Paneer cheese is a staple food of the Indian subcontinent for hundreds of years where it is made fresh daily. Here in the United States, when cooking with paneer it is fairly common to purchase it pre-made from the store but now that I know how easy (and DELICIOUS!) it is to make from scratch at home, I will never get store-bought again. In fact, not only was it easy, it was also very interesting and pretty fun!
I was first introduced to paneer cheese when my boyfriend, Russell, ordered it in his tikka masala years ago when we were on a date at an Indian restaurant – I have loved it since. Now, not only do I order it frequently myself but also use it at home when cooking fairly often. That being said, the day I knew I was going to be making this recipe, I was DREADING it. I had done my research but cheese of any kind was just something I felt was better left to the professionals to make and for me to buy pre-packaged. In my head there was no way it was going to be as easy as I had read it was – boy, was I wrong and I am happy I gave it a shot. That night I recruited Russell to help me with my project and we actually had a great time and learned a lot!
Considering paneer is made fresh daily, I knew it wasn’t a cheese that required aging but until I researched it I had no idea how versatile it could be! In short, there are only 3 ingredients required to make paneer: milk, salt and an acid. The acid chosen – depending on the actual acidity – is going to have a considerable effect on the outcome of the cheese. For example, 3 common acids used when making paneer are yogurt, lemon juice or vinegar. Yogurt with its low acidity will produce a softer cheese comparable to a cottage or ricotta cheese. Lemon juice produces a cheese that is quite a bit denser than that made with the yogurt. Lastly, vinegar, as I understand it, will produce a harder more resilient cheese which is what we commonly see at Indian restaurants. There is a huge amount of information available on the differing kinds of paneer you can make from just manipulating the smallest of ingredient, time or temperature. If you have an interest on reading up, this is a fantastic resource from the International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications. When making my paneer I had plans to use it in my authentic Indian Saag recipe so I knew that I wanted a more dense cheese so I decided I would try to make it two different ways – once with the lemon juice and another with vinegar.
CHOOSING YOUR INGREDIENTS
Milk: Paneer is generally made with a milk with very high fat-content, such as buffalo milk; however, it can be made with whole cow’s milk as well. No matter how many stores I went to, I just couldn’t find buffalo milk so I ended up buying the best whole cow’s milk I could find. I found a local brand that I had never seen before in my local Harris Teeter grocery store called Homestead Creamery. Honestly, the glass milk bottle got me – I am a real sucker for a good glass milk bottle – but I am so happy I tried it. It was honestly the best milk I had ever tried. I am not sure how widespread their reach is, but if you live in the Virginia area, I highly recommend picking up a bottle. It just tastes…real. If you would like to learn more about what Homestead Creamery has to offer, you can do so by clicking here 🙂
Salt: I personally used Himalayan Pink Salt in this recipe. In my research I found out that preferences vary as far as the salt content of paneer is concerned. Some prefer about a Tablespoon of salt per 6 Cups of milk while others prefer no salt at all so you are definitely making it for your particular taste. My only regret at the end of this recipe was that I didn’t use a little more salt in mine. I ended up using 1/2 Tablespoon of salt in 8 Cups of milk. When I do this again in the future I will do 1 Tablespoon of salt in 8 Cups of Milk.
Acid: Whatever acid is used you will want it to be fresh and of good quality. Rather than using package lemon juice, you will want to juice a real lemon and then strain it of any seeds or pulp. As for vinegar, I used white distilled vinegar but have read that apple cider vinegar can also be used. Choose your acid based on the density you would like your paneer to be rather than the taste of the acid itself. After the acid is added to the milk, the curds will then be strained and rinsed with cold water to remove an of the residual taste from the acid.
Tool for Straining: For straining purposes I would either use cheese cloth or muslin cloth. I personally used cheese cloth but where it is so porous I folded it several times and then put it over a fine metal strainer so I wasn’t losing any of the curds. Muslin is far less porous so using that MAY remove the need to fold it before straining the curds.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PANEER
The absolute first thing you will want to do while making paneer is get your cooking station ready. Once you start, it is a very quick process and taking too long to complete any one step COULD result in a cheese that does not compact well or gets a bit grainy. To get ready, pre-portion your acid and set aside. If you are using lemon juice, don’t forget to strain the juice of any seeds or pulp. You will also want to get your straining area ready by aligning some muslin or folded cheese-cloth over a fine mesh strainer and setting aside.
Next, in a soup pot (if you have non-stick, I found it useful), you will want to bring 8 cups of milk to a boil on medium heat. Stir this constantly as the milk, especially when it has higher fat content, tends to stick to the bottom of the pot. I literally never stopped stirring.
Just as soon as the milk comes to a boil, remove the pot from the hot burner. This part can be a little tricky if you are not prepared so you will want to have your acid ready to go. While still stirring the milk, add your acid. Continue stirring very slowly for about a minute and you will see the curds separate from the whey. If you see a thin yellow-green liquid don’t let it scare you – this is EXACTLY what you want!!
Once completely separated (about a minute), pour the whole mixture slowly though your cheesecloth (or muslin) and fine mesh strainer. All of the whey will drain out through the strainer and will leave curds which at this point are ABOUT the texture and consistency of good cottage cheese. You will run some cold water over your curds to release them of whatever acidy taste may have lingered after the whey was drained. Now you can either eat it as is for a nice, soft paneer; or, you can continue for a much firmer outcome 🙂
For a firmer texture you will want to release the curds of as much liquid as possible. I found it very helpful to use the cheese cloth to form it into a ball and then press it at different angles against the inside of the strainer forcing the liquids out through the holes. Next you will want to twist the cloth to form tightly against the cheese and hang it from your kitchen sink so it can drain completely. This will take about 30-45 minutes.
Place the cheese (still wrapped in cloth) on a plate with another weighted plate on top and then refrigerate for about 45 minutes (for up to 3 days!). This will squeeze any last bit of water out while giving it the firmest texture possible and providing a great shape for either slicing or dicing your fresh cheese.
You did it!!! No you can enjoy your fresh HOMEMADE paneer in countless ways: sandwiches, on toast, in salads, stir fry, curry. If you are looking for an authentic and delicious Indian dinner try it in my Saag Paneer with a side of Saffron Rice.
Happy Travels!! – Kimberly Savage
INGREDIENTS/MATERIALS
- 8 Cups Buffalo Milk or Whole Cow’s Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- Acid of Choice (amounts may vary but begin with 2 Tablespoons Distilled White Vinegar, 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice OR 4 Tablespoons Yogurt).
- NOTE: Never use more than one kind of acid when making your paneer. Choose an acid depending on the firmness desired and explained above.
- Cheese Cloth or Muslin
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Non-Stick Soup Pot
INSTRUCTIONS
- Bring milk and salt to a boil in the soup pot on medium heat stirring constantly to avoid burning. Remove from heat.
- Add acid of choice and continue to stir very slowly for another minute. You will see the curds separate from the greenish-yellow whey.
- Pour the liquid through the cheese cloth or muslin lined strainer and strain whey from the curds. One strained, rinse curds with cold water to release them of any residual flavor from the acid.
- Form into a ball in the cloth and press firmly to release as much water as possible. To continue draining, tie the ball in a tight knot to your faucet and leave over the sink for about 30-45 minutes.
- Remove from the faucet and put the cloth wrapped ball onto a plate. Put another plate on top of the ball with something heavy on top (I used a heavy can of beans). Let refrigerate for another 45 minutes or up to 3 days!
At Home World Traveler 