Tonight i went to my cheese forum at Foster and Dobbs. We learned how to make Panir! It was a great lesson and Patrick and his lovely wife Holly put together a beautiful presentation including nibbles, recipes and instructions. I think we all wanted to race home and make a batch.
I have some friends coming to dinner this weekend who are vegetarians and included in my Panir packet is a recipe for Panir Cheese and Green Peas in Mint Tomato Sauce…um YUM! Just the lush list of spices makes me twitch. i hope i do it justice. If you want the recipe i retyped it below. Let me know how you like it!
We also got to sample Craig’s batch of Panir with Chinese 5 Spice in it! It gave it a little bit more complex flavor and was a great addition.
This is Patrick and that is his wife Holly putting nibbles together in the back
The milk has to come to a boil and then add your acid. Patrick added 1/2 cup of strained lemon juice to a gallon of cow milk. Then it rests covered for 10 minutes. As you can see you dont need some big fancy schmancy kitchen for this. We used a burner on a table.
After that Patrick strained the curds and placed them in a butter muslin (reusable by the way!) and rinsed the curds and hung them to drain. Then you just spice to your taste and enjoy! OK there are a couple more steps but really it is pretty simple and the results are wonderful. It really tastes looks and feels like a cheese you might purchase.
Panir Cheese and Green Peas in Mint Tomato Sauce
Serves 6-8
1-2 hot green chilies chopped
1inch pc fresh ginger sliced
4tbs water
1tbs ground coriander
1tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup Ghee OR 4tbs veggie oil and 4tbs butter
Fresh Panir about 12 oz
11/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
2 cups diced tomatoes
1.5cups whey (from fresh Panir)
1.5cups fresh peas
1tsp salt
1/2 tbs garam masala
2 tbs each chopped mint and cilantro
1. Add first 6 ingredients to food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to cup
2) Heat 4 tbs ghee or oil over moderate heat. add Panir and fry constantly turning pieces until browned all over. Remove and set aside
3) add cumin, mustard and fennel seeds into same pan and fry until the mustard seeds pop and turn gray, add remaining ghee or butter and the cup of processed spiced from step 1. Fry until nearly all water evaporates from masala. Add tomatoes and fry until mixture is dry and oil separates from tomato sauce (about 10 minutes)
4) Pour in Whey, add peas and bring to boil Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for about 15 minutes until peas are tender. Add fried Panir and simmer low heat for 5 minutes.
5) add salt, garam masala and fresh herbs and serve.
