Homemade Paneer.

When I posted the recipe of Matar Paneer, which is one of the hit recipes of my blog, I wrote to my readers that I will post this recipe of Homemade Paneer soon, though it happened now only.

Paneer is also known as Indian cheese or Cottage Cheese. Many arguments go around the world about paneer and cottage cheese. It is all about whether it is different or both are one and the same. There are similarities and differences in both. Paneer is made by adding any acidic agent like lemon juice, vinegar or curd, squeezing it after pouring the split milk in a linen cloth, keeping a heavy object over it for 2 or 3 hours. The whey we collect can be used for adding in some Indian curries.

But Cottage cheese is also similarly made except that the split milk is not pressed, but hung for 15 to 20 minutes to drain. So the cottage cheese is not completely whey free, a small percentage of whey remains in the cheese. The texture would be crumbled. Both are different in taste, usage and texture. Paneer is more like tofu in texture, holds its shape, whereas cottage cheese does not. Paneer is used in many Indian curries, but cottage cheese is taken as it is, rather than cooked. Thought OF writing little about it as many have doubt in it. Anyway, today’s topic is not cottage cheese. So just leaving it here.. 

It is always advisable to make instant Paneer at home, rather than buying expensive paneer from shops, which also may not be fresh, and months or years old. They use preservatives and which is made of all-purpose flour and some chemicals to preserve it. So why should we go for such paneer, if it is quite simple, quick and easy to make the best quality paneer at home. Homemade Paneer is way better than the store bought Paneer.

Personally speaking, I am a big fan of Paneer and Reji is not so. When we go to restaurants Reji orders for Paneer dish for me only. I love its creamy, spongy texture. Flavoured with Indian masalas, it tastes superb.

Making Paneer at home is quite easy by giving attention to few tricks to get the super duper Paneer Cubes. As usual, I will be adding some tips to keep in mind when you make Paneer.

There are a lot of Indian Paneer dishes. I have added Shahi Paneer and Matar Paneer in this blog.

I have added long back Matar Paneer and Shahi Paneer .

Almost all Indian breads like roti, kulcha, paratha, naan and rice dishes like pulao go well with this Paneer Curries. Paneer recipes can be served for any get together parties. You can check out super-duper side dishes for Chappathi and Roti from seenasfoodbasket by clicking Click Here.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Setting Time: 2 hours (min. 30 minutes)
Recipe Type – Diary
Serves: 1 small cake size

Ingredients for Homemade Paneer:

Full Cream Milk – 2 litre
Lemon Juice – ¼ cup

How to Make Paneer at Home:

Place a muslin cloth or a cotton towel in a colander. Place this colander over a large pan or bowl. Keep it aside.

Take milk in a big heavy bottom pan or a non-stick pan. Bring it to boil on high flame by stirring it continuously. When it comes to boil, remove from the stove and add lemon juice slowly. Keep in stirring ti slowly and continuously. Now you will see the milk crumbles and milk solids are separating from its whey. Pour this curdled milk in to a colander. Tie the cloth very tightly and squeeze out as much whey as possible. Place some heavy object on top of it. I used a 3 litre pressure cooker to do the job. Let it rest there minimum for 2 hours. People sometimes just keep it for about 20 to 30 minutes. But I suggest, keep it more time to get firm pieces.

After the said time, remove the cheese from the cloth and cut into desired shapes or into cubes.

My Recipe Notes and Tips on Homemade Paneer:

1. Always use fresh whole milk to get good quality Paneer.
2. When the milk comes to boil, immediately add the curdling agent, weather, lemon juice, vinegar or curd, whatever you are going to use. And don’t stir it quickly, but stir it slowly till the milk curdles. If it’s not curdling, add little more curdling agent. But, it is advisable not to use more than the said amount of lemon juice, as it gives a bitter taste to your Paneer. If you don’t like lemon juice or vinegar, you can use sour curd.
3. Keep the Paneer to set minimum for two hours, or else you won’t get the firm Paneer cubes.
4. It says, for setting the Paneer, 1 kg weight is ideal for 1 litre milk. But here I kept a 3 litre pressure cooker, but still I got perfect Paneer.
5. Muslin cloth is the ideal cloth for draining out the whey. I have used a cotton towel for this purpose. It also works fine. You can use any thin cotton cloth.
6. Adding little salt to the Paneer before keeping the weight over it will produce little salty Paneer. So such Paneer enhances the taste while used in Indian curries. It is a tip given by one of my North Indian friends.
7. Store the Paneer you made in fresh water in an air tight container. It stays fresh for 1 week. If you are not going to use it in the near future, keep it in the freezer.
8. Don’t throw away the whey you collected as it is nutritional. It can be used for adding in some Indian curries.
9. I know some people rinse Paneer under running water to remove the smell of acidic agent used. But I strongly recommend not going for that as it will break while cooking.

3.

You can make varietiy of Paneer gravy and dry recipes with these Homemade Paneer Cubes.

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Happy Cooking..

Cheers..

Seenas Food Basket.
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Try out this and let us know what you think.. We love to see your creations. So, when you try out this recipe, take a picture and email it to seenasfoodbasket@gmail.com.