Make paneer at home

[Anju]

I used to make paneer in India, by following these steps:
curdle milk
drain whey
let the curd cool
compress curd
These are the steps you will find if you google for it.

But recently a friend of mine who visited me pointed out that I was doing it the wrong way. She comes from a family who are in the business of sweets. I learned a few tricks of the trade from her, and it works.

So here is how I make it now:

You need: For 150- 200 gram paneer

1 litre lait entier (full fat milk, at least 3-5 % MG or fat)- if possible unpasturized (frais)
1 green lemon per litre approximately- may need more
I use the oblong green lemons - the ones with nice flavor- what we call gandharaj lebu in Bangla


Keep ready:
a metallic vessel with flat broad bottom (I use a square aluminium baking tray)
a clean thin cotton cloth- the size of a bandana or large kerchief (i use a piece of an old cotton sari)
I keep the cloth ready on the large square baking tray with the sides and edges of the cloth outside the tray.

a bowl of water in the fridge


Process:
Heat the milk in a saucepan till it is boiling.
Lower the heat, add the juice of one lemon. The milk should curdle up completely- there is a lump of curd that has separated out, and the remaining whey is greenish and really watery. If it is whitish and the curd looks fine and like a suspension, then add more juice.

Then carefully pour the contents of the pan on to the cloth, and pick up the cloth by catching the edges off the tray, most of the water will get drained out into the tray.

I hold the cloth with the curd in my left hand (or keep it on a plate), while I empty the whey into the sink, and turn the tray over and place it in the sink.

Place the cloth with curd on the tray, and open the cloth. Now fold the cloth tightly but neatly, one side at a time, so as to make a rectangular package, with the folded flaps neatly thrown over each other- that way the paneer will have smooth sides. If necessary, use a palta to flatten the 4 sides.

Speed is essential. There is no need to cool the curd first, the quicker you go through all these steps, the smoother and softer the paneer will be.

It is really easy and simple, but you have to keep everything ready, so that you dont search or fumble in the middle.


For weight I use
first a vegetable cutting board for making it flat, on top of which I balance a big box of dals and anything heavy I can find, I put on top of this stack- books etc! The larger the weight, the better.

So the moment you finish folding the cloth, place the weight over it and dont disturb it till it is done.
I do not keep it compressed for more than 1.5 to 2 hours, after which I take out the paneer from the cloth, place it on a flat dish, cut it into pieces very carefully and gently place the pieces in the chilled fridge water bowl. Keep it in fridge for a few hours or till when you plan to use it (within next 2 days).

You can save some or all of the whey; it can be used to make your next batch of paneer, but I don't find it a great success, and I dont like to use the space in my fridge. But it is said, that it produces more tender paneer.


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ANJU

[Medusa]

Thank you so much for that recipe Anju!

I've never been able to make paneer and have craved a good paneer butter masala many times!
that's great i'll try that out this weekend for sure and let you know if I manage to do it correctly or not.

yum yum I am hungry now!

[Anju]

You are welcome Medusa! Do let me know if it turns out well!
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ANJU

[meneaja]

paneer is really better with a raw milk full of fat from a farm

[Mathura]

Thanks for the great recipe :) I am going to try it out soon!

[Nishaan]