2010I like to use the recipe below once a week as it is an alternative to meat whilst being filling, cheap and nutritious as it is high in protein but low in fat. It originates from the Mattar Panir indian recipes but I vary the curd cheese sometimes and instead use tofu. So feel free to substitute the curd cheese especially if you don't have time to make it for with tofu. Tofu is found from health food shops these days and comes in plain or smoked varieties. Tofu is made from the soya bean and so is good for those wanting to avoid eating meat every day. That's why I try to make this dish once a week.
Curd cheese is fascinating when homemade. Even children can make it as it is so easy and all you need for the coagulation process (hence the curd) is milk (I used skimmed so that it is lower in fat), lemon juice or vinegar and plain yogurt. Cheese curds are mild in flavour and firm but rubbery in texture. They're a bit like rikotta in a way and so you can opt for rikotta too as an alternative main ingredient in this recipe. This can be bought off the shelf as cottage cheese too but making it yourself gives you the advantage of using skimmed milk and therefore controlling the calorific value.
Recipe:
For the curd cheese:
2.5 litres of skimmed milk
half a carton plain yoghurt
juice of half a lemon or 1 tablespoon vinegar
Bring the milk to boiling point in a pan, remove from hear and stir in the yoghurt and the lemon juice or vinegar. In a few seconds the milk will separate into solids and whey (liquid). Place in a colander (passatur) lined with a muslin cloth or if not available use a fine sieve over the colander. Cover with a napkin and leave overnight or for 8 hours. Reserve the whey.
If using muslin fold over the curd which now resembles rikotta/cottage cheese and place between two boards so that the curd will be pressed. If using a sieve, this step may be skipped and once can just use the curd as is. You can leave in between the boards for another 6 hours or so, and then cut into rough cubes.
The Mattar Panir is made by making up a stew of peas and onions and towards the end adding the curd cheese (panir), tofu, rikotta or cottage cheese depending on what was used. The best would be tofu or th curd cheese though as the rikotta and cottage cheese would not remain as cubes in the stew.
The Mattar is made by:
2 medium sized onions
3 cloves garlic
1 small knob fresh ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons freshly ground coriander
1 teaspoon chilli powder
2 cans peeled tomatoes
275g frozen peas
oil for cooking
Gently fry the onion, garlic and ginger til soft and golden. Add some of the reserved whey, the turmeric, coriander, garam masala and chilli. Stir, then add a cupful of whey (if not available as you may be using tofu, then just add water). Add the cans of tomatoes and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add the peas and the sugar and simmer for another 5 minutes. The traditional recipes asks us to fry the curd cheese when it is cut into cubes but I always omit this and simply tip the curd cheese into the stew. Smoked tofu makes an excellent alternative to the fried curd cheese should one prefer this taste. It is however, good to get the family used to bland tastes like that of the curd cheese as it builds healthy attitudes towards healthy bland foods from early on. This is after all mid-week cooking! My kids love it and my carnivorous husband who loves red meat likes this dish too. So just allow the curd cheese to simmer for a short while in the mattar and serve.
Serving suggestion:
I like to serve this dish with rice and a cucumber salad but mashed potatoes and a nice vegetable will be great too.
Enjoy healthy eating!
Karen
