INGREDIENTS:
5 cups milk
juice of 2 lemons
INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat milk in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring with wooden mixing spoon to prevent a film from forming on the top. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Cover and let stand until milk separates, about 1 minute.
Place a colander lined with the layered cheesecloth over a large bowl. When the thick , white curd separates from the pale greenish whey, pour it into the cheesecloth lined colander. Gather the edges of the cheesecloth together to make a pouch and gently squeeze out the whey. (Discard the whey or cover and refrigerate for another use.)
Wrap a heavy duty rubber band around the top of the pouch and hang over the sink faucet so the bag contents will drain into the sink.
For a soft cheese (paneer cheena), remove from bag in 1 hour. For a firm, dry cheese (paneer tikki) drain overnight.
Both cheese can be used in cooking or simply sprinkled with assorted spices, such as turmeric, mint, ground red pepper, or cumin, and then eaten with a bread.
Recipe from Multicultural Cookbook of Life-Cycle Celebrations, by Lois Sinaiko Webb.
