June 6, 2010: Paneer

On Dominicus afternoon I had my ain become at making the paneer I swooned over at Kurma Dasa's cooking class.  I planned it equally a welcome-home gesture for Michael (he'd been working out of town for 10 days) too a time-to-stop-scavenging-and-actually-cook motivator for myself.  Not that also much planning seemed necessary - all it takes is milk, some lemon juice or vinegar, too a splash of water.  

Oh, how incorrect I was.  As I began to oestrus the milk, I ready my colander over a bowl for the draining phase too rummaged inwards the drawers for the muslin.  You know, that muslin nosotros used to brand tofurkey?  Not inwards the drawer I expected it to last in.  Nor, seemingly, inwards whatsoever of the other drawers.  Not inwards the cupboards.  Not inwards whatsoever other identify exterior the kitchen where I could imagine perchance stashing muslin.

By this phase my milk was threatening to boil over too I only went alongside it.  I curdled the milk too took a adventure on the relatively minor holes inwards my colander, pouring it all through without whatsoever finer straining.  And I pretty much got away alongside it!  There were only a few teeny curds floating inwards the xanthous whey - they were easily strained alongside my finer tea strainer equally I packaged the whey into jars to freeze for later on (Kurma has some palak paneer.

I shared my paneer-straining woes alongside the twitterverse equally my curds drained too received some corking tips on substituting for muslin - construct clean Chux (@crazybrave), a linen tea towel (@tammois) too fifty-fifty 'heavy denier pantyhose' (@stickifingers)!  If solely I'd run to the sock drawer instead of the kitchen drawer.

Paneer
(based on a recipe from Kurma Dasa, which appears on his website here)

1/2 loving cup water
2L full-fat milk (preferably non homogenised)
juice of 1/2 lemon (about ii tablespoons)

Set upwardly a colander or sieve inwards a large bowl too line of piece of job the colander alongside muslin or some other construct clean cloth.  If the stuff is rattling thin, crease it to double thickness.  Also, brand certain there's sufficient extra stuff hanging over the edges to crease inwards later.

Pour plenty H2O into a large saucepan to completely comprehend the base of operations (perhaps 5mm deep) too add together the milk.  (The water, Kurma advised, volition preclude the milk from burning too sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.)  Set the milk on a high oestrus too convey it to the boil, stirring it regularly along the way.

When the milk begins to foam, plough the oestrus downward to depression too add together the lemon juice.  The milk should split upwardly into curds too whey.  Keep stirring the split upwardly mixture over the depression oestrus for a few minutes to allow sum separation.

Gently pour the curdled milk through the colander, too then that the curds are caught inwards the stuff too the whey drains through into the bowl.  Pull upwardly the sides of the stuff too twist them together, squeezing equally much whey out of the cheese equally possible.  Set something heavy (e.g. nutrient cans held on an upturned plate) on the cheese for at to the lowest degree an hr to drain equally much liquid from the cheese equally possible.  When it's ready, gently divulge the paneer to shop or consume equally yous wish!