A recent road trip from Hyderabad to Coonoor took us to many different places, past the reserve forests of Bandipur, Masinagudi and Madhumalai, where tigers, panthers, deer, wild boar, mongoose, wild fowl, peacocks, monkeys and elephants roamed carefree. We visited spice and tea plantations and met a lot of interesting people but the trip’s highlight was meeting Shernaz Sethna, a cheese maker of formidable repute in the Nilgiris. We had met her briefly in Nagpur at her nephew’s wedding where she had come laden with different kinds of hard cheeses, plus she managed to whip up a batch of soft herb cheese much to the delight of the wedding guests who lined up to sample her treats. She was kind enough to show us how she makes cheese.  

Cheese making is a lot of hard work and fun combined. Shernaz’s beautiful home which is over a century old, is on Gray’s Hill, the name she has given her products. In between the pasteurization, setting of cheese curd and the elaborate cutting, draining and adding weights, plus turning over the earlier batches of cheeses in her cheese room, Shernaz fed us delicious cheeses platters and lunches. The salads and deserts came from her garden. Her dining room and kitchen had a beautiful array of very old utensils, lovingly restored and kept: some as show pieces; others were still being used.   

After each stage of cheese making, a walk in her garden was a delight and a revelation. Nestled between fruit trees (flowering cherry, plum, green gauge plum, pear, orange, lemon, and Chinese guava) were gorgeous flowering shrubs, orchids and herbs:  rosemary, thyme, oregano, allspice, cinnamon, lemon grass, mint, peppermint, spearmint, chives & garlic chives. Her vegetable patches included the reddish rocket lettuce, brussel sprouts, artichoke, asparagus, leeks & colocassia (patrel). Her husband Homi had put 4 Bee Boxes as he had done bee keeping as a hobby in school. No artificial feeding the bees, they only took the nectar from the garden and the honey tasted like ambrosia.

After marriage, Shernaz worked as a tea taster in Coonoor. It was only five years ago that she started experimenting and making cheese with friends and family encouragement. The main reason to start cheese making was that the climate in the Blue Mountains is kind to making cheese. She is firm about supporting the local community by encouraging the local milkmen who supply her fresh Cow’s milk. All the cheese is hand made in small batches, no stabilizers and additives are added. The cheese is matured over months, under natural conditions as per the surrounding weather in a special cheese room. Hence there may be variation is every cheese made – in taste & flavor. It’s hand made, hence production is small: 5 to 7 kilos a week. Her cheese making expertise extends to Gouda ( Red chilly Gouda, Green chilly Gouda, Green Pepper and Mustard Gouda), Parmesan, Romano, Cheddar, Colby, and the unusual tasting Spanish Manchego; Soft cheese (Soft Herb  Chive Cheese, Roasted Garlic ‘N’ Paprika, Mustard, Prune ‘N’ Paprika, Bacon ‘N’ Paprika). 

Sightseeing trips to nearby Ooty and Wellington took us to King’s Cliff, an old hotel in Ooty which is perched at a height. It is renowned for its steaks as is Taj Hotels’ Garden Retreat, Coonoor but Shernaz’s steaks were even better so I am including her recipe. We had visited Coonoor Club and Wellington Gymkhana Club over 20 years ago but they still looked the same and luckily the food still tasted as good! The hotel we were staying, the Wallwood garden Hotel served wonderful food in an Old-World ambience as this place was the house of a former Scottish General.  

A trip to Modern Stores in Ooty made me stock up on the handmade chocolates and locally grown tea and spices that the Nilgiris is so famous for. I also stocked up on a lot of Shernaz’s other products :Guava Jelly, Bitter Orange Marmalade chunky, Grapefruit Marmalade, Lemon Marmalade, Lemon & Ginger Marmalade, Pummelo Marmalade, Orange & Lemon Marmalade, Pear & Ginger Jam, Plum Preserve, Mango relish, Lemon and Date Relish, Mustard in Vinegar and Spicy Mustard in Vinegar.  

I am including Shernaz’s recipe for her melt-in the mouth steaks and ‘Bharuchi Akuri’, a Parsi egg dish which has an unusual taste because of the raisins and potato ‘Sali’ added to it.  

Bharuchi Akuri:  

Ingredients:

Eggs: 6

Butter or Ghee: 2 tablespoons

Green Chillies: 3

Raisins: 50 grams

Salt: to taste

Milk: 2 tablespoons

Potato Sali / crisp potato juliennes (packet) 100 grams. 

Method:

Heat the ghee/butter in a non stick pan.

Add chopped green chillies and raisins, fry lightly.

Beat eggs, salt and milk and add to the above.

On a slow flame cook, stir constantly to make a light scrambled eggs. When half done add the Sali and cook till desired consistency.  

Steaks: 

Steaks: 1 kg

Tomato sauce: 2 tablespoons

Soya sauce: 2 tablespoons

Worcestershire sauce: 2 tablespoons

Salt: to taste

Gray’s Hill Mustard in Vinegar: 1 tablespoon

Shallots: 1 hand full (crushed)

Wash and clean steaks. Dry with kitchen towel.

Mix tomato sauce, soya sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mustard and crushed shallots. Marinate the steaks in the marinade for a couple of hours.

Cook on the spit or in a pan with little oil to rare, medium or well done – as desired.