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!

June 6, 2010: Carrot Cupcakes

paneer was compressing, I railroad train well-nigh making carrot cake using a recipe from Green Kitchen Stories.  I've ever liked - though never been wild well-nigh - carrot cake.  Done well, it's hearty too delightful for afternoon tea (even ameliorate if there's cream cheese icing involved!).  But it's never every bit nutritious every bit I powerfulness similar to mean value and, let's aspect upward it, it's no tally for chocolate cake inwards the care for stakes.

This recipe showed existent promise, using wholemeal flour too kokosnoot (like my ain recent snack baking), bananas too dates for sweetness (no refined sugar!) too exactly the same reveal of eggs every bit I had inwards the fridge.  In fact, I entirely needed to add together iv ingredients to my shopping listing too I was skillful to go!  Instead of making 1 large cake every bit Johanna did, I divided the batter into a dozen cupcakes.  Then every bit a take-'em-to-work fob I sandwiched the agave-sweetened cream cheese into the middle instead of spreading it on top, making them slowly to twine too pack. 

The 1 challenge was achieving the smoothness they need, both inwards blending the dates for the cake batter too whipping the cream cheese for the icing.  There's likely no involve to fuss well-nigh the dates every bit a piffling chunkiness plant nicely alongside the freckly mix of carrot, sultanas too walnuts.  The few lumps remaining inwards my cream cheese didn't spoil my day, but it's worth getting the cream cheese correct downward to room temperature earlier beating.  Regardless, these get got been everything I desire inwards a carrot cake - a pleasing combination of wholesome too treatsome.

Carrot cupcakes
(based on a recipe at Green Kitchen Stories)

cake
1 1/2 bananas
fifteen dried dates
1/2 loving cup sunflower oil
iii eggs
1 loving cup wholemeal flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
iii teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
iii medium carrots, grated
1/2 loving cup shredded coconut
1/2 loving cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 loving cup sultanas

icing/filling
200g cream cheese
juice too zest of 1 lime
iii tablespoons agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lighty grease a muffin tray.

Blend together the bananas, dates too crude inwards a nutrient processor until every bit smoothen every bit possible. Add the eggs too blend briefly.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg too cardamom into a large bowl. Stir the mixture from the blender into the dry out ingredients inwards the bowl.

Fold inwards the carrots, coconut, walnuts too sultanas. Scoop the batter into the muffin tray (I made a dozen muffins). Bake until cooked through, well-nigh xx minutes.  Allow the cakes to cool on a rack earlier icing them.

To brand the icing, thoroughly crunch the cream cheese until fluffy too every bit smoothen every bit possible.  Gradually crunch inwards the remaining ingredients.

Slice each cupcake inwards one-half horizontally too spread it alongside the cream cheese, thus gently sandwich the halves together again.  Alternatively, slather the icing on superlative of the cupcakes.