How to make paneer at home

Paneer is a fresh cheese made from whole milk in the Indian subcontinent and can be closely compared to cottage cheese in texture. It is made by curdling milk with an acid, commonly lemon or vinegar, set in muslin cloth and can be used in a variety of dishes. Some of my favorites being saag paneer, paneer tikka masala and tandoori paneer. It’s a good source of protein and is so versatile because it soaks of spices and flavors so easily. Additionally, I also like adding it in salads and sandwiches.

I happened over making paneer at home totally by accident the other day. I usually buy it because who has the time to make it at home! I’ve always seen my mother and grandmother make it at home, especially the Bengali version “chhaana” which is sweetened with sugar. But I needed some paneer at once for a recipe I was making and it turned out so well that it ended up on my blog. Read on to find out how to make your own paneer.

Yield	2 servings
Prep time	0 h	0 mins
Cook time	0 h	40 mins
Total time	0 h	40 mins

Ingredients to make paneer at home

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• 1 liter whole milk
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (roughly half a lemon)
• 1 tsp salt (can be adjusted as per taste)
• 2 cups of water

Miscellaneous

• Clean muslin cloth or tea towel.

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Directions

Start by boiling your milk at high heat with constant stirring so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Once the milk starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium and add the lemon juice and continue to stir.

The milk will slowly curdle and water will start to separate out. Once that happens, drain it all over a muslin cloth spread on a colander over the sink or a bowl to collect the water underneath to avoid creating a mess in the kitchen.

Squeeze the cloth tight to get rid of all the water, wash the curdled pieces with water to wash off the sourness of lemon and squeeze again. At this point add the salt and mix well.

Fold the muslin cloth into a tight rectangle or circle and place a heavy pan on top of it to give the paneer some shape. Keep the set up like so for at least 20 minutes.

Remove the weights, open the muslin cloth and cut your paneer into cubes of desired size and it will be ready to use.

Watch a video to better understand and recreate the process of making paneer at home :

Here are some paneer recipes for you:

1. https://www.instagram.com/p/CXtMYtqrk3v/
2. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBMWzGylfg-/
3. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2kL5KjAb7/