Making Paneer at Home

Continuing the mini-series on homemade dairy products, let's make paneer.

Paneer is made by separating milk solids, or curds, from whey (milk liquid), and then pressing out all of the watery whey from the curds. The paneer, which is basically a block of fresh cheese, can then be frozen for later use, kept in the fridge for use in a couple of days, and/or chopped into cubes and pan-fried or deep-fried if it's going to be used in a recipe that requires it to maintain that cubed shape (such as mattar paneer - peas with paneer). (If the paneer is going to be used in a recipe that requires it to be crumbly, such as paneer naan - crumbled paneer stuffed into a baked flatbread - then it can just be used fresh.)

A lot of people make paneer just when their milk is about to become spoiled anyway. The first sign of milk spoilage is curdling - the separation of the curds from the whey. It's actually much easier to make paneer from milk that's on the cusp of spoiling. A great use for your one or two day's old milk!

Paneer (essentially, fresh ricotta*)

1 gallon organic, whole milk

A few tablespoons of white vinegar or lime juice

Rinse a pot and then heat the milk in it on medium high heat. When the milk just begins to boil - when you begin to see tiny bubbles on the edges and a bit of scalding begins to happen - stir in a tablespoon of acid (either white vinegar or lime juice) and turn the heat to medium. If the milk separates, continuing stirring to promote that separating until the liquid part of the milk, the whey, looks pretty clear and all of the curds have become separated from it.

(If the milk does not separate, stir in another tablespoon of acid, and perhaps one more, until it does.)

When the milk has separated, turn off the heat.

Line a sieve with muslin or cheesecloth and place it over a clean pot. Slowly pour the curds-and-whey mixture through the muslin, collecting the whey in the pot below. Gather the ends of the muslin and twist them tied to squeeze all the remaining water out of the paneer.

At this point, if what you need the paneer for is something soft, like sandesh (rolled, sweetened balls of soft paneer), then let the paneer continue to drain unassisted for several hours. If what you need the paneer for is something hard, like mattar paneer (peas and paneer), then place a heavy weight on top of the muslin to assist the drainage for several hours.

Come back in a few hours to unwrap the paneer package. Reserve the whey for use in whey curry or other recipes requiring whey. Whey can also be frozen, and is very high in protein and very low in fat.

*There isn't much of a difference between fresh ricotta and paneer in terms of the initial preparation steps. But people use fresh ricotta while it's still quite wet, i.e., without draining off all the watery whey, and they need it to taste very mild, so they make it without using any acid. Here's a fresh ricotta recipe from 101cookbooks - notice how similar it is to making home-made paneer Indian-style, until you get to the drainage step.

Homemade Ricotta Recipe from 101cookbooks.com

1 gallon good-quality whole milk

1 quart good-quality buttermilk

Combine both milks into a large nonreactive saucepan over medium high heat, preferably a thick-bottomed pan if you have one. You will need to stir occasionally, scraping the pan bottom, to avoid scorching. Once the milk is hot, stop stirring. You will start to see curds rise and come to the surface. Run a spoon or spatula along the bottom of the pan occasionally to free up any stuck curds.

While the milk is heating, select a sieve or colander with a wide surface area. This will help your curds cook more quickly. Line the colander with a large piece of cheesecloth that has been folded numerous times - until you have about 5 or six layers. Place the lined colander over a large bowl or sink.

When the mixture reaches about 175F degrees, you will see the curds and whey seperate. The curds are the clumpy white mass. Now, remove the pan from heat, and gently begin to ladle curds into the prepared sieve. Pull up on the sides of the cheesecloth to drain off any extra liquid, but resist pressing on the curds. Gather the edges of the cloth, tie or fasten them into a knot and allow them to drain for another 15 minutes minimum. Move to an airtight container and refrigerate if you aren't going to use it immediately. Try to use or eat it within a few days, it really is best that way.

Makes about 4 cups.