Paneer Fresh Cheese Food

PANEER: HOMEMADE INDIAN CHEESE

Steps:

• Line a large colander with a large double layer of cheesecloth, and set it in your sink.
• In a large wide pot, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom (a nonstick pot works really well for this purpose). This will take a little while so be patient!
• Add the lemon juice and turn the heat down to low. Stirring gently, you should almost immediately see the curds (white milk solids) and whey (the greenish liquid) separate. Don't fret, this is perfect!
• Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the contents into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Gently rinse with cool water to get rid of the lemon flavor. At this point, you could squeeze out some of the liquid, and serve with some honey and some nuts, almost like a fresh ricotta!
• Grab the ends of the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese to squeeze out the excess whey. Tie the cheesecloth to your kitchen faucet and allow the cheese to drain for about 5 minutes.
• Twisting the ball to compact the cheese into a block, place it on a plate with the twisted part of the cheesecloth on the side (this will ensure your block of cheese is nice and smooth!) and set another plate on top. Weigh the second plate down with cans of beans or a heavy pot. Move to the refrigerator and let it sit about 20 minutes.
• Unwrap your beautiful disc of homemade cheese! You did it! You can now use this in any number of traditional Indian dishes, like saag paneer.

PALAK PANEER (INDIAN FRESH SPINACH WITH PANEER CHEESE)

Steps:

• Cut spinach into shreds and cook in 3 tablespoons water until tender; remove from heat.
• Saute onion, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger in 1-2 tablespoons ghee or oil until onion is translucent.
• Then add garlic and chopped tomatoes, and reduce heat.
• Cook this briefly and slowly blend in yogurt a little at a time to prevent curdling.
• Add coriander, garam masala, paprika, and salt, mixing well.
• Add cooked spinach with liquid, cover and simmer on low heat for approximately 20-30 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Take half of spinach mixture and puree in food processor or blender, and return to mixture and stir.
• Slowly stir in heavy cream, and heat through on low heat.
• Add paneer cubes.
• Serve.

HOMEMADE HERBED PANEER CHEESE

Steps:

• Slowly heat milk and cream in a 6-quart pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid scalding, until mixture foams and reaches 190°F, 25-30 minutes. Add vinegar and 1 1/2 tsp. salt, stir once, and continue to cook, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest until mixture separates into clumps of milky white curds and whey, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, line a large sieve with 2 layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl. Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer curds into strainer, letting whey collect in bowl. Strain until curds begin to firm up, 15-20 minutes, then transfer curds to a medium bowl with slotted spoon. Discard whey or reserve for another use.
• Fold chopped herbs and remaining 1 Tbsp. salt into curds. Transfer both layers of cheesecloth to a large plate and spoon herbed curds into the center. Use the back of a spoon to flatten curds into a round 3/4-1" thick. Gather ends of cheesecloth and wrap tightly around curds. Place a second plate on top and use a can or other heavy object to weigh it down. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Remove cheesecloth and place pressed cheese onto a cutting board. Cut into 1" cubes and serve or use as desired.

HOMEMADE PANEER (FRESH INDIAN COTTAGE CHEESE)

Steps:

• Heat the milk in a large saucepan over medium high heat until the top becomes foamy, just as looks like it's about to boil.
• Turn stove off. Add lemon juice and stir for 1 minute. The milk should begin to curdle. If it doesn't, turn the stove back on and bring back to a gentle boil until the solids separate.
• Line strainer or colander: Place over a deep bowl. Line strainer with 2 layers of cheesecloth (Note 1).
• Strain: Ladle in half of the curdled milk to begin with, then pour the rest in. Leave until all the liquid drains - this might take 5 to 10 minutes.
• Rinse: Discard liquid (whey) in the bowl. Bundle the paneer up in the cheesecloth (it will still be quite watery at this stage) then rinse bundle briefly under cold tap water. This helps to remove lemon flavour + cool for easier handling.
• Squeeze out excess water by twisting the cheesecloth and squeezing the bundle, but not so hard that paneer squeezes out through the cloth. Once liquid no longer comes out, stop. The paneer will still be quite soft at this stage.
• Weigh cheese down with weights: Shape cheese into a disc around 2cm / ¾" thick, still wrapped in cheesecloth. Place in a strainer or colander set over a bowl. Top with a small plate then 2 x 400g/14oz cans (or similar weight).
• Refrigerate for 4 hours. During this time the paneer will set (become firm) and remaining liquid will drain out. (Note 2)
• Remove paneer from fridge and carefully unwrap. There will be a dent in the middle, this is normal (it's from the draining).
• At this stage, the paneer is now ready for use. You can either cut it immediately and use in a recipe (such as Palak Paneer!), or store the whole uncut block for another time and just cut when needed.
• Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for 3 months.

PANEER (FRESH CHEESE)

Steps:

• To make about a pound of paneer, heat 1 gallon of milk in a large pot that allows enough space for milk to boil.
• When milk is about to boil, immediately add 4 to 5 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of vinegar (can substitute cream of tartar for lemon juice and vinegar).
• You may optionally add 1 cup of plain yogurt too.
• Be careful that milk does not boil over; lower heat if needed.
• Simmer until the milk curdles (cheese separates from clear liquid (whey)).
• Use more lemon juice or vinegar as needed.
• Turn off the heat.
• Strain the cheese in a large sieve set over a bowl and lined with a thin muslin cloth or cheesecloth.
• Mash the cheese to make it smooth.
• Let it drain.
• Note: Instead of discarding the whey, you may use it as a substitute for water in soups or dough.
• Drain it as much as possible (couple of hours) till no liquid can be squeezed out.
• Blend the cheese with hand or in a food processor to make it smooth.
• Spread it evenly, about half inch thick on a cloth on flat board lined with paper towels.
• Fold the cloth over on four sides and cover the top.
• Put more paper towels on top.
• Put a large flat-bottomed skillet filled with water on top to put pressure to drain excess liquid.
• Change paper towels if they get wet.
• After 30 to 45 minutes, when paper towels appear dry, unwrap the cheese.
• Cut paneer; into ½ to ¾" cubes (or strips) and use without frying or fry as follows.
• To fry, heat about 4 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
• Lightly brown the cubes on all sides while turning with a slotted spatula.

PANEER

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to 195°F over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir frequently during the heating process to prevent the milk from scalding. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan when you stir because this is where the milk is most prone to sticking. The milk will become foamy and bubbles will form on its surface once it reaches the desired temperature.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice until evenly distributed, which will cause the separation of curds from the whey. The process should begin right away, but don't fret if it takes a minute or two. Cover the pan and set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes to let the acid work its magic. Check the mixture at this point: It should be slightly yellow and the curds should have completely separated from the whey. Don't panic if this hasn't happened completely yet. Simply add another teaspoon of acid and set aside for a few minutes more. This should do the trick.
• Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth and set the sieve over a bowl. Ladle the curds and whey into the sieve. Reserve the whey for another use. Season the curds (still in the sieve) with salt, stirring it in using a wooden spoon, then gather up the edges of the cheesecloth into a tight bundle and squeeze the excess whey from the curds. Place the cheesecloth and curds on a large plate and shape them into a square. Wrap the cheesecloth edges around the paneer and place a second plate on top of it to compress it. Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. At this point the paneer is ready to use or it can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to 3 days.