How to Make Paneer
Paneer is a kind of
Indian fresh, unripened cheese. It is quite crumbly and delicate and so is often fried and lightly browned before it is
cooked. It is a good idea to do this in a well-seasoned
cast-iron or nonstick pan, as the cheese tends to stick a bit.
There are some dishes where the cheese is not fried at all. Somewhat
like
tofu, fresh paneer has very little taste of its own. It
does have texture, and lots of
protein. The taste comes from the
flavours of the foods with which it is cooked. It is frequently cooked with with spinach {
Saag Paneer). It can also be crumbled
and added to grated vegetables which can then be rolled into balls and deep-fried.. It
can be crumbled, layered with partially cooked
rice, and baked.
What You Need
1 quart whole milk
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
What Now?
Bring the milk to boil. As soon as it begins to bubble, put in
the lemon juice, stir once, and take the pot off the heat. Leave it alone for around 15 minutes. The milk will curdle and the curds will separate
from the whey.
Strain the curds through 3 layers of cheesecloth. Squeeze out as
much whey as you can easily (do not discard the whey, refridgerate it
and use for cooking instead of water). Tie the curds
in the cheesecloth, using twine to make a small, round bundle.
Use sufficient twine, as you now need to hang up this bundle
somewhere to drip overnight (hanging it on the tap over the sink works well).
Next morning, remove the hanging bundle and untie it. Gently
flatten it out to make a 4 inch (10 cm) patty, keeping the cheese
loosely wrapped in the cheesecloth. Put the patty on a sturdy plate and place a very heavy object on
top of it. Perhaps a heavy pot filled with water. Or a stack of unread manuals from software. Leave the weight on the cheese for 4 to 5 hours. After the cheese
has been pressed, you could cut into diamonds or rectangles
with a very sharp knife, about 1 inches/2 1/2 cm long each.