How to Make Paneer at Home (Cheese)
Once of the simplest things to make is cheese. All you need is two ingredients! Paneer is a type of Indian cheese that is popular throughout many versatile dishes. Here’s how to make paneer at home (cheese).
IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND:
- You must use whole milk! This won’t work if you opt for 2% or non-fat milk as the point of the recipe is to separate the curd from the whey.
- Use more milk that you would normally drink. When you make paneer at home, you will find that you’ll be left with a small amount of cheese despite using a good volume of milk. Therefore, you’ll need to go heavy on the dairy!
- The type of curdling agent you use is up to you, but lemon juice is the best as it is easy to find and cheap as well. If you don’t have lemon juice, you can opt for white vinegar or even cider vinegar.
Cheesecloth:
When you make paneer at home, it is important to use a fine mesh cheesecloth that will help you strain extra liquid from the cheese and shape it. If may not be widely available in your average grocery store but luckily, you can find a cheap cheesecloth on Amazon.
How to make paneer at home (cheese)
Ingredients
- 1 gallon Whole milk
- ¼ cup Lemon juice *or white vinegar
Instructions
- Pour the entire gallon of milk into a deep saucepan/pot and turn on the stove to high.
- Bring to a boil and then pour in the lemon juice.
- Reduce the heat to medium and then stir until the milk starts to curdle.
- Next strain the mixture through a cheese cloth lining a deep bowl or a sieve.
- Fold the cheese cloth over the curdles and press down to release any extra moisture.
- Add canned goods or anything that weighs a lot and press down on the cheese cloth for about 15-20 minutes.
- Once the cheese is set, remove from the cheese cloth and set aside in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
Click to view other vegetarian recipes.