Making your own cheese is one of life's great pleasures. a dear friend of mine recently asked me for a recipe so here it is - a step by step photo and video guide on making paneer.
choose normal full cream milk. full cream. You can do it.
you may need to pay a tiny bit more for it. skimmed milk doesn't work well as your after the F.A.T.
so as that extra dollar or two leaves your wallet, know that full cream is good for your soul .
you'll also be a bit more cuddly in the process.
you'll need some concentrated lemon juice. personally, I've not had much success with fresh lemons.
when the milk is close to boiling add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice to start the curdling process. you'll need to be diligence as the milk boils and expands, to ensure it doesn't overflow.
turn down the heat or Take it off the heat, mix vigorously, blow on it if necessary.
maybe i shouldn't be suggesting the last one in the middle of a pandemic? So how did you get covid? it was shared love of cheese.
i continue to mix the milk and as the milk boils and coagulates into clumps of cheesy goodness.
whew! well done! first part done!
have a colander ready in the sink,
Cover with a cheese cloth or dishcloth with holes. place the material it so you can later completely cover the paneer.
Carefully pour it in as its still hot!
it's steaming away ready for the next stage.
wrap it nicely into a bundle.
press down with something heavy for a hour or so to gently compress it and squeeze out some of the water.
unwrap the paneer and you'll find a little touch of heaven waiting for you.
turn it upside down on a chopping board. Clean up the edges so that you can fry it more consistently.
I've roughly chopped into 2 cm cubes.
i keep the uneven end bits to fry them seperatelt.
use some neutral oil - but not too hot as you want to manage a quick frying process.
I can't understand why some people won't fry their paneer. I think it adds so much to the flavour.
is that not a beautiful thing?
the goldilocks moment. not too burnt. not too light. just right.
and here's a dish I've prepared earlier.
many options would work but here.
i've just whipped up an indian baby spinach leaf based curry.
lightly mix the in together.
so now you can kick back and look at what you've accomplished!
and there is of course one final step that home cooks don't often discuss.....
the secret that must remain hidden at all costs!!!!
CLEAN UP!!!!!
with a stainless steel pan with burnt milk bits you have a couple of options:
1) see if one of your family will clean it
or if that doesn't work... often doesn't from my experience.
2) boil it for a while with some water to loosen it, and scrum with a scourer for dear life.
Hope you enjoyed this guide.
let me know what you think! maybe I'll do some others!
Cheers!
