The best way to Make Paneer | Paneer Recipe

Learn The best way to Make Paneer at Home with step-by-step pictures and video. Making homemade paneer might be very easy, tasty and hygenic and you’ll be able to make fresh Indian cottage cheese at home using just 2 ingredients. On this blog post of paneer recipe, I actually have shared paneer flavoured with herbs and spices called as masala paneer. Also shared all the guidelines and tricks I learned over time to make soft paneer at home.

The best way to Make Paneer

Lots of you think that that making paneer might be complicated. But actually it will not be a giant deal. It’s so much easy and straightforward to make your personal cheese.

It’s been years ever since I began making paneer at home. Homemade paneer will not be only delicious nevertheless it really easy to make at home. When you get the hang of it, it’s super easy. You won’t ever return to store-bought ones. I discovered that homemade paneer taste best also it is freed from any preservatives so excellent for health and for teenagers. I follow few steps to get soft paneer on a regular basis. So I’m sharing all the guidelines and tricks on this post.

What’s Paneer?

Paneer can be often known as Indian Cottage Cheese, very different from American cottage cheese. It’s fresh cheese made with milk which is curdled with acidic ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, curd (yogurt), buttermilk or citric acid.

Paneer is soft yet stays firm even when frying or cooking. To make paneer, boil milk and curdle the milk with lemon, yogurt or vinegar. I take advantage of homemade curd to curdle the milk, you’ll be able to easily make yogurt at home. The curdled milk is strained in muslin cloth or cheese cloth which is then pressed using a heavy objects like mortar and pestle.

You should use paneer or herbed paneer(given below) in any curries or side dishes. paneer tikka, paneer butter masala might be made using this paneer. You may also try my Matar Paneer or Paneer Cashew Curry.

Watch Homemade Paneer Video

Food Acids used to Make Paneer

Curd | Yogurt – I prefer using curd / yogurt to curdle milk for making paneer. Curd makes soft paneer and likewise helps yielding more quantity of paneer. For those who make paneer using curd, you do not have to clean the chena. But press it firmly using a heavy object to remove the surplus whey.

Vinegar – best approach to curdle milk for paneer. It curdles the milk faster nevertheless it must be added in limited quantity. An excessive amount of vinegar can alter the taste of paneer. Also ensure you rinse it very well to remove the vinegar taste from paneer.

Lemon Juice – Paneer made using lemon juice must be washed very well else the paneer may taste tangy. Don’t over cook or boil the milk once lemon juice is added, else it could turn rubbery.

Citric Acid – This method is utilized in factory made paneer. ½ tsp citric acid is sufficient to curdle 1 litre of milk.

Previous Batch Whey Water – For those who make paneer often. You may collect the leftover whey water from making paneer and store in an air tight jar in fridge. You should use this whey water to curdle milk.

Using yogurt or curd for curdling milk ends in soft paneer. But you need to use lemon juice or vinegar as well. For each 2 litre of milk you need to use all these ingredients. 

• 4 tbsp Vinegar – you need to use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar.
• 4 tbsp Lemon Juice 
• 1.5 cup of Whey (leftover liquid which is drained when making previous batch of paneer)

About Homemade Paneer

My paneer making journey began a few years back. I actually have been making paneer ever since. Homemade paneer has very best quality than store bought. The taste of paneer relies on quality of milk and cooking temperature. So many issues can occur when making paneer, Ensure you check my FAQ.

Farm fresh milk curdles faster than pasteurized milk. You wish just few drops of lemon juice to curdle fresh raw milk. Don’t use an excessive amount of acid to curdle else the feel might be affected. Also reduce the warmth to low whenever you add the acid and do not let the milk to boil after it’s curdled which leads to rubbery texture.

The best way to Press Paneer (with & without paneer tofu press)

You do not need to speculate in a speciality press for making paneer. But when you are planning to make it more often, then you definitely might think on investing in a single. I purchased mine from amazon. Paneer press is straightforward to make use of and also you get a correct square shaped paneer block which leads to even cubes.

For those who do not have a press, you’ll be able to simply pour the curdled milk right into a muslin cloth. Cover it right into a bundle, weigh it down with some thing heavy. The resulting paneer block might be round in shape and it may well be cut into cubes.

The best way to Make at Paneer at Home (3 Easy Steps)

Boiling Milk – Take milk in a big pot and convey it to a boil. Once it starts to boil, reduce the flame.

Curdling Milk – Now reduce the flame and add in yogurt and blend gently. The milk will get completely curdled after couple of minutes.

Pressing Paneer – Pour the curd into the cheese cloth. Bring all of it together and place a weight over it and let it sit for few hours. Once set, cut into cubes. Use or store for later.

Expert Suggestions (Pro Suggestions)

Milk

For tastier paneer, use full fat milk for getting more paneer. You should use pasteurized or unpasteurized. But don’t use toned or skimmed milk, you would like the fat for softer paneer.

Acid to make use of

I prefer using curd / yogurt to curdle milk for making paneer. Curd makes soft paneer and likewise helps yielding more quantity of paneer. For those who make paneer using curd, you do not have to clean the chena. But press it firmly using a heavy object to remove the surplus whey.

Cooking Method

Bring milk to full boil. Reduce the flame low whenever you add in the popular food acid, I prefer to use yogurt | curd. Mix gently when you add yogurt, don’t mix an excessive amount of else the curds will break which leads to crumbled texture. The curds which forms ought to be soft and appear to be large clumps (see image).

Never boil once the milk is curdled which over cooks the paneer curds leading to rubbery texture.

No Over Cooking

When you scoop the milk curds into paneer press or muslin lined cloth, wash it well in cold water. This step not only removes the sour taste of the vinegar or lemon juice added nevertheless it also cools the curds immediately which prevents over cooking.

Pressing Paneer

Once curds are poured into muslin lined cloth. Cover it and place heavy object on top to remove the surplus whey. Don’t press paneer greater than 1 hour which leads to drier and hard texture.

The best way to Make Paneer (Stepwise Pictures)

Boiling Milk

1)Take milk in a big pot and convey it to a boil. Keep mixing in-between to forestall burning in the underside of the pot. Once it starts to boil, reduce the flame. 

2)I take advantage of a spatula to combine the milk evenly. Sometimes due to the fat content in milk, it could stuck at the underside of the pot and burn easily.

Curdling MIlk

3)Now add in yogurt (or check notes) . Keep mixing whenever you add in curd. The milk mixture will begin to curdle as you add in yogurt. Keep the flame on low and keep mixing the complete time.

4)The milk will get completely curdled after couple of minutes. If the mixture didn’t curdle as much, add more curd or yogurt. The milk is totally curdled once the milk solid is separated from the whey and paneer curds are formed. Never boil the curd too vigourously else the paneer will turn hard and rubbery. 

Draining

5)Line a sieve with cheese cloth, pour the curd into the cheese cloth. Rinse the curds under water to stop the cooking process. For those who are using lemon juice or vinegar to curdle milk, rinse it very well to remove the sour taste from the curds. I used my paneer press.

6)Bring all of it together and place a weight over it.

Pressing Paneer

7)I used my mortar and pestle as weight. For those who are using a paneer mould or press, place the fabric together with the curds within the press and canopy with lid and place weights over it.  Leave the paneer to press for not less than for 1 hour. 

8)After 1 hour, remove it from the fabric. It would be in a single block.

9)Cut into pieces or you’ll be able to store it as a block in fridge.

10)Use immediately or store in fridge in an air tight container for future use.

11)Homemade Paneer is able to use.

The best way to Make Flavoured Paneer

Make soft paneer at home with extra herbs and flavourings added to make it taste much more flavourful. Perfect paneer to make use of in curries and dishes. 

Flavoured paneer is regular homemade paneer with extra flavourings like herbs, spices added into it. I prefer to customise the herbs which I add in my paneer. Adding herbs and spices to paneer mix makes it super flavourful and makes it taste great.

Ingredients for Flavoured Paneer

• 2 litre Full Fat Milk
• ½ cup Curd / yogurt check notes for alternate
• 1 tbsp Parsley
• 1 tbsp Garlic chopped
• 1 tsp Coriander seeds crushed
• 1 tsp Black pepper crushed
• 1 tsp Red chilli flakes
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• Salt to taste

The best way to Make Flavoured Paneer at Home

1)Take milk in a big pot and convey it to a boil. Keep mixing when the milk is boiling so it doesn’t burn on the underside. Once it starts to boil, reduce the flame and add in all of the flavourings.

2)Add in dried parsley, finely chopped garlic, crushed black pepper, cumin seeds.

3)Add in crushed coriander seeds, red chilli flakes, salt and blend well. Let the herbs steep within the milk for couple of minutes.

4)Gently simmer this for one more 5 mins or so for the flavours to infuse with the milk. Now reduce the flame and add in yogurt (or check notes). Keep mixing whenever you add in curd. The milk mixture will begin to curdle as you add in yogurt.

5)Pour into paneer press lined with muslin cloth. Weigh it down with heavy weights. After 1 hour, remove it from the fabric and cut into pieces. Use immediately or store in fridge in an air tight container for future use.

6)Flavoured paneer is able to use.

What to do with Left-over Whey Water

While making this paneer, you’ll get the water which is left from the curdled milk. That known as as whey water, it’s so healthy. you need to use it to make every kind of stuffs. Don’t throw that away. You may make rasam or use in soup. If not use it to knead chapati dough.

More Useful Suggestions for Paneer Making

• Use full fat milk for making paneer.
• You should use extra cream in your milk for making paneer. For two litre of milk use 200 ml of cream. This fashion you’ll be able to get malai paneer.
• Any herbs might be used to flavour the paneer.
• When making paneer, add yogurt or curd once milk has boiled. Once the milk has curdled, never over boil the milk. Else the paneer will turn rubbery and over cook.
• Drain the paneer in a cheese cloth. Once the paneer is drained. Place a weight on it and let it drain for 1 hour. Don’t let it drain longer, else the paneer may harden.
• Flavours that may go well with paneer are Mint leaves, Coriander leaves, Rosemary, Green chillies and Ginger. Finely grate or chop the herbs before adding in milk.

Serving & Storage 

You should use this paneer to make any gravies, curries or any dish that you simply normally make with regular paneer. Paneer might be stored in fridge upto 3 days in an air tight container.

Often Asked Questions

What can I take advantage of to curdle milk for making paneer?

You should use lemon juice, vinegar, yogurt or whey for making paneer.

Why my paneer is tough and rubbery?

Never over boil the curdled milk, else it could turn rubbery. Don’t press paneer too long. Use full fat or full cream milk for soft paneer.

Recipes to Try with Homemade Paneer

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