(Part of the recipe collection from Haroun and the Study of Mischief.)

There are two versions of qanbaris in The Sultan’s Feast, one of which is made like paneer with acid and the other of which is made like dahi with hung yogurt. Both of these varieties of cheese are among the easiest cheeses to make at home, because unlike halum/halloumi and cheddar and others, you don’t need rennet and you don’t need aging. (In fact, paneer is so easy to make at home that I have accidentally made Earl Grey paneer in a teacup before.)

• Historic qanbaris with Boiling Acid, Ranveer-style: Mad Alchemist’s Cheese
• Paneer with So Much Less Boiling Acid
• Accidental Earl Grey Paneer
• Historic qanbaris with hung yogurt
• Dahi and other hung yogurt cheese variations

Historic qanbaris with Boiling Acid, Ranveer-style: Mad Alchemist’s Cheese

This historic recipe feels like one of Ranveer’s alchemy experiments: they’re taking the “throw a stick of dynamite in, shut the blast door, and run away” approach to making absolutely sure there’s enough acid to curdle the milk. Instead of boiling milk and adding a couple tablespoons of vinegar, this one boils a whole pot of vinegar and adds the milk. I love the original scribe’s commentary on people who think cheese is an essential food group too:

“Take new pots, pour in tart vinegar, and place over a fire until it starts boiling. [When it does,] remove from the fire and pour in milk. Set [the pots] aside and do not touch them. In the morning open them up, and you will find that [the milk] has coagulated into qanbarīs. Milk has harmful properties, but these are outweighed by its benefits; it is tasty and there are people who do not enjoy their food unless there is cheese on the table.” (The Sultan’s Feast recipe 182)

Paneer with So Much Less Boiling Acid

I suspect part of the reason for the “boil all the vinegar, throw milk in, clamp the lid on, run away, and see what’s happened by the next day” tactic comes from the unpredictability of homebrewed vinegar acidity levels. Nowadays you can buy industrialized vinegar standardized to particular strengths; 5% is the minimum for preservational pickling, and Essig-Essenz comes in at 25% in the bottle (along with a hazard warning not to drink it undiluted). I’ve seen paneer made with both vinegar and lemon juice, and the lemon juice recipes also tend to have “keep some spare juice on hand” notes as well.

One of the unique features of cheese made with this acid method is that, like halloumi, it won’t melt. If you drain it well and shape it solidly, you can grill paneer just like kebabs. It’s more likely to crumble than to melt, so cubes in curry are a classic for a reason.

Line your sieve or colander with your cheese-making cloth (and if it’s actual cheesecloth you probably want a couple layers).

Pre-measure your acid into a pourable container.

Bring the milk up to a boil, stirring constantly to keep it from scorching or scorching.

Pour a couple tablespoons of acid into the hot milk. If you don’t see it begin to separate out into clumpy curds and pale whey, add some more acid.

When your curds and whey have separated in your pot, take the pot off the heat and carefully pour it through your cloth-lined sieve or colander.

Gather up the ends of the cloth and twist carefully to wring more of the liquid out of the cheese and encourage it to form a ball.

Some people will tie a knot in their cloth and hang it over their faucet to drip. My faucet is too curvy for that, so I put the colander into a large bowl and let it continue to drip.

If you’d like for it to be really solid, you can put a plate with a can on top of it in the colander and bowl arrangement to press additional liquid out. You can also put the weighted plate and colander and bowl arrangement into the refrigerator to continue draining and firming up overnight.

Accidental Earl Grey Paneer

Believe it or not, some people have done this on purpose, and Earl Grey cheese is surprisingly expensive.

Simmer the tea directly in the milk until it’s tan and fragrant.

Assuming you’re more prepared for this outcome than I was, remove the tea containment system from the simmering milk before adding the acid.

Add the lavender syrup and/or lemon juice.

Stir until you have curds.

Pour through cloth and colander.

Wring and squeeze gently, unwrap your tea flavored cheese, and nibble.

Historic qanbaris with hung yogurt

I suspect the hung yogurt qanbaris is the variety that Treasure Trove recipe 529 recommends flavoring with the oil-based za’atar-meets-pesto paste, rather than the “throw milk into the boiling acid and run away” qanbaris. It seems easier to get flavorings into a softer cheese, as opposed to marinading and brining harder / crumblier cheeses. But this recipe is basically identical to the modern methods of making yogurt and yogurt cheese, aside from the historical measurements:

“Take milk and boil it until it starts bubbling. Then take a new pot and leave it to cool for an hour. Then take laban yāghurt – for each ten raṭls of milk, take half a raṭl of laban yāghurt, and stir with a ladle. Cover the pot and leave in a warm place. Put a little bit of straw underneath and leave overnight, and it will become like a disc. Put [the yoghurt] in a bag, and strain, after which it will become qanbarīs. Remove it from the bag, add salt, and serve when you need to. Afterwards transfer to a clean container [for storage].” (The Sultan’s Feast recipe 189)

What’s a ratl, you say? That’s an excellent question and the answer can range anywhere from eight ounces to eight pounds depending on what you’re measuring and what city you’re in when you do it. For these purposes, just pick a volume that suits your heating container – maybe a half-cup or a cup, if you’re planning to use a slow cooker for your low and steady heat source.

Dahi and other hung yogurt cheese variations

Dassana’s Veg Recipes has a dahi recipe that’s strikingly similar to the historic version above. It does require animal milk, though, and if you have food sensitivities, you might need to use a different yogurt variety.

All the cheese-making magic here is mechanical, not fermentational, and you could do something similar with cashew or coconut or other non-dairy yogurts.

Still got that colander and cloth arrangement from paneer above? That’s it, really.

If you’d like to flavor the yogurt before condensing it into cheese, stir it in and leave it in the refrigerator overnight before continuing.

(Extra history points: Stir in some of the fresh thyme and oil-based za’atar blend. Low spoons modifier: Use dried za’atar or pop open a small jar of pesto and add a couple spoonfuls.)

Set up your cloth and sieve or strainer arrangement.

Soft cheese: Let it hang out in your colander (and/or hang the cloth from your sink faucet if your faucet is cooperatively shaped).

Medium firm cheese: Tie up your curd, put the plate and/or rock on it, and put it in the refrigerator overnight to see how much more you could press out of it. (Okay don’t just put a rock on it, that would sink in, the rock is an optional addition to the plate!)