Paneer (Panir)

You can use store bought paneer for your paneer recipes. But making fresh paneer at home is not very difficult, tastes better and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Ingredients:
Whole Milk - 1 quart
Lime Juice or distilled white vinegar - 2 to 4 tbsp

Ice - 7 to 10 cubes

Salt (optional)- 1/2 tsp
Herbs and spices (Optional) - 2 tbsp in all (cumin seeds, dried mint leaves, pepper powder, red chili flakes or any other dry herbs and spices of your choice)

Tips:

• Whole milk works the best.
• For using paneer in making sweets, do not add salt and herbs/spices.
• Since this paneer would be used as an ingredient in another recipe, remember to use herbs/spices that will complement the herbs/spices that you would be using in that recipe.
• Use lime juice. In case you have to use vinegar, use as little as possible else the paneer will carry the vinegar smell. Also dilute the vinegar using a little water.

Method:

• Bring the milk to boil in a heavy bottom stockpot.
• Keep stirring occasionally so that the milk does not stick to the bottom.
• Once the milk starts to boil and expands, reduce heat and add diluted vinegar or lime juice.
• Optional step - Add herbs/spices and salt.
• Increase heat and keep stirring for some time. Soon the curd will start separating from the whey.
• In 3 to 5 minutes, the curdling process will be complete and you will see slightly yellow clear liquid and curd floating in the liquid.
• Turn heat off heat and allow to cool.
• If you are planning to use the crumbles for making sweets, add some ice cubes to prevent further cooking.

Crumbled Paneer:-

• Line up cheese cloth in a colander.
• Pour the contents of the stockpot into the colander allowing the curd to be collected in the cheesecloth and drain the liquid.
• Allow to cool a bit and gather the ends of the cheesecloth to make a sack.
• Tie the sack with a kitchen twine.
• Hold the sack under running water for about half a minute.
• Hold over kitchen sink and twist the cheese cloth gently to press the excess whey out.
• You can use the contents of the sack (paneer in crumbled form) for some of the recipes like paneer balls(kofta) and paneer burji (scrambled paneer). For recipes that need paneer in block/cube form or if you do not intend to use the paneer immediately, you will have to follow the paneer block making process.

Paneer block :-

• Follow the crumbles making process and twist the cheesecloth to press the excess whey out. Fold the cheesecloth over the bundle tightly.
• Keep this bundle in the colander and place the colander in the sink or over a tray/pan to collect the dripping liquid.
• Place weight over the bundle to press it down. You can fill a pot with water and place it over of use whatever form of weight you have. Use moderate pressure an too much pressure would make the paneer dry and hard.
• Keep for 1 to 2 hours.
• The crumbles will be pressed together to form a block of paneer.
• Remove the cheese cloth and place the block in the refrigerator covered with a cling-film for about an hour before use.
• Use paneer within a week.