Indian dinner for my father's 60th birthday

My father recently turned 60 and all of his children collected in the midwest to throw him a birthday party. My oldest sister successfully prepped, cooked, and coordinated a Mexican feast for a group of 25, consisting of our family and some of our father's closest friends. I took on the less onerous task of cooking for the immediate family on our father's actual birthday. Because I have made at least two disastrous meals for my family in the past, the details of which I cringe to report here, I chose to stick with two Indian dishes that I have made before; Palak (Spinach) Panir and Gobhi Aloo Sabji (Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes). Everything I know about Indian cooking I have learned from my mother and Yamuni Devi's Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. This is a great cookbook as it not only includes several hundred recipes, but it also provides descriptions of Indian ingredients and traditional cooking techniques. 


Palak panir includes copious amounts of spinach, spices, and fresh unripened Indian cheese, called panir. Devi describes panir as the equivalent of tofu for India's vegetarians. While making fresh cheese may sound like a daunting task, it is actually remarkably easy. The trick is to know what you are looking for. You will need whole milk, a curdling agent (e.g., lemon juice), a heat source, and supplies to drain the whey from the curds (e.g., colander and cheesecloth or new handkerchief). For this palak panir recipe you will need 11-12 oz. of panir. The recipe for this amount is as follows:


Panir
10 cups whole milk
5 1/2 Tbs. strained fresh lemon juice 
(note: depending on the the milk, you may need to use more or less curdling agent)
Directions:
1. Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed pan with plenty of room for milk to rise. Heat on high and bring milk to a foaming boil, stirring often to prevent sticking or burning. Reduce the heat to low, and when boiling subsides, drizzle in the lemon juice. After 10 to 15 seconds, remove from heat, and slowly push mixing spoon back and forth through the milk until large lumps of curd separate from the yellow whey. This step should be obvious, if you are wondering whether the curds have separated, they probably haven't. Here is a picture:

Cover, and set aside for 10 minutes until the cheese has settled under the whey. 
2. Line colander with 4 layers of cheese cloth and place in the sink. Gently poor the whey and curds into colander, collecting the curds while the whey drains into the sink. The whey can also be collected and used as a curdling agent for tomorrow's fresh cheese or added instead of water to many recipes. 

3. Gather up the corners of the cheese cloth and twist 1-2 times. Hold cheese under running water for 5 to 10 seconds to wash away curdling agent. Continue to gently twist the cloth to help squeeze out excess whey. I've attached the following slightly vulgar photo to show how little cheese comes from 10 cups of whole milk. 

4. Now you want to allow the whey to continue to drain from the cheese. This can be done by hanging the cheesecloth from a hook to allow the curd to compact under its own weight. To speed up this process  you may also leave cheese in a colander with a weight on top. Drain for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. 

6. Unwrap the cheese and use as directed in recipe. 


Palak Panir
The recipe I used for the palak panir is one I adapted when out of town and making this dish for my sister. I didn't have my Indian cookbook with me, so I put together this recipe based on what I remembered from Devi's recipe and recipes I found online. This recipe creates a very rich and creamy palak panir. I don't fry the panir cubes before combining with the spinach, as called for in many recipes, so if you would like the cheese cubes to hold their shape in the spinach, fry them in hot oil and remove with slotted spoon and set aside before adding the panir to the spinach mixture. 
2 green chillies
1 small onion
1 inch piece of ginger
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbs. ghee (clarified butter) or nut oil
4 Tbs. water or panir whey
2 tsp. coriander powder
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. gram masala
1 lb. spinach (in the future I will use 2 lbs. for this recipe)
3/4 cups sour cream
cubed panir
Directions: 
1. Combine chilies, onion, ginger, and garlic in food processor to make paste. If needed, add water to thin. 
2. Add paste to hot ghee on stove and cook until soft and fragrant. Add coriander powder, cumin, turmeric, and garam masala. Fry for 1 minute. 
3. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Fold in 3/4 cups sour cream and cubed panir. 

As I indicated in the ingredients, I will use two lbs. of spinach when making this dish in the future. I'd also like to experiment with methods of getting the panir cubes to hold their shape without frying them.


Gobhi Aloo Sabji (Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes)
From The Art of Vegetarian Indian Cooking (Pgs. 180-181)
2 hot green chillies, stemmed, seeded and cut lengthwise into long slivers
1/2 inch ginger, cut into thin julienne
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. black mustard seeds
4 Tbs. ghee or mixture of vegetable oil and unsalted butter

1 medium-sized cauliflower (about 2 lbs.), trimmed, cored, and cut into florets (2 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 inches long)
2 medium-sized red or green tomatoes, quartered
1/2 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
Directions: 
1. Combine the chilies, ginger, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds in a small bowl. Heat the ghee in a large nonstick saucepan over moderately high heat. When hot, but not smoking, pour in the combined seasonings and fry until the mustard seeds turn gray, sputter, and pop. Add the potatoes and cauliflower and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, sugar, salt, and half of the fresh herb. Combine, cover and gently cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. You may want to add a few tablespoons of water if the vegetables begin sticking to the bottom of the pan, as you want to be able to stir gently and avoid mashing or breaking the vegetables. Serve with remaining fresh herb. 

Serve all dishes with basmati rice. For this meal I also ordered appetizers and naan (flatbread cooked in a tandoori clay oven) from a local Indian restaurant to supplement the meal.  

Here is a picture of the "tablescape."

Expanding my previous note on the most important ingredient being family and friends to share with, I would also like to add that serious eaters are incredibly rewarding to cook for. Lucky for me, several of my family members take the task of eating very seriously. 

Pops

 Lisa

 Chuck

Mom and Mike