Say (farmer's) cheese

When it comes to food, Goa is a magical place. After years of deprivation (aka my time in Delhi) it feels like grocery shopping paradise. Thanks to the large number of expats living in the area, I can get just about anything in the local store. Plus, there is something so wonderfully quaint about hand labeled pesto or homemade yogurts…

But, even with this treasure trove around the corner, I still like to have homemade food made… well, at home. Like farmer's cheese, for example.

It is extremely easy, not to mention you only need one ingredient: milk!

Fresh farmer’s cheese:

1 ½ + ½ liter of raw milk

Pour 1 ½ liter of milk into a glass jar or bowl, cover with a cloth and leave on the counter until it starts to separate. It should have curd – like consistency. You can also wait for the whey to separate completely.
It will take 1-2 days depending on the temperature of the room and freshness of the milk.

Boil remaining ½liter and pour it into curdled milk immediately. Set aside for 10-15 minutes. 

Line a sieve with a cheesecloth (I sometimes use fine mesh sieve, without the cloth) and place on top of a large pot. Pour the milk into the sieve and allow to drain. Gather the corners of the cloth and twist it to squeeze extra whey. The more you drain, the firmer the cheese gets, you can decide when it’s “done”.

 If you like more cottage cheese – like consistency, remove cheese from the cheesecloth when it’s still quite loose, add a spoon of cream and mix well.

If you want a proper farmer’s cheese, wait until it holds its shape, remove from the cloth and store in the fridge.