Cottage Cheese and a Quick Dessert

Cottage Cheese is probably one of the most versatile man made food products in food industry. Paneer as known in Hindi is widely used in North Indian cuisine and is gaining popularity among the health conscious. It can be easily transformed into numerous recipes including desserts, curries, bread, cakes and what not, giving a peculiar creamy texture to the cooked dish.

Composition: Cottage cheese is the by-product of milk, pure and most natural food product with no additives in it. Milk is curdled using an acidic culture, the resultant product is a mild flavored, non acidic and a creamy consistency solid.

Cottage cheese is not aged or processes like other commercial cheeses, and cannot be stored for long for the same reason.

How to make Homemade Cottage cheese

Ingredients;

1 liter skimmed milk


1 tsp of lemon juice or 3-4 tsp of sour curd

Method: Boil the milk in a vessel and add the juice of lemon or curds in the boiling milk. I normally use curd to make cottage cheese, as I get much softer variety.

Keep boiling till the whey separates.

Take a muslin cloth and put it over another big vessel covering the mouth of it. Pour the whole mixture in the muslin cloth and drain the whey.

Let the liquid fully drain from the curdled milk. Fresh cottage cheese is ready for use.

Tie the cloth and press it with a heavy weight, if you wish to make chunks of the cottage cheese.

Health Benefits;

High levels of protein make it a prudent diet for kids, pregnant women and body builders.
It is low in fat and calories.
Good for building strong bones in growing kids due to high calcium.
It is low in carbohydrates.
Low sodium in cottage cheese makes it a good choice for people with high blood pressure and heart ailments.
It is easily digested.
Whey which is the residual liquid is very healthy.

Prudent way to use Cottage cheese;

Use skimmed milk to make a low fat cottage cheese.
Best way is to consume it in its pure form.
Sprinkle the crumbled cheese on salads and raitas.
Mix it with any seasonal fresh fruit and add a tsp of sugar for a great dessert.
Lasagna, cheesecake and other baked goodies made with cottage cheese are a delicacy.
Veggie dips made with adding herbs in cottage cheese are good any steamed or baked vegetables.
Spread the fresh cottage cheese on a toast for a quick and healthy breakfast.
Mashed potato with cottage cheese can be fun recipe for kids.
Knead the dough for bread or chapattis in the whey to reap the health benefits

A Quick and Healthy Dessert Recipe

Ingredients;

1 cup of Fresh Cottage cheese
1/4 cup of powder sugar
A pinch of Saffron
1/2 tsp of Cardamom powder

Clean and wipe a mould, I used my mould for making ice cubes. Take a small amount of the prepared mix and put it in the moulds. Press it lightly.

Method: Take a flat vessel and crumble the freshly made cottage cheese. Add rest of the ingredients. Mix in thoroughly using light strokes.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.

Variations;

Add coarsely ground Pistachio nuts (pista) in the crumbled cottage cheese and roll in desired shape.
Blend the fresh cottage cheese with 2-3 tsp of milk, add any fruit puree and refrigerate for a cool dessert.
Mix in ready made fruit syrups such as strawberry or chocolate syrup and make balls. Refrigerate and serve.
Add 1/2 cup of Milkmaid (concentrated and sweetened milk) and roll into a delicious sweet. Cover it with grated coconut.

A refreshing and delicious healthy dessert is ready to savor for any time.

Stay connected for another quick and delicious sweet recipe,  Rasgulla – an Indian delicacy made with Cottage cheese. It is easy and healthy sweet with low fats.

Take care.