Homemade Fresh Paneer

Name: Homemade Fresh Paneer
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1/2 gallon (8 cups) whole milk; 4-5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

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Let’s get back to basics! This month I’ll be sharing recipes for Indian basics! I’m kicking it off with paneer! Paneer is super simple to make at home. You only need two ingredients, milk and lemon juice! Paneer is used in lots of vegetarian Indian cuisine and is often called cottage cheese, though it does not taste or look like what American’s know as cottage cheese.

Homemade Fresh Paneer Recipe | Milk and Cardamom

Paneer is used in sweet and savory dishes all across India. The most being palak paneer and paneer makhani! It also works really well in kebabs. Just marinate the paneer and thread the paneer cubes onto skewers and grill!

When you’re picking milk to use for this recipe make sure it’s not ultra-pasteurized milk. Ultrapasteurized milk is heated to a higher temperate which denatures the protein, making it misshapen. This, in turn, won’t allow the cheese and whey to separate. I used Clover Organic Whole Milk .

It’s a super simple recipe, so if you make it make sure to tag me in your social media posts!

Homemade Fresh Paneer

Author: Milk and Cardamom
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

A simple 2 ingredient cheese used in Indian cooking! This recipes makes 10 oz of paneer.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1/2 gallon (8 cups) whole milk
4–5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

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Instructions

Add milk to a large saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat. The moment the milk starts to boil, remove it from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set it aside for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the cheese and whey should be separated into a clear yellow-y liquid and white cheese. If it isn’t separated, add an additional tablespoon of lemon juice and stir.

Place 3 layers of cheesecloth onto a strainer over a large mixing bowl. Strain the paneer. Take the corners of the cheesecloth and pull them up, twist and squeeze to remove as much water as possible. You can save the whey for smoothies or soups! They also freeze well!
Place paneer wrapped in cheesecloth onto a plate. Place another plate or a cutting board on top with a heavy book. Press the cheese fro 1 to 4 hours. Cut into 1-inch squares and either refrigerate or freeze until ready to use!