Homemade Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese)

- Submitted by Dahlia

(How to make paneer at home?, Indian Cheese, Paneer Preperation At Home)

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One day all of a sudden, my neighbour aunty had to go to her native place. She dumped all her milk packets in my refrigerator. I didn’t have enough space to keep my own packets and was wondering what to do with all the packets that aunty had given me. Suddenly an idea flashed into my mind. Its none other than making paneer at home.

Paneer is the Indian cheese made by curdling hot and boiling milk with lemon juice. Once the milk is curdled, the curds is separated from the whey using a muslin cloth. It is then pressed and cut into cubes and used in many many exotic Indian dishes. Paneer is very rich and delicious which can be used to make many gravies.

I called up one my North Indian friend for getting her Paneer recipe. She makes it regularly at home for her family. She never prefers the preserved and branded ones from the departmental stores. She shared her healthy Paneer recipe with all her tips. Making paneer at home wass unbelievably simple. All that is needed is milk, lemon and a nice piece of cloth. Here comes the recipe that I followed.

Recipe For Making Paneer At Home

Preparation Time : 30 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
Serves : 4

Ingredients

• Milk - 1 liter
• Lime - 1

Method

1. Bring the milk to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer.
2. Add the juice of one fresh lime into the milk.
3. Keep stirring as the milk curdles and separates into curds called paneer and a thin liquid called whey.
4. Place a thin white cloth(or muslin cloth) over another vessel and pour this mixture through it to filter out the paneer.
5. Now tie and hang the cloth with the paneer inside so that all the whey drains off (for 10-20 min).
6. Place the paneer on a flat surface and place a heavy object(jug of water/box) on top so as to flatten it out.
7. Let it stay this way for at least half an hour or 1 hour.
8. Next, open the cloth and cut paneer into cubes.

Tips

• The whey is rich in nutrients and can be added to any gravies.

Detailed Steps

Boil the milk and curdle by adding some lemon juice

Drain the cheena in a cheese cloth

Let all the moisture dry.

Cut into cubes.

More Paneer Recipes

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