Indian Households like ours have fancy food made easily every single day, but when it comes to a recipe from any cook book, demanding for fancy ingredients, it either gives a big blow to my wallet, or all together to the idea of trying that “difficult recipe”(This sounds like sour grapes).
Not anymore as I realise there is no reason I should be worried about a receding money pack in my wallet to try out the fanciest of recipes, and nothing is as difficult as it sounds. These fancy names, like Cream cheese, Ricotta, Aioli…comes across as strange and alien to any of us, as they don’t form a part of our culture in terms of food…But that’s true for the other part of the world, if I tell my British friend to make Khoya for a sweet she will faint at the mention of the process, and it is readily available off the shelves in London at much less a cost she would otherwise invest in terms of time and pounds in her space, if she attempts to make it..
For me, if I think in iffy, most used ingredients in my kind of cooking are Cream Cheese and Ricotta,
And I wish to share my experience on making both of these, Ricotta in the present post and cream cheese in coming posts. If you are the kind of households who saw paneer been made at home, believe me it’s just as easy, and almost similar process.
Milk, Curd, Muslin cloth and some patience is all you need…and you will soon be flaunting salads and dishes with Ricotta without guilt of being a spendthrift…and your culinary skills speaking aloud…
I usually use High fat content milk for the process, which yields the best taste and creaminess in the ricotta, and use of curd helps retain the flavour and creaminess, but lemon juice can be used instead, in absence of curd, as idea is not to make it a project whilst getting the results out of what is available. Also in case what you usually get is toned milk, add some store bought cream to it to get the fat content in place.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20-30 minutes |
| Passive Time | 20-25 minutes |
| Servings |
cup
|
- 1 Liter Full Cream Milk
- 500 ml Curd or 1/4 cup lemon juice
- pinch salt
Ingredients
|
|
- Place the milk in large heavy bottom pan, and bring it to almost a boil.
- Add curd or lemon juice and take it off the flame
- Stir it for a while and then allow it to sit for 10 min.
- By now, the chunks of grainy cheese should have separated, leaving behind watery whey.
- In case the liquid appears to be milky, that's says that there is some more cheese left to be separated,
- In that case, add A few Tbsp of curd, or another tsp of lemon juice, and stir, and wait for a few more minutes.
- Now line a strainer with a kitchen cloth or muslin cloth and place the strainer in a bowl to collect the whey
- Allow it to drain for about 15-20 minutes
You can use the lose grainy ricotta for recipes of pizza, or pasta
Hang it back in case a firmer form of cheese( Ricotta Salata) is required, which can be used in salads, and fillings
In case while straining you doze off and it becomes too dry, pour a little whey on the block and allow it to seep through.
Fresh ricotta can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week
Left over whey is a great medium to make pizzadough, chapati dough, in the form of a protein drink by itself, taken with afew added herbs and salt and pepper.