Fresh Panir (Indian Cheese)

Mmmmm..... One of my favorite foods is panir, especially when it's homemade. It is a delicate, creamy Indian cheese that is really easy to make, and incredibly delicious. I usually make some kind of curried vegetable dish with it - see next post - but I'm planning on branching out a bit and making a veggie and panir tart later this week - watch for it!

Panir    

adapted from - you guessed it: Heaven's Banquet by Miriam Hospodar. I really do own other cookbooks...

3/4 gallon of whole milk 

3/4 quart of plain full fat yogurt

Prepare a large sieve lined with cheesecloth, place in sink (or large bowl if you want to save the whey. 

Bring milk to a boil - be careful of scorching and overflowing! Immediately add yogurt. Do not stir. Let mixture come back up to a boil - no need to worry about it overflowing at this point, the curds and whey will have begun to separate. Let it continue to boil for ~ 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, put lid on and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. 

Carefully spoon out curds into prepared sieve, breaking them up as little as possible. When you've spooned all you can, pour whey and remaining curds into sieve. Wrap curds with edges of cheesecloth and place weights on them to drain excess whey. 

I like to place a plate on top of the cheesecloth, then put jars of grains on top as the weights, making sure the weight is as evenly distributed as possible. Let sit for several hours or overnight. The longer it sits, the firmer the panir will end up. Unwrap the panir and cut portion you're using into cubes. Put the rest in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep there for several days.