1,000 Indian Recipes (58 page)

1.
Place the butter in a heavy, medium saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until the milk solids turn golden and settle to the bottom of the pan, 15 to 20 minutes. (At first the butter will start to foam, but as it simmers, the foaming will eventually subside.) Once this happens, pass everything through the cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer into a sterilized jar.

2.
Do not discard the leftover milk solids. Store them at room temperature about 2 days or in the refrigerator about 6 months. Or combine with whole-wheat flour to make paranthas (griddle-fried breads) or add by the teaspoon to flavor soups, rice, or steamed vegetables.

Variation:
To make flavored-infused ghee, add any of the following herbs, spices, or combinations to the pan along with the butter. After straining the ghee and removing any large spices, such as cardamom pods and cinnamon, use the milk solids in other dishes.

¹
⁄
₄
cup minced fresh mint leaves

¹
⁄
₂
cup minced fresh curry leaves plus
¹
⁄
₄
teaspoon ground asafoetida

1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves

2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic

2 teaspoons cumin seeds, 2 black cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the skin, and 2 (1-inch) sticks cinnamon

1 teaspoon black peppercorns and 1 teaspoon ajwain seeds

Homemade Yogurt

Ghar ki Dahi

Makes about 4 cups

Yogurt-making is a simple, easy, and very gratifying art. With very little work, you can have fresh yogurt or curd, as it is called in India every day—the kind that is naturally sweet and has active cultures. Furthermore, you can rest assured that homemade yogurt is free of all the unnecessary and artificial additives added to prolong the shelf life of its store-bought counterpart.

Any and all types of pots and pans may be used, though I find terra-cotta and ceramic ones to be the best. But this is partly sentiment—my mother always maintained that these containers added a certain calming and cooling effect to the body-warming yogurt.

Made with milk and a starter (store-bought yogurt with live cultures or yogurt from a previous homemade batch), homemade yogurt is delicate, sweet, and smooth. It can be made with any type of milk—whole, 2 percent, 1 percent, or nonfat. For health reasons, I generally make mine with nonfat milk.

4 cups milk

2 tablespoons plain yogurt, nonfat or any kind, with active culture

1 pot holder

1 or 2 large, thick kitchen towels

1.
Bring the milk to a boil, stirring frequently with a metal spatula in a heavy aluminum saucepan. (Do not use lightweight stainless steel or nonstick Teflon or Silverstone-coated saucepans; stainless steel is not a good conductor of heat, invariably burning the milk, and in the coated pans a layer of brown skin forms at the bottom of the pot, ruining the entire project.)

2.
Alternately, put the milk in a large microwave-safe bowl and boil, uncovered, on high power until bubbles rise to the top, 9 to 10 minutes. Remove form the microwave as soon as it boils.

3.
Transfer to a yogurt pot (preferably ceramic, though any container will do), and cool until the milk registers 118°F to 120°F on a meat thermometer. Stir in the yogurt starter and cover with a loose-fitting lid.

4.
Put a pot holder on a shelf in a kitchen cabinet. Place the yogurt pot on top of the pot holder, fold the towels in half and cover the yogurt pot snugly on every side. This insulates the pot and helps maintain the ideal temperature necessary for the multiplication of the yogurt bacteria. (You can also place the yogurt pot in a turned-off gas oven with a pilot light to achieve the same effect.)

5.
Allow the milk to rest undisturbed 3 to 4 hours. Then check to see if the yogurt is set. When you do this, do not pick up the pot or place a fork in the yogurt. Simply uncover the pot and see if the yogurt is firm—almost like gelatin. You may see some watery liquid over the yogurt; disregard it. (You may remove it after chilling the yogurt.) Once the yogurt is set, refrigerate it immediately. The longer freshly made, fully developed yogurt sits unchilled, the stronger and more sour it gets. Serve chilled.

Variation:
Note: To sweeten yogurt that has soured over time, Indians routinely drain out the whey and then mix in some milk (any type will do). The milk adds its sweetness and lends a freshly made flavor to yogurt.

Yogurt Cheese

Dahi ka Paneer

Makes about 2 cups

Yogurt cheese,
dahi ka paneer
in Hindi, is also called "hung curd" or "hung yogurt" because it is made by putting yogurt in a cheesecloth and then hanging it (generally from the kitchen faucet) until all the liquid whey drains out, leaving behind a thick, almost cheese-like yogurt. This delicate yet tangy cheese can be used as is, or placed under a heavy object to obtain a block that can be cut into small pieces. You can find cheesecloth in cooking supply stores, or use fine muslin from a fabric store.

Yogurt cheese is flavored with herbs and spices to make special
raitas
and chutneys, and also mousse-like desserts called
shrikhand
(
Yogurt Mousse with Saffron
). Today, I find it irreplaceable in salad dressings and sandwich spreads, and can, on occasion, use it to replace cream cheese and sour cream in recipes that are not subjected to intensive heat. It's a great topping for soups and freshly made
parantha
breads
, too.

1 (32-ounce) container nonfat plain yogurt

1 (2-foot-square) piece of fine muslin or 4 layers of cheesecloth

1.
Place yogurt in the muslin or cheesecloth, then twist the cloth snugly around the cheese and tie the ends of the cloth around the kitchen faucet, making sure that the yogurt is a few inches above the bottom of the sink. Allow to drain 4 to 6 hours. The cheese is now ready to be used.

2.
Or, set a large colander or fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl (to catch the whey), and line it with muslin or 4 layers of cheesecloth. Put the yogurt in the strainer and allow to drain 4 to 6 hours in the refrigerator.

Paneer Cheese

Paneer

Makes 8 ounces or about 30 1
¹
⁄
₄
-inch pieces

Paneer
cheese, made by curdling milk with something sour, such as yogurt, lemon juice, or vinegar, and then separating the curds from the whey, is also called Indian cottage cheese or farmer's cheese. This soft, spongy cheese with its sweet, milky aroma is preservative-free, has no artificial additives, and can be made with low-fat or whole milk (nonfat milk will not work; you'll end up with a hard and leathery cheese).

Paneer
cheese doesn't melt when heated, although too much stirring will cause it to break. Freshly made
paneer
cheese, warm and right out of the cheesecloth, is much prized for its own taste. Indians love it just by itself, or dressed with a little
chaatmasala
, a savory and spicy seasoning blend that instantly perks up flavors, and fresh herbs. I even serve
paneer
cheese as part of an antipasto platter, giving it an Italian twist with salt, pepper, chopped fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar.
Paneer
is easy to scatter over salads, or add to pizza, lasagna, sandwiches, and rice, which can be used in curries, stews, and even desserts.

When making
paneer
cheese, use only heavy-bottomed aluminum or anodized metal pans, and to avoid accidental spills, add the curdling agent almost as soon as you see bubbles rising in the milk.

Paneer cheese stays fresh in the refrigerator about 5 days and can also be frozen. To freeze, cut into desired size pieces, stand each piece on a plate in a single layer and freeze. When frozen, transfer to plastic freezer bags and freeze 3 to 4 months. This enables you to remove and use only the number of pieces you need for the recipe.

As an alternative, you can buy
paneer
cheese in the refrigerator section of Indian markets.

¹
⁄
₂
gallon lowfat or whole milk

2 cups plain yogurt, nonfat or any kind, whisked until smooth, or
¹
⁄
₄
cup fresh lemon juice, or a mixture of both

1 (2-foot-square) piece of fine muslin or 4 layers of cheesecloth

1.
Place the milk in a large, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring gently, over high heat. Before the milk boils and the bubbles spill over, mix in the yogurt or the lemon juice, and continue to stir until the milk curdles and separates into curds and whey, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2.
Drape the muslin or cheesecloth over a large pan and pour the curdled milk over it. As you do this, the whey drains through the cloth into the pan, and the curdled paneer cheese remains in the cloth.

3.
With the paneer cheese still inside it, pick up the cloth from the pan and tie the ends of the cloth around the kitchen faucet to drain, making sure that the cheese is a few inches above the bottom of the sink. Allow to drain 3 to 5 minutes.

4.
Remove from the faucet and gently twist the cloth snugly around the cheese, then place the cheese between two salad-size plates (or any other flat surfaces), with the twisted cloth edges placed to one side, out of the way. Place a large pan of water on the top plate and let the cheese drain further, 10 to 12 minutes. (Do this close to the sink or within a baking pan, or you'll have a mess to clean up.)

5.
Remove the pan of water from the paneer cheese (which, by now, should have compressed into a chunk), cut into desired shapes and sizes and use as needed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator 4 to 5 days or freeze up to 4 months.

Variation:
Paneer cheese can also be made with about
¹
⁄
₂
cup fresh or bottled lemon or lime juice, 3 to 4 tablespoons white or any other vinegar, or 1 quart buttermilk. Lemon juice and vinegar will yield about 6
¹
⁄
₂
ounces of paneer cheese, and the buttermilk will yield about 8 ounces. Paneer cheese can also be made with non-dairy soy milk (made from bean curd or tofu) or with a mixture of soy milk and milk. Make both these variations as you would with milk, and follow the directions above.

Coconut Milk