HOW TO MAKE PANEER/COTTAGE CHEESE (D.I.Y PANEER)

Although we get frozen ready to use paneer in most Indian stores, they lack in taste and texture. Loaded with preservatives, these frozen paneer cubes are hard and rubbery and absolutely not worth the price. Making paneer at home is soo much better that once you have started making your own you will never look back. Trust me, and if you will, just follow these easy steps below and you will have soft delicious tasting paneer ready to go into your favourite paneer recipes.

You will need :

1.5 litres of full cream milk

3-4 tablespoon of vinegar diluted with 1/2-1 tablespoons of water (the quality of vinegar used will determine how quickly the milk curdles)

a double layer cheese/muslin cloth

a good size stainless steel strainer 

some plates, wooden boards, and a Jar.

Step 1:Put milk on boil in a saucepan.

Step 2:Bring the milk to a rumbling boil.

Step 3:Give it a stir with a wooden spatula.

Step 4:Add vinegar little by little until the milk curdles.

Step 5:Simmer for some more time, and stir with a spatula. Let the green whey (liquid) separate.(see pic 5).turn off heat. Allow to rest for 8-10 mins.

Step 6:Arrange a double layer cheese cloth or muslin cloth over a strainer and place the strainer on a large bowl(big enough to hold the whey).Place this assemblage inside a kitchen sink.

Step 7:Strain the paneer from the saucepan on the cheese cloth, for the whey to separate and the cheese to collect in the cloth.

Step 8:Now you have the cheese ready in the cloth. Tie the cloth to secure the cheese.

Step 9:Rinse the cloth under cold running tap water and give it a firm squeeze to drain any excess moisture.

Step 10:Place the cloth containing the cheese on a plate or any flat base and the knot pointing outward.

Step 11: Cover with a stainless steel plate.

Step 12:Place a wooden base cutting board or any flat object  on top of the plate, and place a jar or any other item on top. leave it for 15 -20 mins.

This will help any excess moisture to drain out, and the paneer will be firm and ready to use. You may even cling wrap  and refrigerate the paneer for a while before use.

Fresh Paneer, wrapped with a cling film can be stored in the refrigerator for upto 3-4 days.. ready to be cubed into your favourite dish.

Stay tuned for more tips on making paneer at home.. I have something more to share!

Enjoy!!

With Deep Care

EAT as you LIKE



Check out this delicious paneer recipe:

MAKAI PANEER REZALA

"REZALA" happens to be a thin aromatic stewy dish mainly made with meat such as mutton (aka goat meat) or chicken. The thin sauce gets its delectable taste from the use of whole spices such as peppercorns, ginger, dried red chilli, and whole garam masala (see recipe) and yogurt or curd  forms the main base of the gravy. Finally the essence of keora water is what excites the human appetite. This Awadhi speciality is a perfect show stopper at any vegetarian feast.

 

 

Although I have made chicken and mutton rezala ample number of times, this time my attempt was to make it with paneer and makai (sweet corn kernels). The outcome was a smash hit at the dinner table. Sharing this no onion-garlic recipe, one of my thursday vegetarian affairs!

 

 

 

 

You will need :
Home made Paneer 1 cup (12-15 pcs)
Sweet Corn Kernels : 3/4 cup
(if using frozen corn kernels soak them in warm water)
Yogurt 3/4 cup (100 ml cup)
1-3/4 cup whey 3/4 cup (100 ml cup)
whey, is the olive green color liquid that forms(separating milk and cheese) in the process of making cottage cheese or chena
3/4 teaspoon ginger paste
Dried Red Chilli 2 nos, halved
Black or white pepper corns (whole): 5-6
1 medium stick Cinnamon
2-3 cloves
3-4 Green Cardamom pods, crushed
1 Bay leaf
11/2teaspoon poppy seed, soaked in water for making paste .
4-5 cashew nuts for making paste.
1/2 tablespoon ghee for cooking
2 tablespoon white cooking oil (I have used canola)
fistful of raisins
and a few cashew nuts extra, crushed roughly.
Few sprinkles of keora essence.
(You may even use store bought paneer, in that case use warm water instead of whey)

METHOD:

Step 1 : In wok heat 1 tablespoon oil and sauté or lightly fry the paneer.  Set aside on a paper towel.

 

Step 2 : In the same wok heat ghee and little oil on medium heat as needed , once  hot add the bay leaf, black pepper corns, dry red chilli, and whole spices such as cinnamon, cardamom pods, cloves and broken cashews. 

 

 

 

Step 3:Once they start to splutter add ginger paste. Sauté. It will start emitting a nice aroma, simmer and let the temperature drop a little.

 

Step 4: Add the sweet corn and raisins. Sauté and mix.

 

 

Step 5:Gently sauté and fold the corn kernels  to coat with the spices.

 

Step 6:Blend the yogurt with lil salt, and a pinch of sugar, cashew nuts and poppy seeds and add to the wok, the flame should be low at all times. From now on we will be slow cooking, else the yogurt will curdle.

 

 Step 7 : Stir and sauté, and cover on low flame until you see it starts to release oil on the sides.

 

Step 8: Add the paneer.Warm the whey for 1 minute or so in microwave or stove stop and add to the paneer. Stir and mix all ingredients to coat. 

 

Step 9:Give everything a good mix folding the paneer cubes into the sauce , taking care not to break the paneer cubes. check seasoning, and adjust consistency of gravy as desired.

 

 

 Step 10: Simmer and cover and bring it to boil. Few sprinkles of keora water and you are done. Cover and turn off heat, allow to rest for 5 mins.

 

You will notice the gravy settling at the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of fat ( from the ghee or clarified butter floating on top) and 'that' my friends is perfection.

 

 

Step 11: Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with more cashew nuts, slightly broken. Do not add herbs like coriander or any other..

 

Savour this mild and delicate curry either with your favourite pilaf, biriyani or bread. You can boot this up even on those busy weeknights under 30 mins with some ready to use paneer. I will soon share a post as to how to make homemade paneer with step by step pictures, so please stay tuned.    

So before you think about a take out dinner, think again ! 

 

For regular updates on more mouth-watering and exclusive recipes  "LIKE" my page on facebook. 

With deep care

Indrani..

 
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GOBI MANCHURIAN

Gobi Manchurian is a Vegetarian  Indo Chineese dish  mostly available around India, most popular in the south.This Indo Chinese cooking style developed in Kolkata due to the presence of a small number of Chinese migrants that settled at one time. It is mostly chinese way of cooking to suit the Indian taste buds.

Basically Gobi Manchurian is crispy cauliflower fritters sautéed in soya and chilli  based sauce.You may add green capsicum as well which I did not have. There is always something missing in my kitchen!

There are two variations to the recipe, either you can have gravy or you make the dry version. Both are equally hit. The dry version is my personal favourite as you may choose to serve that as an entrée or starter or just as party nibbles. Today's recipe is the dry version of Gobi Manchurian. 

 

Now before we move on let me warn you that this dish requires deep frying which is certainly not a healthy affair..as an occassional indulgence you may ignore cholesterol for a day and enjoy the dish.. !! After all you are not going to eat Gobi Manchurian every day ! Make it for your cheat day lunch or dinner (wink with a LOL;)

Over to the recipe; the recipe has two parts, first dipping the cauliflower florets into a spicy flour batter then deep frying in oil. So forget cholesterol and enjoy!

Next step is to sauté those crispy fritters in a spicy sauce of onion and garlic. Let's take a look.

PART I - Cauliflower Fritters.

I have used:

Half cauliflower, florets separated washed and dried.

For Batter:

1/4 cup plain flour

3-4 tablespoon cornflour

seasoning of salt n pepper and chilli flakes

2 teaspoon light soya sauce

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves  

chilled water

extra plain flour in a bowl or plate for coating/dusting.

Oil for deep frying

METHOD 1:

Step 1: Heat oil in a  sauce pan/deep frying pan. When the oil stops bubbling you will know it is ready for frying. You may spoon in a lil batter, and if it floats to the top the oil is good to go... Reduce heat to medium to enable even cooking inside out.

Step 2: Make a batter with all the 5 ingredients above, excepting the extra flour that you will use for dusting. Add water judiciously so that the batter is neither too runny nor too thick.

Step 3: Fold the dry cauliflower florets in that extra flour for coating in a bowl, shake off excess flour and dip them in the batter (this will help the batter to stick to the cauliflowers)

Step 4: Drain off excess batter and gently add to the preheated oil. Fry until golden or crisp. You may follow pictures below for clear understanding of the steps.

Step 5: Fry them in batches (2 to 3 at a time) and do not overcrowd the pan. Else the temperature of the oil will fall and you may not get the desired result.

While the cauliflowers are frying lets get the sauce ready.

The result is this Crispy Golden Cauliflower Fritters. It is okay to gulp a few. Ouchhh, careful it's hot!! :P

PART II The sauce base:

For half a cauliflower I used:

3 spring onions finely chopped (a few greens set aside for garnishing)
1 medium clove of garlic finely chopped
Green Capsicum seeds removed and diced (I did not have)
chopped green chillies (if you like)
chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
1 tablespoon tomato chilli sauce/chinese chilli sauce.
(for kids friendly version you may use sweet chilli sauce as a variant)
lemon juice to finish (a wedge)
seasoning of pepper (black or white)

Step 1: In a skillet or a non stick pan, heat oil.

Step 2: If using green capsicum you sauté the capsicum first until they are a just a little tender but yet has the crunch. Set aside

Step 3: To the same oil add garlic, spring onion and quickly sauté  and green chilies.

Step 4: Once fragrant add all the sauces (soya and chilli) and when it boils then add the cauliflower fritters. Gently fold them in the sauce to coat evenly and season with pepper. (there is no need to add extra salt as it gets enough from the sauces been used in the recipe) 
Transfer into a serving bowl.

Step 5: Finish with a squirt of lemon juice and garnish with some coriander leaves, spring onion and serve immediately! 

Enjoy this as nibble or just as a side.

 

Enjoy and have a wonderful week ahead !

Dear readers, thank you for stopping by. If you like this post  leave a feedback. For regular updates on more mouth-watering and exclusive recipes  "LIKE" my page on facebook. 

With deep care

EAT as you LIKE..
 

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