| I've yet to try making paneer, but when I do, this is the recipe
I'll use. If you try it, Alison, do let us know how it turns out.
Sue
From Madhur Jaffrey's _World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking_
(Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1988) reprinted without permission.
Paneer (Fresh Cheese)
5 C whole milk
2-1/2 Tbs lemon juice
Bring the milk to a boil. As soon as it begins to bubble, put in
the lemon juice, stir once, and take the pot off the heat. Leave
it for 15 minutes. The milk will curdle and the curds will separate
from the whey.
Strain the curds through 3 layers of cheesecloth. Squeeze out as
much whey as you can easily. Tie up the curds in the cheesecloth,
using twine to make a small, round bundle. Use sufficient twine,
as you now need to hang up this bundle somewhere to drip overnight.
(I just hang it on the faucet in the sink.)
Next morning, remove the hanging bundle and untie it. Gently flatten
it out to make a 4-inch patty, keeping the cheese loosely wrapped
in the cheesecloth. Put the cheesecloth-wrapped cheese patty on
a sturdy plate and place a very heavy object (5 to 6 pounds) on
top of it. Leave the weight on the cheese for 4 to 5 hours. After
the cheese has been pressed, it should be 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick.
Remove the cheese from the cheesecloth and, with a sharp knife,
cut it into cubes, diamond shapes, or rectangles. If your cheese
has pressed down to 1/2 inch, diamonds or rectangles no longer than
an inch are best. If the cheese is about 3/4-inch thick, it can
be cubed.
Paneer, once made, is quite crumbly and breakable. Because of
this, it is generally fried and lightly browned before it is cooked.
It is a good idea to do this frying in a well-seasoned cast-iron
or teflon-lined skillet, as the cheese tends to stick a bit. There
are some dishes in which the cheese is not fried at all.
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| For Panir: This should yield 1 cup panir
5 cups milk or cheese
1 oz. lemon juice Oil for frying
Add lemon juice to milk while boiling rapidly to break the milk
into cheese and whey. Strain the milk in cheese cloth and squeeze
out the water. Flatten the mixture to 1/2 inch thickness on the
cheese cloth, cover and place weight on top for an hour, to let
the curd harden. Cut into one inch cubes. Fry in oil and set aside.
I don't know what you do with just panir, but what I would do is
after making the panir, I use that panir to make Peas and Cheese
Curry, which is also called Mattar Panir Curry. Mattar means Peas.
Eventhough I have never made this before, but when I make Mattar
Panir, this is the Recipe I would follow.
For Curry:
3 large oions or 1 cup grated onion
11/2 cups peas (frogen or fresh)
1 green chilli
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
6 oz. tomato sauce or 3 large tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin powder
11/2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups water
6 tablespoons oil
Grate onions in blender. Chop green chilli and ginger. Heat oil,
season and add onion. Fry on medium high heat until light brown.
Add peas and the rest of the ingredients except water. Stir fry
few minutes and add water. Let it boil rapidly for 10 minutes and
cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the Panir cubes and simmer
for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander (which is also called cilantra)
and serve with Rice or Pita bread.
Ps: Some of the ingredients like Garam masala powder, you will get
it Indian grocery stores.
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