The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!: milk

Showing posts with label milk. Show all posts

Saturday, 7 February 2015

Quark Cheese-DIY

Quark

When we did the alphabet marathon Nandini had made quark. The first time I had heard of this delicious cheese. I had to make it.

Various cuisines feature quark as an ingredient for appetizers, salads, main dishes, side dishes and desserts

Quark Cheese

Recipe Source: here

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups milk
¼ cup curd
¼ cup water

Method:

Bring the milk to a boil and let it cool completely.
Meanwhile blend the curd and water to get your buttermilk.
Add buttermilk and mix
Let it rest undisturbed for 24 hours in a warm corner of the kitchen
One full day later, line a sieve with cheesecloth (or a thin kitchen towel). Place this on a bowl with at least ½-ltr capacity to collect the drained whey water
Pour the curds into the lined sieve and secure. Pull the edges together and twist it up or secure with a rubber band
Place the entire apparatus in the refrigerator for 24 hours
Remove the cheese from the cheesecloth and keep refrigerated in an airtight container.

Linking to PJ's event "Say Cheese" for Srivalli's Kid’s delight.

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

Monday, 2 February 2015

Ricotta Cheese-DIY

Ricotta Cheese

Cheese in used in all walks of life from Charles de Gaulle saying, “How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?” Or “Age is something that doesn’t matter unless you are a cheese.” Luis Bunuel!

Books like,” Who moved my cheese?”” I moved your cheese” then there are cheesy lines cute and flattering pickup lines and of course the most famous “say cheese”!

So what exactly is cheese?

Wikipedia again… :D

“Cheese is a food derived from milk that is produced in a wide range of flavours, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, the milk is usually acidified, and adding the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into final form. Some cheeses have molds on the rind or throughout. Most cheeses melt at cooking temperature.”

There are apparently hundreds of cheese world around. The difference is produced by styles, textures, flavours, the animal’s diet, fat content, herbs used among many other things.

“In a few cheeses, the milk is curdled by adding acids such as vinegar or lemon juice. Most cheeses are acidified to a lesser degree by bacteria, which turn milk sugars into lactic acid, and then the addition of rennet completes the curdling. Vegetarian alternatives to rennet are available also.

Cheese is valued for its portability, long life, and high content of fat, protein, calcium, and phosphorus. Cheese is more compact and has a longer shelf life than milk, although how long a cheese will keep may depend on the type of cheese. Generally speaking, hard cheeses last longer than soft cheeses, such as Brie or goat's milk cheese. .”

Tempted to be a specialist in cheese? Well you will be called a cheesemonger and you need to train for it.

Cheese the origin of which is predates recorded history.

Wondering what is happening here? Then for watch this space for 3 do it yourself cheeses.

Let’s start with ricotta cheese, which is a flexible cheese and can be used in appetizers, regular meal or a dessert and the bonus is it’s easy to make.

Since I forgot I had this cheese in the fridge it came out like a harder than anticipated ball, but tasted as yum.

Ricotta Cheese

Recipe Source: Foodiliciousnan
Ingredients:

1 litre milk
½ fresh cream or malai (you can use heavy cream)
½ cup curds/ yogurt
1 tsp vinegar
½ tsp salt

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a large vessel and bring to a boil, till
the whey and curds separate.
Line a sieve with muslin or cheese cloth pour contents in the sieve.
The whey water drip for 15 minute and then strain any remaining liquid with your hands
Ricotta cheese is ready!
Stays good refrigerated for 3 days.

Linking to PJ's event "Say Cheese" for Srivalli's Kid’s delight.

Sunday, 7 December 2014

Kharwas/Ginna/Pos a Sweet Cheese

Kharwas/Ginna/Pos

This week I am sharing with you a delicious sweet called Ginna in Kanadda, Kharwas in Marathi and Pos in Konkani.

This is a sweet that is made from the bovine colostrum milk and it’s amazingly delicious. Getting the colostrums milk was easy when we were kids and the milkman used to deliver milk home we used to have this sweet often. Now I hardly see it in fact my kids do not know what I am talking and since its sweet they would rather not try it out.

The other day hubby came home with a packet of the dehydrated colostrums, it was simple to make.

The instructions were simple…

Mix ½ litre or 3 cups of raw milk with 100 grms sugar (1/2 cup) and some elicihi/green cardamom powder and the powder from the packet. Stir well till there are no lumps and the sugar dissolves.

Steam for 10-15 minutes in a vessel, keep a lid on the vessel.

Remove from the cooker/ steamer and serve chilled after you slice it in desired shapes.

Soft delicious cheese that just melts in the mouth.

Kharwas/Ginna/Pos

In Goa this sweet that is called pos is flavoured with Jeera/cumin and jaiphal/nutmeg.

Linking to Varada's Blog Anniversary Event its a general photography event and Varada wants to say something about the picture.
I have Cannon Powershot SX150IS. The picture was taken at ISO400,Aperture was 1/15,and F8. I love Kharwas and so could not resist slicing into it, had to check if it was as soft as it seemed you see. I did then realize that the shot will look good. The reason I arranged the bowls as they are was because I thought that was the only way I will get all the bowls and somehow I like the arrangement. I think I am getting repetitive in my arrangement, needs no thought. The shot was taken in max. 5 minutes like I said no thoughts behind it!!

Linking to CCC for Dec'14 Week #1.

Saturday, 20 September 2014

Blintzes from Russia

Today on in the Mega Marathon which has been christened as “Around the World in 30 Days” let us visit Russia!

If you are about my age you will remember the Span and the “Adventures of Misha.” How I used to wait to see what she came up with next.

Apeksha, my elder daughter has been always after me for pancakes. And as I was researching Russia for some reason she borrowed the laptop, the rest is history this was the page that I was on. If that was not enough after that she was trying to convince me to do crêpes as a Sub-category in street food….

On the day I made these Blintzes it was pouring and we had a lot of guests. The idea was to remake the dish for better pics. Never got down to it. Hope to remake these delicious Blintzes again soon!

According to Wikipedia, “A blin (pl. blini), blintchik (pl. blintchiki) or blintz is a type of thin pancake. Blintzes are thin pancakes that typically lack a leavening agent and are similar to crêpes, whereas blini are typically thicker and include a leavening agent.^”

Traditionally Russian blini are made with yeasted batter, which is left to rise and then diluted with cold or boiling water/ milk. When diluted with boiling water, they are referred to as zavarniye blini and were baked in a Russian oven. Though the blini are pan fried they are cooking of blini is still referred to as baking in Russian.

French crêpes made from unyeasted batter (usually made of flour, milk, and eggs) are also common in Russia. Flours used for making blini range from wheat and buckwheat to oatmeal and millet, although wheat is currently the most popular.

Blintzes are made in Jewish cuisine too; blintzes that are stuffed with a cheese filling and then fried in oil are served on holidays such as Chanukah (as oil played a pivotal role in the miracle of the Chanukah story) and Shavuot (when dairy dishes are traditionally served within the Ashkenazi minhag). Blintzes are called "blinchiki" in Russian, and are ordinarily stuffed before frying a second time. Fillings include chocolate, mushrooms, meat, rice, mashed potatoes, and cheese.

Blintzes are the traditional meal in Lithuania during Fat Tuesday.

Buckwheat blini are part of traditional Russian cuisine. They are also widespread in Ukraine, where they are sometimes known as hrechanyky (Ukrainian: гречаники), and Lithuania’s Dzūkija region, the only region in the country where buckwheat is grown, where they are called Grikių blynai.”

Blintz

Recipe Source: Tony Avey

Ingredients:

For The Blintzes:

2 cup Maida or APF
2 cup milk
2 tblspn sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tblspn oil
2 tblspn baking powder

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 cup fresh paneer, crumbled
¼ cup cream
1/8 cup sugar
1 egg yolk (optional)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt

Method:

Blend all of the blintz ingredients together using a blender or electric hand mixer. You can blend with a fork too but remember that the batter should not have any lumps.
Warm up a non-stick tava/skillet until hot.
The tava/skillet is ready check the heat . Sprinkle a drop of water and if it sizzles on the surface of the of the tava , your tava is ready. If the water pops or jumps out of the pan, the skillet it too hot—let it cool slightly before starting.
Grease the tava/skillet generously with cooking oil.
Pour the pancake batter using a 1/3 cup into the pan.
Tilt the pan in a circular motion till the batter coats the entire bottom of the pan in a large, thin circular shape.
Cook for 60-75 seconds until the edges of the blintz brown and the bottom of the blintz is lightly golden. The pancake is done when the centre of the pancake's surface is dry and slightly tacky to the touch.
Remove the pancake with a spatula and place it on a plate.
Keep the blintzes separated by pieces of butter paper or paper towels to prevent the blintzes from sticking together.
Similarly cook all the blintzes.

Now make the filling:

Put all of the filling ingredients into a chutney bowl of the blender and pulse it. The filling should not be smooth. But should be well blended.
Now let’s assemble the blintzes
Put about 3 tblspn of filling on the lower part of the blintz, about an inch from the edge.
Now fold the lower edge of the blintz covering up the filling, say about till the centre.
Now fold the sides of the blintz inward, as though you’re folding an envelope.
Roll the blintz up and over the filling like a burrito, tucking the edges in as you roll.
Finish them all. Then let’s fry them…
Heat about ¼ cup of oil in a non-stick pan over medium until hot.
Cook the blintzes in batches see that you have enough space to turn them easily in the pan. Gently lay the flapside down in the oil (take care the oil is hot).
The oil will sizzle after 1 ½ to 2 minutes flip carefully the blintzes. They will be brown and crispy.
Fry the flipped side again for a 1 ½ - 2 minutes till they are browned evenly.
Serve blintzes warm as they are or topped with fruit topping, sour cream, applesauce, whipped cream or maple syrup.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday, 17 September 2014

Simiti or Simit or Turkish Sesame Rings

Simiti or Simit

For the month Swati of Baking Partners has challenged us to make Simiti or Simit from here. I was relieved for i had already made this delicious bread. With the month long marathon at my space and all of sick I did not have too much tension.

Then I began thinking where is the post? Cannot see it at my wordpress site or here on blogspot!! I could locate it on my facebook page. The FB page led me to the domain I had and which crashed without any way of recovering it. I lost so many delicious posts. Boy was I upset?

Luckily for me I had the draft and pics. So for me it’s a repost. I hope you don’t mind Swati.

This is my repost....

"For the month of February Aparna had given us a freehand and we could bake anything we choose. Now there are many that I wanted to bake some are from the challenges that I had missed in the past. But I had made the petimezi/ grape juice thickened in the fridge. So I made Simitia/Koulouria these were to be made for Eggless Baking, Gayatri’s brainchild.

So enjoy these for we We Knead to Bake

Simiti or Simit

Recipe Source: My Little Expat Kitchen

Makes 10 Simiti or Simit

Ingredients:

For the bread:

3 tsp active Yeast
5 cups Flour/ Maida
2 tblspn Sugar
1 cup Lukewarm Milk
1 cup Lukewarm Water
2 tblspn Olive Oil + extra for oiling the mould
1 tsp salt

For the coating:

1 ½ cups Til/Sesame Seeds
1/3 cup petimezi /grape juice thickened
¼ cup water

Method:

First make the Petimezi. I have just done nothing but followed the instructions here. As usual I did not follow any measures just crushed and strained the grapes and boiled it stirring constantly. I have done the job in a thick bottomed kadhai/wok on a low flame.
In a medium bowl mix the milk, water and sugar. Add the yeast and mix well. Set aside in a warm corner to proof.
Meanwhile in a large bowl mix together flour, salt, and oil.
Add yeast mixture to make soft and slightly sticky dough.
Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for 10 minutes until soft and elastic.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap and allow it to double for 1 hour.
While the dough is resting roast the sesame seeds till slightly brown and aromatic. Remove and cool.
In a bowl mix together the petimezi thickened grape juice and water. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 180°C. (The original recipe says 200°C but I baked at 180°C).
Now deflate the dough and divide into 10 equal portions.
Divide each portion into two and roll each portion into a 30 cm long rope.
Attach at one end both the rolls and twist both together to form a braid.
Make a ring by sealing both the ends to form a braided ring. Repeat with all the portions.
Dip the ring in petimezi /grape juice and place it on the sesame seeds.
Coat the ring completely with the seeds.
Place the coated ring on a baking tray.
Complete all the rings.
Transfer to the oven directly they do not need second proofing.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned.
Remove from oven and serve it hot or warm.
Serve slathered with butter, jam or chocolate spread and enjoy!!
Mine disappeared without any spreads.

Saturday, 6 September 2014

Lihapulla /Meatballs (sans the meat )Finnish way

For alphabet F I choose Finland!! Somehow it’s always fascinated me. Why because Santa lives here officially, yes really I am not kidding check it here. The land of midnight sun, northern lights, and saunas. I wish can live there…

I knew almost immediately I was making meatballs!!

Aw! Come-on you are on a vegetarian site and I have to live up to my reputation at home of being a mad scientist! The Mad Scientist is getting seriously eroded… so here is what happened.

For Egypt, yeah alphabet E I made stock for the Koshari as the mixture was merrily boiling away my daughters came to the bedroom where I was busy on the laptop asking me what I was making?

“It’s delicious Mamma, my mouth is watering. “ they had already investigated and Apeksha, my elder one was asking, yes the elder one!! will wonders never cease, asked me to make something out of the boiled vegetable. It’s delicious and healthy!!! Yeah unbelievable!! I know that’s why I said will wonder never cease!!!

Now I have in the past made spaghetti and vegetable balls and wanted to make these meatballs different! My reading on street food in Finland indicated that meatballs are street food!

I found this site here and I made Finnish meatballs.

Mashed Potatoes

By now you know that September and May are busy months for us at Blogging Marathon.

This month round we are blogging International dishes to make things a little difficult we are doing it in an alphabetical order.

So I am making my dishes for the marathon, for one such dish I made mashed potatoes as a side. I did not expect the girls to go crazy over the mashed potatoes so I made very little… okay, that is an excuse, I ran out of potatoes , the girls went crazy over the mashed potatoes of course they loved the main dish, that was expected !

Since then I make the mashed potatoes regularly! Here is what I do.

Komaj~ A Persian Date Bread With Turmeric & Cumin

Koma j~ A Persian Date Bread With Turmeric & Cumin

For this month in We Knead to Bake we are baking Komaj which is a Persian turmeric and cumin bread that’s filled with chopped dates.

I was skeptical about its acceptance at home and was right. Hubby refused to eat it! Since I suspected as much I made just 5 Komaj the rest I filled with cheese, chilli flakes and oregano. Sorry this I took just one picture of the big roll I made and managed to delete that too.

Tthis dough has three rises instead of the usual two.

Shahi Shikanji~Indian State Madhya Pradesh

Day 15 we are today at Madhya Pradesh!! Land of Ahilyabai Holkar!!

But let get down to cuisine here for I have been told that is what you are interested in but I could not resist puting the link of Rani Ahilyabai Holkar so do check it out if you are interested! She is an amazing lady!!

The cuisine in Madhya Pradesh varies regionally. Wheat and meat are common in the North and West of the state, while the wetter South and East are dominated by rice and fish. Milk is a common ingredient in Gwalior and Indore. The street food of Indore is renowned, with shops that have been active for generations. Bhopal is known for meat and fish dishes such as rogan josh, korma, keema, biryani, pilaf and kebabs. There is street named "Chatori Gali" in old Bhopal where one can find traditional Muslim non-veg fare like Paya Soup, Bun Kabab, and Nalli-Nihari as some of the specialties.

Dal bafla is a common meal in the region and can be easily found in Indore and other nearby regions, consisting of a steamed and grilled wheat cake dunked in rich ghee which is eaten with dal and ladoos. The culinary specialty of the Malwa and specially Indore region of central Madhya Pradesh is poha (flattened rice); usually eaten at breakfast with jalebi. Beverages in the region include lassi, beer, and rum and sugarcane juice. Local liquor is distilled from the flowers of the mahua tree and date palm toddy is also popular. In tribal regions, a popular drink is the sap of the sulfi tree, which may be alcoholic if it has gone through fermentation.

Mini Ghevar Topped with Rabdi ~~SNC Challenge

What is left of Rabdi and Ghevar

As a part of the North and South challenge, Divya’s brainchild we try out new recipes. This time the north group has challenged the South group to make Ghevar. This challenge was suggested by Manjula Bharath of Desi Fiesta from Northern team, while Southern team challenged them with Vada Curry by Ramya Krishnamurthy of LemonKurry.

The first time I heard about Ghevar was in Jodha Akbar! Where Jodha cooks a delicious vegetarian meal for Akbar. The ladies come singing about what all is cooked. One of the dishes was Ghevar. I wanted to try it when I saw Priya recipe here.

Shaped Bread Rolls

My bread basket

In her introduction for Baking Partners #4 Swati said that as Thanksgiving is approaching, we were to make some dinner rolls.

Our challenge is Shaped Dinner Rolls as baking bread is what most of us have tried. but this time we were to make them going to add some technique not only make them taste great, but also look beautiful.

As a part of the challenge we were given two different recipes, one with egg and other without egg. We were to choose either one of it. We were also to make changes top suit our taste and needs. The one mandatory thing was that we to try at least three shapes, from 7 different shapes given for challenge. The different shapes we were given were

1) Clover leaf 2) Rose Shape 3) small braid 4) knot 5) crescent shape 6) Rosette or Kaiser 7) Lion house rolls.

The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!

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