Herb Paneer

Growing up, my ultimate comfort food was cheese.  Pretty much every meal I had included some component of gooey, dairy goodness ranging from pizza to Mac and cheese to grilled cheese... I basically was a walking block of cheese myself! 

Looking back, I realize now that I was soothing myself with foods that had the same qualities as my young kapha self - cool, stable and supportive 🧘🏻

Now, I indulge in dairy only on occasion and when I do, I make it myself! According to Ayurveda, the best kind of cheese to eat is fresh cheese - like my herb paneer - as it has the most energy or Prana and therefore is easier to digest. To further facilitate digestion of cheese in kapha season, I added some pungent and warming spices to my paneer including ginger, cumin, coriander, red pepper and cilantro. The combination of these spices ignites the internal flame of the stomach to help break down the fats of the dairy so that it’s vitamins and nutrients can be properly absorbed 

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup water

  • 1 gallon organic, whole milk

  • 1 teaspoon coriander

  • 1 teaspoon cumin

  • 1 teaspoon ginger powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • 1/2 cup lime juice

  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Special equipment:

  • Cheesecloth

  • Sieve

Instructions:

  1. Place a stock pot on medium-high heat. Pour water into bottom of the pot to prevent the burning of milk. Once the water starts steaming, pour the gallon of milk into the stock pot

  2. Keep the stock pot on medium high heat and allow the milk to boil. Once the milk boils, add the spices and then the lime juice so the milk curdles

  3. Once the curdles separate from the whey, pour the boiled milk into a sieve that has a cheese cloth draped over top of it to catch the cheese. Sprinkle the chopped cilantro into the fresh cheese and mix in with a wooden spoon

  4. Wrap the cheese cloth around the curdles and spin it closed. Allow for the cheese to cool down before pressing out the excess moisture

  5. Place the cheese-filled cheesecloth on a plate and weigh it down with a heavy object such as a cast iron pan for at least 45 minutes.

  6. After the 45 minutes has passed, remove the weight and the cheesecloth from the cheese to reveal your paneer

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Stephanie Wright