diet sandwich. I've never received a request to do a cheese-less sandwich either." In a place where a cheese-less sandwich is absurd, it is no surprise that a sandwich sans bread is devoured. Manek Chowk is home to the faraali sandwich — thick cheese slices to substitute bread, filled with veggies and jam. This cheese obsession doesn't come cheap either. For a plate of chaat that costs some `30-40 everywhere, the addition of cheese simply sends the price to a rocketing `90 to `300 even, proving that the normally cheese-paring Amdavadi shells out a bomb for cheese! We don't know how long this cheese fetish will last, but as long as it is around, we suggest you chomp away too!