Home made paneer cheese

[battybird]

I have made some paneer!!! Never done it before, planned to but did not get round to it! However the OH left 3litres milk out bof the fridge (denies it of course, but I was not around yesterday) and it has all curdled. cant abide waste so ...here goes! its being pressed at the moment. Fingers crossed, and I can make sag paneer tomorrow!

[pitwipe]

Can you post the steps/recipe for this? I'd be interested to see how it's done! :)

[battybird]

1 litre milk
2 tablespoons lbemon juice
2 cups cold water

heat milk in a pan stirring ocasionally; boil then imediately reduce to simmer, stir in lemon juice till curds form. Remove from heat and add water gently. Strain curds through muslin (or j-cloth if you are a cheapskate like me!! or washed leg of tights!! ) Rinse in running cold water until clear. Gather up corners of muslin and tie together. Squeeze gently to remove as much liquid as possible. Hang muslin wrapped cheese for an hour then press under a heavy weight (2 large tins of tuna and a tin of baked beans!) for a further hour. Remove muslin.
Additions can be made to curd before hanging; herbs extra pepper, chilli or whatever really. I plan to use it very plain for paneer.

Its now firmish but a bit bland!
Oh and if, like me, you already have milk that is turned...I reduced lemon to 1 tabspoon. Formed a curd as soon as I heated it! Does anyone know if the lemon is needed in this circumstance??

[pitwipe]

This sounds pretty easy, I'm gonna give it a go :)

Thanks for the info!

[grahamhobbs]

Should /could you add salt to the curds to improve flavour?

[battybird]

Hi yes i think that would be an idea, also garlic depending on what you are doing with it afterwards! Just eaten it crumbled over roasted corgettes, carrots and beetroot..yummy. did add seasoning though!

[Shirleymouse]

I love paneer! Especially with spinach curry, it is nice if you shallow fry it first. You can also use it to make a kind of veggie version of tandoori chicken, just marinate in spices (or tikka paste) and natural yoghurt then bake! Enjoy!

[nogginthenog]

Mozzarella is made in a very similar way. Chop it up and server with basil & tomato!

[battybird]

How is the mozzarella kept so soft? I found the paneer fairly dry? Do you add more water? I am impressed that you have buffaloes there

[enilorac]

Oh and if, like me, you already have milk that is turned...I reduced lemon to 1 tabspoon. Formed a curd as soon as I heated it! Does anyone know if the lemon is needed in this circumstance??

never made paneer but i have made cream cheese with raw milk and you don't need to add anything to it or heat it (heating it would destroy the beneficial enzymes & bacteria).
just put it in a glass container and leave it at room temp for a few days until curds form. then strain it thru some muslin or a bit of cloth. voila! easy peasy, virtually no effort required at all (other than shlepping the milk from the farmers market in my trusty shopping trolley).
i add some salt, black pepper, herbs or garlic or whatever - its a bit like ricotta ... nice on pizza

btw, don't throw away the whey - you can use it to make sauerkraut or other fermented veg. it keeps in the fridge for months!