Home-Made: Cottage Cheese aka Paneer
I thought making cheese at home was an unachievable task! Somehow cheese was never made in my mom’s kitchen. When I was married off in a Kashmiri family, to my utter surprise and delight, Roohi Aunty would make cheese in like 30 minutes. Cottage cheese is part of many dishes e.g. Kashmiri dishes like Matar Paneer (Cheese with Peas) and other dishes like Palak Paneer (Spinach and Cheese). This cheese can also used be in salads like Greek salad.
Cottage Cheese
Here is what you will need for 1 cup of cheese
- 2 litre fresh milk
- 1/2 cup Vinegar
- Cheese Cloth – (Piece of Malmal cloth works best!)
- 1/2 tsp Salt (not necessary)
Boil milk and keep stirring. Once the milk is boiling take it off heat. Now put 1/2 cup vinegar in it and stir. Add half first stir and see. If curds not formed add the rest of it. You can also use lemon juice. Milk will curd i.e. solid small particles will be formed.
Take the cloth and put in a sieve (as shown below!). Now put the milk curd in the cloth and press it till the left over liquid (whey) is drained from the cloth. At this time you can add 1/2 tsp of salt for better flavor. Mix it well.
Curd put in Cheese Cloth so the liquid is drained
Tie the four ends of the cloth and hang it so the extra water also drains. You can hang it outside so the moisture dries out but make sure that you hang it in shadow. 30-45 minutes would be enough for the moisture and whey to drain. Wait till the cheese is completely dry.
Cottage cheese in making.
Now you can put the cheese in a bowl and refrigerate it. You should leave it overnight so it solidifies well before you decide to cut it in slices or cubes to be used in other dishes.
Don’t you think its also a much healthier option then eating processed cheese? Home made stuff rules!
Chefling-in-Chief
Categorised as: Uncategorized