panir

Panir is the Indian name for cheese. Panir is a fresh unripened cheese. It is akin to farmer cheese, pot cheese, cream cheese, and some forms of cottage cheese. However, these cheeses cannot be sustituted for panir in recipes. Panier is made from whole cow's or buffalo's milk and curdled with lemon or lime juice or with whey from a previous batch.

Ethnicity: Indian Ingredient

Season: available year-round

How to prepare: Ingredients 1 quart homogenized milk Juice of 1 lemon, squeezed Direction Bring milk to a boil and add lemon juice. The milk will start to curdle. Turn off the heat, let sit for a few moments, then bring it back to the boiling point; remove from the heat. When half-cool, strain curds from whey through any fine cloth such as a piece of muslin or several thicknesses of cheesecloth. Put a colander, lined with cloth, in the sink, and pour the curdled milk through it. As soon as most of the moisture has drained, gather the top of the cloth, tie it together with anything handy, and hang until all the water has dripped through. This usually takes an hour. Note: Under no circumstances squeeze the bag or try in any other way to lend the nature a hand. It removes the flavor along with the water, and also tends to make the panir tacky. Remove from the cloth, place in a plastic bag, and keep in the refrigerator. This will keep nicely for a couple of days. After that, it will start to smell.