Homemade Paneer

Call it Paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese! I love it… in curries/gravies, breads, rice or even in starters :) But the prices are too high in Indian stores around… So I usually make it at home only. Not only for the price factor, I find it more fresh & soft too. Why don’t you give it a try? All you need is just milk, lemon juice and a piece of cheese-cloth… :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 ltr Milk
2-3 tsp Lemon Juice

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Heat milk in a heavy-bottomed pan on low flame.
2. Once its boiling, add lemon juice and turn off the heat.
3. Leave it untouched for 15 mins or until it gets curdled completely.
4. Transfer it to a cheesecloth and drain the whey.
5. Make a tight bag out of this cheesecloth and hand it to the sink tap.
6. After approx 1.5 hrs, place it on a flat surface and put a heavy weight onto it.
7. And let is set for about 1-2 hours again.
8. You can use it instantly by cutting into cubes or it can be stored upto 2 days in refrigerator.

SJ’s NOTE:

• Use the whey in kneading dough or making soups. It works great :)
• You can use vinegar instead of lemon juice here! I’m allergic to it so I prefer lemon juice always!!!
• In pics, I made that with 500 ml of milk only as I already made a big batch and forgot to click pics that time :P