This weekend when Mere was in town I showed her how to make paneer (Indian cheese) and last night I made it into an Indian dinner for me and Mr. E. Mere asked that I post the recipe so that she could turn it into something yummy too!
Paneer is actually really easy to make. You only need two ingredients--1 gallon of whole milk (preferably organic and local) and white vinegar. Bring the gallon of milk to a boil in a large stockpot. Continue to monitor the milk so that is does not scald on the bottom of the pot. As soon as the milk has begun to boil, slowly add white vinegar to the boiling milk until it begins to separate into curds and whey. Once it has separated, take the milk off the heat. Take a colander and line it with cheese cloth. Pour the milk/cheese onto the cheese cloth so that it is filtered through the cheese cloth and the colander. Once all of the cheese has been poured out, wrap the cheese cloth tighly around the cheese and squeeze out the excess why. Place a weight (such as the bottle of white vinegar) on top of the cheese for two hours in order to squeeze out any excess whey. Once the two hours have passed your cheese should be in the shape of curved brick and you can refrigerate it in plastic until you are ready to eat!
I usually cook a yello onion in garlic and olive oil until translucent and then add the paneer. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat until the flavors have melded. In a separate pan (preferably a wok), I saute a mixture of vegetables such as green cabbage, mushrooms, spinach, green pepper in EVOO, garlic, sesame oil, black bean paste and/or soy sauce. Sometimes I add garam masala (an Indian spice) and chili powder for heat. It is easier to be creative and once you are finished it is easy to serve the two dishes on a bed of brown rice or with a toasted piece of Naan (in the freezer section of Trader Joe's).
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