How to make Paneer cheese at home ~ Mariella

Paneer is a non-aged, ‘acid-set’, non-melting 'curd cheese' made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or vinegar. I know that doesn't sound tantalizing but believe me, its delicious! Its subtle, delicate flavours and texture add magic to any Indian meal. The bonus is that it is so easy and fun to make at home and you can be sure of what’s in it!

Here’s a how to. Acquiring raw, full cream milk will obviously make the best quality paneer, but any free range full cream milk will do. Purchase juicy looking lemons.

Step 1

Boil the milk. Make sure you boil it in a pot with ample space above the milk for it to bowl for a little while without bubbling over. Stir occasionally.

Step 2

Squeeze lemon juice in a lemon squeezer. I find about 1.5 lemons per litre of milk does the trick. Once the milk has started boiling pour the lemon juice in and watch the milk separate. It will separate into cheese and whey. The whey should look like yellow water, if it’s still white and milky; add the juice of one more lemon.

Step 3

Take the pot of the heat. Lay a muslin cloth or cheese cloth in a colander in the sink and pour the cheese and whey through the colander. Whey is high in protein and great to use in soup, sauces, and curries. Rice or millet cooked in whey is divine! If you’d like to keep the whey, place the colander in a pot and then pour. Set the pot aside to cool.

I find the whey from paneer making is better in savoury dishes than sweet dishes but have a taste and decide for yourself!

Thanks to fxcuisine.com for this pretty image

Step 4

Give the whey a chance to drain out and help it along by stirring through the paneer with a thick wooden spoon. Once you can see that the whey has drained out sufficiently, mix in some salt. Now close the cloth up with a knot and leave in the colander. Place a heavy weight on top. I generally find the empty pot filled with water does the trick. I put that on top with a clean steel bowl in between the cloth and the pot.

Step 5

After about 3 hrs lift the weight off the paneer and turn it out of the cloth. It should be hard and firm and ready to use in a curry dish or just fried in some coconut oil and added to salad or even served with eggs for breakfast.

It doesn’t melt at all so it’s perfect for sauces. I’ll be posting an easy recipe with paneer shortly so watch this space!