Panir

Panir is a traditional Indian cheese, and it is one of the easiest cheeses to make.  It can be done in two hours, from start to finish with things normally found in the kitchen. You can even make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge.  It is not salted, so it will not last much longer than a week.  If you store it, make sure you put it in a ziplock bag, so that it doesn't pick up any smells or flavors from your fridge.  Panir can be used in the same way that firm tofu can.  It has very little flavor on its own, and picks up the flavors of whatever it is cooked in.

Here is what you need:

• 1 gallon whole milk (do not use organic milk or any other ultrahigh pasteurized milk)
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice

Start by heating the milk until it comes to a rolling boil.  Stir as the temperature increases to prevent from scorching the milk.

Add 4 tablespoons of lemon juice once the milk boils.  Stir for five minutes.  Almost immediately, you should see the milk begin to curdle.  The milk will separate into curds and whey.  If the whey still looks milky, add another 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and stir in.  The whey should be almost completely clear after stirring.

curds after 5 minutes of stirring

Once the curd separates, drain into cheese cloth placed over a strainer and allow to drain.  if you don't have any cheese cloth, you can use a towel or old t-shirt (just make sure its clean).  Press the cheese slightly to help expel more moisture from the cheese.  You can either leave the cheese to drain in the cloth overnight, or press it for more immediate results.  You can either save the whey (it makes a great fertilizer for the garden) or dump it down the drain.

curds draining

expelling more whey

Julie and I were planning on using the cheese in dinner that night, so I pressed the cheese.  Since most people don't have a cheese press sitting in their house, here is an easy way to press the cheese.  With the curd wrapped in the cloth, set it on a plate, then set another plate on top of it.  Fill the gallon jug from your milk about 3/4 way full and set it on your second plate.  The weight of the jug will cause the cheese to expel more whey.  Every half hour or so, check the cheese and pour off any whey that has accumulated on the plate and flip the cheese.  After 1.5 to 2 hours, your cheese is ready to go.

finished product

pressing the cheese

Making cheese is addictive.  It can be as simple or complex as you want.  There are lots of cheeses you can make in an hour or two, or cheddars or grating cheeses that take several hours to make and months to age.  Enjoy!