Home made Flavoured Cottage Cheese Spread

Hi again! 

Thank you for the love and support from all of you and for the words of encouragement. These are a great tool to egg me on and push me to better the previous one. And also, just between us, makes me slightly nervous if I would be able to achieve all that. So let’s hope I am able to deliver as per your expectations and to the best of my ability. Let’s start then…

The Culinary World had Exploded in the not so distant past, with more and more people going to International Cuisine for not only Indulgence but also Sustenance. But with the recent events that have plagued the world as of now, most of us had to go back to the ways we were eating long time before this explosion. Be it because your favourite restaurant has closed the doors or unavailability of ingredients for cooking exotic stuff at home. I am not saying that it is bad that everything is shut, it should be, and it is also our duty to understand that we need to adhere to these  Rules and Regulations for our own safety as well as the safety of our society. But it does not mean that we need to put our taste buds on restrictions too. As we are confined to our abodes and getting a little tired of the limited number of things to eat, let us whip up something exotic from the ingredients easily available. We’ll be doing this series for the near future – Food In The Time Of Corona. 

I will start simple here. We’ll do a Flavoured Cottage Cheese Spread. Now the Recipe that I have here is for a Mexican Flavoured Spread, but you can also add various other flavours and ingredients and be your own Chef de Cuisine. I will also be using the Cottage Cheese we make here for various recipes in the future, with different flavourings of course. You can use this spread as toppings for Bruschettas or Canapes, as Sandwich fillings or fillings for vegetables or rolls. I will be adding the other options you can try in the footnote of the recipe. So don your Aprons and pick up your Knives, lets sweat it out in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

Whole Cream Milk – 3 Cups 

Smoked Paprika Powder – 1/2 tsp (Optional)

Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp

Chopped Garlic – 1 tsp

Chopped Green Chillies – 1 tsp

Chilly Flakes – 1 tsp

Jeera Powder – 1 tsp

Oregano – 1 tsp

Tabasco – 5-7 Dashes

Chopped Coriander – 1 tbsp

Chopped Jalapenos – 1 tbsp (Optional)

Chopped Peppers (Red, Yellow, Green Peppers) – 1 tbsp (Optional)

Salt to Taste

Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Lemon Juice – from 2 small limes (to aid in the splitting of the milk)

Cream – 5 tbsp (can be substituted with 3-4 tbsps of milk)

Cheese Spread / Grated Cheese – 2 tbsp (Only if you want to make it Cheesy, pun not intended)

Method:

1. In a sauce pan, bring the milk to a boil and put on simmer. Add all the flavourings and ingredients, except lemon juice, Cream and Cheese Spread. 

2. Bring to a boil again and add the lemon juice, stirring occasionally. Put it on the side for 5 minutes before straining in a cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer. 

3. Let it sit for around 15 – 20 minutes (more if you want it completely compacted to be used as cottage cheese). 

4. Once your cottage cheese is rested, add the Cream and Cheese Spread. Mix and taste, adjust the seasoning and consume fresh on a freshly toasted slice of bread or refrigerate for future use.

UPDATE:

I have uploaded the tutorial video of the above recipe recently. Kindly visit our new YouTube Channel Chef Karan Kakkar’s Alcove for more recipes and videos.

Video link: Mexican Style Cottage Cheese Spread

Recipe Footnote:

Please follow the basic recipe for the cottage cheese with 3 main ingredients – Milk, Salt and Lemon Juice. For variations you can make Herb and Cream Cheese Spread, adding mixed herbs like oregano, basil, thyme, celery, etc. (as per availability) and cream cheese, skipping the chillies and peppers. You can also make a Ginger Chilly and Cumin Spread, adding chopped ginger, green chillies, jeera powder and chopped coriander. For Tartar Spread, add finely chopped onions, gherkins, capers & olives along with lemon juice. 

P.S.: A little bit of Mayonnaise can also be added to the cottage cheese to give it a better spreadable texture.