RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Schelly Dardashti Labane #2, Persian Mast-e-Kiseh - dairy
To make labne, which is sort of yoghurt cheese, is the same method we used in Persian cooking, to make "mast-e-kiseh" (yoghurt in a bag) or drained yoghurt. Buy any regular yogurt and pour it into a cheesecloth-lined strainer, or put two big coffee filters in the strainer. Pour in the yoghurt (longer if you want to make the cheese balls). The result is a lovely, thick, creamy delicious yoghurt. This can be mixed with any kind of yummy vegetables to make a salad. any of these can also be mixed with regular yoghurt as well, but the drained thick consistency makes a wonderful change in texture. An Arabic version, probably used by Jews from those communities, is to drain the yoghurt even longer (36 hours or so), until quite dry. Form the resulting thick mixture into small balls. They can be served plain, or rolled in paprika, red pepper, dried mint or other herbs/spices. They can be drizzled with olive oil and served, or even stored in a glass jar in olive oil in the refrigerator.
