Paneer: From Milk to the cheese

I am deviating from my South Indian origin and recipes due to a major request from a dear follower who wanted to know about Paneer dishes as it is his absolute favourite. So I thought why not have a mix of recipes here on the blog since I have my roots from the South and married into the North. So let's start by giving some information just the basics on how to make the Paneer itself from milk.

Paneer is available at any supermarket, but homemade paneer adds a freshness to curries and other Indian dishes and also the process is quite simple. I remember doing this with my mom when I was a kid.

Paneer is an Indian cheese variant which is very similar to a dense ricotta cheese. The cottage cheese (Paneer) is a hung cheese, which is pressed into blocks and then cut into cubes to be used in curries and other recipes. As it doesn't melt, can be used to stuff into breads, even grilled or barbecued. You can also use it in place of tofu if you are looking for variety in dishes and taste.

The results of making paneer at home gives you the freshest, tastiest and soft paneer which can be used for any recipe. This simple process has to just be timed precisely. There are various methods which can be used one of them is using milk and lemon juice, but the process which yields the highest quantity is when milk and plain yogurt is used.The process is to just boil the milk and add the yogurt, watch it curdle, and strain the curds out by hanging them and later pressing them down.

Items needed are:

6 cups of whole milk, 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

Supplies needed are:

1 Colander or strainer, Few Cheesecloth, 1 Kitchen twine, A very large heavy pot

The process is simple, just follow this process and see for yourself.

The first thing to do is to find a suitable place, probably just above the kitchen sink where you can place the colander lined with few layers of cheese cloth. Then in a large pot bring the milk to boil over medium to high heat. Don't let it froth over, so use a large pot. Stir continuously while bringing the milk to boil to avoid the bottom from burning. Just in case the milk is a little burnt, you can still save the paneer by transferring the milk to another pot. As soon as the milk starts to boil, stir in the yogurt to the pot and stir gently. This causes the fuming milk to break into soft fluffy clouds in a clear greenish liquid which is called the whey. Switch the gas off and carefully pour the contents into the cheesecloth lined strainer, which strains the curd from the whey. Now leave it to sit and cool down. When good to handle, pull together the edges of cheesecloth thereby squeezing the excess liquid out, forming a ball. To further remove whey, squeeze the top of the cheesecloth and then tie it with twine and hang it from the sink faucet for half hour to further drain out the whey. Now, we are close to finishing the process. Place the hung ball inside a large saucepan and place a smaller pan with a heavy object in it over the top of the cheese for the next 30 minutes. This ensures to increase the firmness and forms a nice block of cheese which can be cut into cubes. Finally, carefully unwrap the cheesecloth to avoid crumbling the perfectly formed paneer unless the recipe it is to be used for demands crumbling (Bread, salads or pizza). Cut the paneer into perfect cubes and store in the fridge in a sealed container until required. The shelf life is a maximum of 3 to 4 days in the fridge but can be kept frozen to increase shelf life to several months.

Now guys, give it a try when you find time on your hands, as this not only tasty but rewarding.