Why do we need to prepare Homemade Cream Cheese? Well, In India good quality cream cheese is very costly, and if you want to prepare cheese cakes, frosting for carrot cake or filling for tarts, you need cream cheese. Can we get the same consistency as market bought? No, homemade cream cheese doesn’t have the same consistency but it comes very close. For the recipe of cream cheese I have followed the post from Gayathri Kumar’s blog https://gayathriscookspot.com/
Preparing cream cheese is not a difficult task. It just takes one day for the final result, and it is not strenuous work. All you need is full fat hung curd and paneer (cottage cheese). You can prepare these both in your kitchen; so first step is over. Second step is to drain out water content from paneer and hung curd. Third step is to mix both of them and again drain out extra water. Final step is to grind them together and cream cheese is ready. To make it more creamy, add some cream in it. I had prepared this homemade cream cheese first time when I wanted frosting for carrot cake!! How smooth and creamy it is!
During these hard times we don’t know when we will be able to go back to the grocery store and purchase items without any fear. But till then we can keep our spirits high and try certain things which we never thought could be homemade. Good food gives us happiness and positive thinking. So try to prepare this simple recipe of cream cheese and give yourself a treat of wonderful dishes…!
Ingredients :
Full fat milk, vinegar/lemon juice, curd
Process :
Boil milk in a pan and let it cool down after boiling till it is slightly warmer than lukewarm. Add half tbsp curd in it, cover the pan and keep it at a warm place to set. Curd will be ready within 3-4 hours. Pour this curd in a sieve along with muslin cloth spread on it and hang it for 2-3 hours so that water drains out. Later, take out the curd in a bowl and hung curd is ready. Keep this in the fridge until we prepare paneer.
In another pan, boil milk once again and switch off the heat the moment milk is boiled. Immediately pour vinegar or lemon juice (1 tbsp vinegar for 1 litre milk OR 1 tbsp lemon juice with one tbsp water for 1 litre milk) in hot milk. Milk will curdle – pour it in a sieve with muslin cloth on it. Wash this curdled milk (or chenna in Hindi) nicely in running water so that no taste of vinegar/water remains. Squeeze out water and hang this muslin cloth for 1 to 2 hours so that the remaining water drains out. Paneer will be ready in two hours.
Now measure equal quantity of hung curd and paneer.Mix both of them nicely and again keep it in the fridge overnight wrapped up in a muslin cloth in with a bowl and a strainer.
Take out the bowl in the morning and grind this cream cheese into mixer till it is no more grainy.
Smooth cream cheese is ready!!
To make it more creamy, add little bit of cream and prepare your favorite cheesecake recipes.
Khoya Cheesecake (fusion dessert)
