Homemade Paneer
I haven’t attempted making paneer at home in a very long time. I believe the last time I did we were drinking 2% milk and it just didn’t turn out so great. It wasn’t nearly enough for the amount of milk I had used and more so, it came out very crumbly which I found difficult to use for any punjabi shaak except a bhurji type. Fortunately, this time we had some yummy whole organic milk about to expire (maybe it was a few days past – oops) which I used for our homemade paneer. Making Paneer at home is so easy it just takes a little bit of trial & error and patience.
Homemade Paneer
2015-10-05 22:19:49
This is a technique collected from a few recipes I looked up online. I loved how beautifully it molded, kept shape and yet was soft enough to eat.
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 min
Ingredients
- Whole Milk (3/4th gallon)
- Lime or Lemon Juice (juice from about 1) or Yogurt (couple spoons full)
Instructions
- Boil milk until it rises, keep mixing so it doesn't create a malai at the top
- Add in lime or lemon juice once milk rises (I actually used a little bit of lime juice & a few spoons of yogurt)
- Mix and turn off stove once you add the lime, lemon and/or yogurt
- The milk will start to start to curdle which creates little lumps and a thin liquid layer will separate (this is a good thing)
- You can continue to mix this or just let it sit for about 10 minutes
- Set up a colander with a thin cloth in it (I used a thin dish towel)
- Once you have a good quantity of little lumps (aka what will be the paneer), pour it through the cloth so the water strains out
- Close the cloth and squeeze out any excess water, and keep it wrapped tightly & closed in the colander
- Put something heavy on the closed cloth to further drain out any liquid (this is when you want to mold it into a shape if you prefer)
- Check it after about 30 minutes, it should be molded and ready to cut into whatever shape you want it (I did cubes).
Notes
- Use whole milk anything less makes it hard to mold or very crumbly.
- Once you add the lime, lemon juice or yogurt, if the milk doesn't start to curdle or the liquid doesn't separate soon after (a couple minutes), then add more lime juice, lemon juice or yogurt.
- You can use any of the 3 acidic ingredients to make your paneer. I used a combination of lime juice and yogurt because I was getting impatient
- If you are using a thin dish towel to strain the water, there is a HIGH chance your cloth color & pattern may seep onto the paneer, be prepared for that or use a thinner cloth type.
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