Paneer is a cheese produced in the Indian subcontinent that is commonly used in many Indian folk recipes. In addition to being good and healthy, it is very easy to produce even at home and, since it does not require the use of animal rennet, it is also suitable for vegetarians.
Ingrediants
- 1 liter of whole cow's milk
- 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice (you can substitute lemon juice with any other acid such as lime juice, vinegar or whey derived from a previous paneer curd)
Steps
Step 1. Bring the milk to the right temperature
Heat it and help yourself with a cooking thermometer to reach a temperature of about 80 °, then remove it from the heat.
Step 2. Add the lemon juice, one tablespoon at a time
Keep stirring until the whey has separated from the solid part of the curd.
Step 3. Let the curd cool for about 30 minutes so you can work it without burning yourself
With the help of a clean, chemically untreated fabric and a sieve, separate the solid part from the whey. Rinse the rennet with cold water. Save some whey if you want to use it the next time you make the paneer this way you'll get a softer cheese texture than when using lemon juice.
Step 4. Wrap the cheese in the fabric and squeeze it well to extract all the whey
The more you squeeze it, the harder your Paneer will be.
Step 5. Give the cheese a brick-like shape and wrap it tightly in the fabric
Place a heavy cutting board, or something, on top of the cheese that can keep it well pressed so as to be able to extract as much whey as possible and then be able to slice it easily, or even fry it. To give it a rectangular shape, help yourself with a box and keep it pressed with books. Remember that the more you press it, the more compact the final result will be. Also adjust according to the use you want to make of it, for example, if you want to prepare the cheese naan bread, know that you will have to use very soft paneer.
Step 6. Soak the paneer in cold water for 2-3 hours
This step is optional and is used to improve the appearance and texture of the cheese.
Step 7. The Paneer is ready, you can use it immediately in your preparations
Advice
- The soft version of Paneer can replace ricotta in many, but not all, recipes.
- You will need to add more than a tablespoon of lemon juice before the milk splits into rennet and whey.
- The final flavor of the Paneer depends exclusively on the fat contained in the milk. The higher the percentage of fat, the more flavor your cheese will have.
- If you don't have a food-safe fabric bag, use any chemically untreated natural fabric cloth.
- An old t-shirt, clean and without any written or printed images, will do just fine as a substitute for a food-grade fabric bag.
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Image Paneer Utensil There are kitchen accessories on sale that are created exclusively for making Paneer.
Warnings
- Do not use old, expired or spoiled milk to make Paneer.
- Skimmed or low-fat milk is not suitable for this preparation.
- Keep stirring as you heat the milk and keep the temperature under control to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan or burning.
- If the curdling process does not begin, continue boiling and stirring the milk.
