May 10, 2010

Homemade Paneer

This is the first time I made paneer at home. I have always used store bought paneer for my paneer dishes. I had some milk leftover and I had to finish it soon before the expiry date. I ventured making paneer and I found that it is so easy to make paneer and I will never return to the store bought ones again. It needs no special skills to make paneer. I got a block of soft and tender paneer from half a gallon of whole milk. I plan to try it with reduced fat milk sometime again.
Paneer can be used in make a variety of delicious curries, parathas and several Indian sweets.

Ingredients
Whole milk - 1/2 gallon or 2 litres
Vinegar/lemon juice - 2 tablespoon

Directions
In a heavy bottomed vessel, take the milk and bring it to a boil. Keep stirring in between, because the milk tends to stick to the bottom of the vessel.

Once the milk boils, reduce the heat and slowly add the vinegar or lemon juice to the boiled milk.

After a minute or two, the milk separates into the whey and paneer and forms a cloudy texture on top. Keep stirring occasionally. In about five minutes, the milk should be completely seperated into whey and paneer. Switch off the heat and leave it to sit for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Place a wet muslin cloth/ thin,clean cotton handkerchief/ thick paper cloth over a big bowl.
Slowly pour the whey-paneer mixture and strain the paneer. Take care because it should be really hot.
Squeeze out the excess water from the paneer. Store the whey and use it for kneading chapati dough, in soups and stews because it is very healthy. You could refrigerate/freeze it and use later.
Make a knot in the cloth with the paneer and hang it for about an hour so that the whey water completely strains out. Alternatively you could place the cloth wrapped paneer in a plate and place some heavy object on top for about an hour so that the water gets squeezed out.
Paneer is ready. You can slice the paneer and use it in various dishes. Refrigerate the paneer immediately.
Storing paneer:
Place the paneer in a container filled with water if refrigerated. it should be stored in water similar to tofu.

Some dishes with paneer:
Paneer Paratha
Simla Mirch Paneer/Cottage Cheese in a bell pepper gravy
Paneer Butter Masala
Mutter Paneer/Paneer Peas Curry

28 comments:

  1. Easy homemade paneer .It has so many uses.Nice step by step instructions.

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  2. i also prepare the paneer at home.its quiet easy and home made is always good.
    very well explained.came out really good..

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  3. Lovely recipe and the end product Divya. I have made Chhena (paneer) only to be used in some sweet, but never to make curries at home, always use store bought.

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  4. Nice presentation and tips for storing paneer.

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  5. Stepwise pics and explanation are great...Never tried it at home..sounds easy will try it next time...

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  6. Nice step by step explanation divya..we always make paneer at home...

    Love
    Kairali sisters

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  7. lovely post dhivya.. really helps for people who want to try homemade paneer like me :)

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  8. Love home made paneer, nice photos !!

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  9. My concern is with the stiffness of the paneer. even in your picture of it it looks kinda crumbly. How would I make sure it doesn't start breaking apart into million tiny pieces as I am cooking with it?

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  10. Like the way u presented it. Homemade panner tastes best!

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  11. Step by step presentation of paneer preparation method realy gr8...Homemade is always gud.

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  12. So nice to make our own paneer at home!!

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  13. Great post! I've made paneer at home once, when a kheer making endeavour went south :P

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  14. It's feel gr8 to have our own paneer rite...looks gud

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  15. Nice step by step instructions,thxs divya!!

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  16. Nice step by steps pictures Divya...thanks for sharing this...looks perfect :)

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  17. luks so soft and textured..its nothing like homemade paneers as u made divya..

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  18. Divya... I also made paneer last evening... I had made it several years ago, when I was starting out in the kitchen, and it was a disaster. Since then, I have always been “afraid” to fail, and never tried it again. Now that I have more experience with cooking, I ventured again – mostly because we don’t like any store bought paneer. We use to get really nice Buffalo milk paneer from India in the local Indian stores, but they don’t sell it.
    … I have to tell you, making it at home was so easy and it taste great. 1 tip my SIL told me – add ice to the whey-paneer mixture after you turn off the gas and when you are straining it, add about a cup of really cold water. This takes away any lemony or vinegar taste. I am hooked on how fast and simple it is to make. Never going back to the store for paneer!!
    Great site…keep up the hard work.

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  19. Perfect Paneer Divya! I make it at home many times too and I use 2% milk - it does come out well - only thing is that you will have to use a lot of milk to get a good amount of paneer. Another tip is to add some ice cubes to the paneer as soon as they are curdled and then drain it and set it - this makes them really soft and they remain soft till you completely exhaust them. This method is used for rasmalais and rasgullas - but the first product is always paneer.

    So what did you make with this? Waiting for that!

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  20. divya....nice step by step instruction thanx for sharing.

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  21. wow! perfect ..Thanks for the recipe !

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  22. Hi Divya,
    Next time when you make paneer, try this: after you have drained out the water from the paneer, put it in a blender/mixer and run it through till you get a soft texture. Then remove from the mixer and roll it/pat it into a box of suitable size.
    The mixer/blender routine will give you store-like soft paneer minus the lumpy texture that we usually get....

    Do try and let me know the results :)

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  23. Thanks for the step by step information. I will try it out as it is easier.

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  24. Thanks for inspiring me to make too! I tried today with a litre,will make again in bulk,thanks again :)

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  25. Homemade paneer is always more delicious than store brought.

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