Brief Interviews With Hideous Recipes

Dahl and paneer, courtesy of Mrigaa Sethi.

Dahl
Directions
Boil some dahl (lentils) and water (roughly 1:3 ratio) with turmeric and salt, and once it's turned into a nice loose porridge-like consistency, after about 15-20 minutes, heating ghee, cumin, garlic, and hot paprika in a small pan and tossing it over the dahl makes the whole thing BLOOM! Et voila. Eat with rice and yogurt (see if you can find an organic brand, without stabilizers), and you have a delicious, quick, and protein-rich meal.

Paneer
Directions
You'll need a cheesecloth, and you can find one easily at most food stores. Make sure it's a fine mesh, not one with giant holes.

Bring your desired volume of whole milk (half-gallon? quarter-gallon?) to a slow boil, and as it begins to rise, pour two tablespoons of vinegar into it. The milk and the whey will begin to separate immediately.

Add another tablespoon of vinegar if you think you need to -- eyeballing is a valuable skill in all cooking! -- and once you have this fluffy, beautiful white stuff, drain it into your cheese cloth, squeeze out the water, and wash out the vinegar. This is paneer.

You can cook the paneer as-is, with cumin, turmeric, triumvirate of spices, chopped onions and tomatoes.

If you want a block of paneer instead, tie up the cheese cloth tight and place a weight (I use a pot full of water) on it. In two or three hours, you'll have a solid brick.