panner preparation

Description

Paneer is the most common form of mild soft Indian cheese. Making your own at home is ridiculously easy and fun. Though, lookwise mine might not be a perfect match to those firm store bought paneer, but tastewise, was far better and fresh. Moreover the satisfaction that you gain after making something from scratch turning pretty good….. Priceless!!!  Here’s a glimpse of my modest attempt.

Ingredients
1 litre	Whole milk
3 tbsp	Lemon juice

Instructions

What do you need to make paneer????

1. Milk
2. Lemon juice
3. Cheese cloth or muslin cloth or clean thin kitchen towel.
4. Colander
5. Small Sieve would be wonderful but not really necessary.
How to make Paneer????

Take a heavy bottomed pot and warm the milk. When its about to boil, get ready with the lemon juice. When it actually boils pour the lemon juice immediately and stir gently until the curd separates. Here milk literally spits into 2 forms 1. a transparent liquid (whey) and 2. soft lumps of curd which is nothing but cheese. Everything happens very quickly, so be vigilant and wise, use a big pot to avoid a mess all over the stove.

Wrap a cheese cloth over a colander and place a bowl underneath. Pour the curled milk and strain. Do not discard the whey, use it for future prparations.

Collect the curd, run it under cold water for a couple of times, to give it quick rinse inorder to get rid of the lemonly smell.
Twist the gathered curd in the cheese cloth to strain and squeeze out, as much liquid as possible. After this stage you can either tie a knot and suspend the cheese, from a sturdy kitchen cabinet knob, placing a bowl underneath to collect all the extra liquid by squeezing gently or do as explained below.

I would like to place the cheese with cloth in a sieve and press out the whey with the help of a heavy object. Leave it for about an hour in the fridge, this way some more liquid would be released, just discard it. I pressed mine this way, as it seemed easier, but, you can always use your imagination and come out with something better.

Remove the cheese from the sieve (will look in circular shape) and cut into small cubes, but edges might tend to crumble and thats OK.

Voila!! you have fresh home made cheese from scratch. Use it the same day or refidgerate for upto 3 days. Fry the paneer pieces with little ghee or oil, if you wish to preserve little longer.

Notes

Related recipes
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/matar_paneer_0
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/paneer_butter_masala_0
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/paneer_makhani
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/matar_paneer_0
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/palak_paneer
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/kadai_paneer_3
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/paneer_bhurji_0
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/malai_kofta
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/matar_paneer_ki_potli_1
http://www.spiceindiaonline.com/kadhai_paneer
Paneer sold at Indian stores looks much firmer(bcos it includes preservatives & corn starch) and whiter (as its mostly made from buffalo’s milk), a pack of 500 grams could cost around $6 to $7. This recipe yields about 250 grams (approx) of Paneer and might cost only a dollar and little energy.
Cheese cloth is available in most American grocery chains, look in the pots and pans section or under the bottling section where they sell glass jars, cans and lids. Usually each pack may have about 2 yards @ $2.
Whey is very nutritious, excellant source of protiens, vitamins and minerals. Use this while preparing chapatti instead of plain water or add as a stock for any gravy type dish.

Alu 65

Ingredient

: potatoes, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, chilli powder, tandoori color, salt, lime juice, corn flour, ajinomotto, chillies, curry leaves.

Description

: Easy instructions to prepare Andhra style Alu 65

Nutrition

: Alu 65

Potassium, Sodium, Vitamin A, Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Thiamin, Iron.

Ingredients

: Alu 65

potatoes-5

ginger-garlic paste-1tbsp

garam masala-1tbsp

chilli powder-1tbsp

tandoori color-pinch

salt to taste

lime juice-1tbsp

corn flour-20g

ajinomotto-pinch

chillies-6

curry leaves-few

Instructions

: Alu 65

• Take the potatoes and Boil it for 5 minutes. Then cut them into cubes and keep aside.
• And Now take a bowl and put cornflour and mix ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, garam masala, salt, tandoori color, ajinomotto, lime juice, then put the potatoes also in the mixture.
• Take a vessel and put the oil and fry the potatoes as pakodi till it gets brown.
• later in the fry pan splutter chillies ,curry leaves and finally mix the fried potatoes lastly and remove from the pan.

herb rice with baby potatoes and carrots

a quick fix meal is what i cook these days. and this recipe of herb rice is one of those. its not an indian recipe. its again an european style recipe where i have used the vegetables i had i.e carrots and baby potatoes and fresh herbs – dill, basil, parsley.
i always experiment with different herbs in my cooking and touch wood have always come out with good results. i suggest the readers of this recipe to experiment with different herbs whilst cooking any rice, pasta or salad recipes. for this recipe too you could come up with your own choice of herbs. its better to use fresh herbs than dry herbs. but if you do not have fresh herbs than you could make the recipe with dry herbs.
you could either cook rice or use leftover rice for this recipe. you could also add your own combination of vegetables like mushrooms, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, cabbage etc.
the herb rice recipe is simple and not at all spicy. to make it spicy you could add a dash of paprika or tobasco sauce.
this recipe does not have step by step pictures like my earlies recipe posts. hence less work for me
ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 12-15 baby potatoes
• 3-4 carrots, chopped
• ¾ cup chopped dill leaves
• ¾ cup chopped parsley leaves
• ¾ cup chopped basil leaves
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp white or black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt

method:

1. rinse the baby potatoes in running water. no need to peel the skin of the baby potatoes.
2. steam or boil them in water till they are completely cooked. once cooked drain the baby potatoes and keep aside.
3. in a pan heat the olive oil, add the chopped scallions. reserve the greens for garnishing.
4. stir fry the scallions for 2-3 minutes.
5. add the carrots and stir fry for 5 minutes.
6. now add the cooked baby potatoes, all the herbs and pepper and fry for a minute.
7. finally add the rice and mix the rice well with the herbs and veggies.
8. add salt and stir fry the rice for 2-3 minutes.
9. garnish with the scallion greens.
10. serve the herb rice with vegetable salad and pickled olives.

below is the printable version:
 

herb rice

 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 12-15 baby potatoes
• 3-4 carrots, chopped
• cup chopped dill leaves
• cup chopped parsley leaves
• cup chopped basil leaves
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp white or black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt

Instructions

1. rinse the baby potatoes in running water. no need to peel the skin of the baby potatoes.
2. steam or boil them in water till they are completely cooked. once cooked drain the baby potatoes and keep aside.
3. in a pan heat the olive oil, add the chopped scallions. reserve the greens for garnishing.
4. stir fry the scallions for 2-3 minutes.
5. add the carrots and stir fry for 5 minutes.
6. now add the cooked baby potatoes, all the herbs and pepper and fry for a minute.
7. finally add the rice and mix the rice well with the herbs and veggies.
8. add salt and stir fry the rice for 2-3 minutes.
9. garnish with the scallion greens.
10. serve the herb rice with vegetable salad and pickled olives or capers.