Home Made Paneer

Paneer is a type of cheese first made in the Indian subcontinent. It is called for in many Indian recipes and sometimes, may not be available at your supermarket. Fortunately, it is easy to make at home ,it's completely vegetarian.

In the area surrounding the Gujarati city of Surat, surti paneer is made by draining the curds and ripening them in whey for 12 to 36 hours

To prepare paneer, food acid (usually lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid or yogurt) is added to hot milk to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are drained in muslin or cheesecloth and the excess water is pressed out. The resulting paneer is dipped in chilled water for 2–3 hours to give it a good texture and appearance(its optional).To get a more rectangular shape, tie a knot and place the cheese cloth bundle in a box without closing it. Place something heavy like a pile of books or a brick on the cheese cloth to press down and give the cheese the box's shape. The longer you press the cheese, the firmer it gets. Not all Indian dishes requires cheese to be made into solid blocks. Stuffed Paneer Naans for example require cheese to be loose.
From this point, the preparation of paneer diverges based on its use and regional variation.
In most cuisines, the curds are wrapped in cloth and placed under a heavy weight, such as a stone slab, for 2–3 hours, and then cut into cubes for use in curries.

Ingredients :-
1 lit full cream cow milk

3-4 tbsp of an acid ( lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, or leftover whey from a previous batch of paneer)

 Method :-

Take a heated pan ,add full cream milk .and boil it .It should be about 80`C.Temp(176 f).

Add lemon juice or citric acid, 5 ml (one teaspoon) at a time,

Stirring the milk after each addition until the milk separates, the solid curds part from the green and watery whey.

Now drain it , remove extra water from it .

By putting a cutting board or something heavy and flat on top of the paneer, you can force out more moisture, and shape it into a firmer block, suitable for slicing and frying. Leave it for 2-3 hrs
Pressing for a shorter time (approximately 20 minutes) results in a softer, fluffier cheese.

After 3 hrs Paneer is ready !!