How to make Paneer
May 24th, 2008 filed under Miscellaneous, Paneer (Indian Cheese)
Paneer is a homemade Indian cheese. Paneer is used many different ways making desserts, appetizers and main course dishes.
Paneer (how to)
Ingredients:
- 8 cups (half gallon) milk
- 1/4 cup lemon Juice
Method:
- Mix lemon juice in half cup of hot water and put aside.
- Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, making sure not to burn milk.
- As the milk comes to a boil, add the lemon juice gradually and stir the milk gently. The curd will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.
- Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer line with cheesecloth, or muslin cloth.
- Wrap the curds in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water, and squeeze well. This process takes out the sourness from the lemon.
- To take out the excess water, press the wrapped paneer under a heavy pan for about 1 hour.
Tips:
If paneer will be used to make any dessert dish:
- The most important part of making paneer for dessert is how much water to take out from the paneer.
- To check if right amount of water is out of the paneer, take a little piece of paneer on your palm and rub with your fingers. After rubbing the paneer for about 15-20 seconds, you should be able to make a firm but smooth ball.
- For making sweets, paneer can be refrigerated for 1 to 2 days.
- Paneer from half-gallon milk will make about 15 to 20 rasgullas.
- I suggest 2% milk for rasgullas, rasmalai, chamcham or any other dish in that category.
- For sandaish, burfee or any other such dish use regular milk.
If paneer will be used for making main dishes:
- Before Pressing the paneer knead it enough so paneer is not crumbly.
- Press the paneer instead one hour, two hours making firmer.
- Cut the paneer to desired shape. Paneer can be refrigerated for a few days or kept frozen for months.
Variations:
- Add salt to the paneer, if you like with your choice of spices one or more, including black pepper, roasted cumin seed, chopped green chilies, chopped cilantro (Hara Dhania) or to your taste.
Wow Manjula, I am so impressed! I am not a very good cook but my paneer turned out excellent! The milk immediately started to curdle! It’s like a small little miracle.
I would like to reassure everyone: yes, paneer works even if you use vinegar. I wanted to use lemon juice but I didn’t have enough for 1/4 cup, so I added vinegar. It still curdled fine. My paneer doesn’t have a vinegar or lemon taste.
use curd instead of lemon juice …
•8 cups (half gallon) milk
•1 cup curd(dhai)(yogurt) or more thn that
p.s u can use the remaining milk in sabji or roti(chapatti)
Aunty,
Thank you so much for this recipe and video! I lived in New Delhi in 2007-2008 and have craved paneer every since I moved back to the U.S. I don’t live close to an Indian grocer so I cannot buy paneer. I made it for the first time this weekend and used it in a tikka masala. It was just like I had in India! I will be trying many of your other recipes, too!
Namaste,
Tifany
hello aunty,
i tried making paneer yesterday but it got really crumbly when i made karhai paneer with it! i think i didnt knead it before pressing it under weight!my cloth used for straining was i guess not muslin cloth n wz very small so the paneer wz smelling of lemon!im very new to cooking. Il try it once again with everything available.please can u tell me,can we use vinegar instead of lime juice…i read it somewhere.
thanx!
can i use vinegar instead of lime juice?
how to make low fat paneer ??????????????????????????
and low fat paneer body and flaver same like full milk paneer
Hardik, you probably can’t. If low fat food tasted as rich as full fat food than it would all be really easy!
A few pieces of paneer will not ruin your health. Like anything rich and delicious, you must eat in reasonable amounts.
how come no one talks of whey?? Y throw it away? so rich in everything !!!
Hello Ms Manjula,
What I want to know is: if the paneer is to be used for a curry dish like Palak Paneer, should it be cut into cubes/sticks right away after removing it from under the heavy pan, or do you knead it to make it smooth? The paneer in your video looks rather crumbly, like it may fall apart during cooking.
My family loves Palak Paneer but they’d turn up their noses if it didnt look good too.
F, You can cut the paneer after it’s been under the weight for about an hour. It will not be crumbly.
Can I use soymilk to make paneer?
Soymilk + coagulant = tofu, not cheese.
namaste Manjula Ji
Really ur all recipes works. I am having very good image among my circle due to you only. I prepared bangali rasgula which was very hard and also not doubled of the size. once again I am going to try this. Please guide me how to make soft and big ragullas
hi Neeru,
u have to take out the right amount of water by pressing the paneer under heavy weight for 1 to 2 hours and then comes the process of kneading paneer.
either u can do with your hands like Manjula Aunty does or if u have a blender u can do it in that also. like i have a magic bullet so i knead it in this only. and u have to blend the paneer till the time u see a dough forming.then u can start making your rasgullas. so try it and then tell me.