Cooking with fresh paneer
Why farm paneer behaves differently from a packet, and how to keep it soft in a curry.
Your first Sunday visit to the farm
What happens between 7 and 10 am, what to wear, and how to get to Kalawad Road.
Every Sunday from 7 to 10 am the farm is open to anyone who sends us a message the day before. It is free. Most visitors are families from Rajkot, but we have had school groups and people driving in from Ahmedabad.
The farm is 11 km from Kotecha Chowk on Kalawad Road, past Vajdi Virda. Look for the gate with the neem tree beside it. Parking is on the gravel inside. Wear closed shoes, because the yard can be muddy, and clothes you do not mind smelling of cows.
You will start in the shed, where the cows are being fed after the morning milking. Children can stroke the calves if the mothers are calm. Then you will see the churning room, where the curd is turned into makhan, and the kitchen, where the ghee cooks over the wood fire in an iron kadai.
We end under the neem tree with chaas and thepla made by Shardaben. You can buy ghee and pedas from a small table there, but nobody will ask you to. Please do not bring dogs or play music, as the cows startle easily. If it rains heavily on a Sunday, we cancel and send a message by 6 am.
