Cheese is highly nutritious, but most shop-bought cheese heavy to digest. Panir is a fresh cheese that is lighter on the digestion.
Ingredients
- 2 litres whole organic milk
- 1 lemon or lime
- A large pan
- Fine muslin cloth
Recipe
- Pour the milk into a large pan and bring to boiling point – stir with a wooden spoon so that the milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- When the milk starts boiling up, stir in the juice of one lemon and turn off the heat
- Allow the frothing milk to settle down for half a minute, then bring it to the boil again.
- When the milk has separated into curds (solids) and whey (liquid), strain it through a fine muslin cloth so that the liquid whey is collected in another pan.
- Then thoroughly squeeze out all the whey from the curds.
What is left in the cloth is panir or fresh cheese. This can be served just as it is with your meal. The taste is subtly sweet but rather bland, so salt can be stirred in with the panir if you prefer.
The whey should not be wasted as it is nutritious and body building. It can be used when cooking dhal or vegetables, making cakes or chapatis. When sweetened, it can be a refreshing drink. Whey is easy to digest and very nourishing for convalescents.
Frying panir in Ghee
Fried cubes of panir is a delicious and nutritious addition to any meal.
- First make you panir firmer by binding it firmly in the muslin and press it with a weight for about half-an-hour (best done on your draining board). This allows all the whey to drain off.
- Unwrap the now firm panir from the muslin and cut it into cubes.
- Heat up some ghee in a frying pan and gently fry each side of the panir cubes until they turn golden brown.
- Add the golden panir cubes to your meals or to soups.
