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Topa with eggs, kajmak and melted cheeses cooked gently until soft but safe
Topa is less a fixed cheese sauce than a family of hot dairy preparations, especially associated with Sarajevo and Bosnian Ramadan tables. The common idea is melting rich dairy until it becomes spoonable and serving it warm with bread; the exact combination of kajmak, sour cream, fresh cheese, smoked cheese, butter and egg differs from kitchen to kitchen. An egg-and-cheese form is therefore best understood as one recognisable variation rather than a universal formula.
That regional context matters because the dish is sometimes detached from its Bosnian setting and labelled too broadly. Nothing in the cooking method requires a uniquely Serbian origin claim. The useful culinary question is narrower: how to make an egg-bearing topa that remains creamy while the egg is fully cooked. Gentle heat and continuous stirring answer it better than high heat or a long fry.
Kajmak supplies most of the richness, sour cream softens the mixture, fresh white cheese gives body and smoked semi-hard cheese adds a deeper savoury note. Butter starts the pan without needing an additional cooking oil. Because these ingredients can differ greatly in salt content, no extra salt is built into the quantities. The finished dish can be assessed before seasoning rather than forcing a fixed amount onto already salty cheeses.
The egg is beaten separately and goes in only after the dairy base is hot and cohesive. That sequence prevents cold egg from sitting in a partially melted cheese mixture and gives the cook one continuous final phase. Once the egg enters the pan, the spatula needs to sweep the bottom without pause. Low heat keeps the proteins from forming dry curds before the centre of the mixture reaches 71.1 °C.
Texture and safety meet at different observations. The ideal topa is still soft enough to dip bread into; it is not meant to become a firm scramble. At the same time, visible creaminess is not proof that egg has reached a safe endpoint. The thermometer gives that control, while the absence of liquid egg and a cohesive glossy texture describe the eating quality.
Topa is best served straight from the pan in a small portion. Once chilled and reheated, it becomes firmer because the egg proteins have already set and the dairy fats solidify in the refrigerator. That is why making only the needed amount is preferable, even though leftovers can be handled safely.