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Homemade paneer cheese is best!

Try this paneer cheese and you’ll never go back to store bought!

Do you remember that old nursery rhyme about little Miss Muffet sitting on her tuffet eating those curds and whey? Of course you do. My grandmother must have read it to me hundreds of times as a kid and I remember wondering what the heck the girl was eating. Well the curds bit is what we use to make Indian paneer cheese and the whey – it goes down the sink

Paneer is similar in flavour to cottage cheese and it can be purchased in Indian markets and some good grocery stores. The thing is, I personally feel it tastes best on the day you make it. Packaging it up in plastic and sending it to shops to be sold doesn’t do it any favours! If you want the best paneer cheese, you are going to have to do it yourself!

The good news is it couldn’t be easier. Paneer is a simple unripened cheese that is made by coagulating milk with lemon juice or vinegar. I prefer lemon juice which is how I make this essential part of many Indian vegetarian dishes.

The whole process of making Paneer cheese takes about four to five hours but actual cooking and preparation time is only a few minutes. Are your ready?

You are about to become a professional Indian cheese maker!

INGREDIENTS for homemade paneer cheese

12 cups (2 litres) milk
6 Tablespoons lemon juice strained

method

Pour the milk into a large heavy based sauce pan and bring to a boil. Be sure to stir the milk with a wooden spoon to ensure it doesn’t burn to the bottom.

Reduce the heat to low and add the lemon juice. Stir the juice in and then turn off the burner as pieces of curd begin to form on the top.

The curds will continue to form. If they don’t, turn the heat back on to low for a few second and then turn it off again.

Once all of the curd has separated from the whey, line a colander with a piece of clean cheesecloth or muslin and pour the curds and whey into it.

Bring the sides of the cheesecloth or muslin up at the sides and give the curds a good squeeze before tying it all up nice and tight like a bag.

Run some cold water over the bag of curds to remove any remaining whey.

Hang the curds in the muslin from your kitchen tap and allow to hang there for about four hours. The liquid whey will continue to drip out of the fresh paneer cheese.

Now, remove the paneer from the tap and place it in the muslin on a clean surface. Place a baking tray on top of it and weight it down with some tins. Let it rest under the weight to form a block of paneer.

Paneer cheese is very popular in Indian vegetarian curries

You can now cut the block into cubes to eat on its own or use in your Indian recipes of choice.

I hope you enjoy this easy recipe. Compare homemade paneer cheese to store bought and you will never go back!