Fresh Paneer
- Details
- By Jo Ingleby
One of the easiest cheeses to make at home is Paneer, a fresh cheese common in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisines. It is best made with very rich, ideally organic, full-fat milk.
Paneer will keep in the fridge for a couple of days and is usually added to curries at the very end of cooking. Simply rip it into chunks and allow to sit in the curry, without stirring, to warm through and absorb the flavours.
Method
Warm the milk and salt gently in a saucepan, stirring regularly. When the milk is about to boil turn off the heat. Slowly add the juice of one lemon, a little at a time. The milk should start to curdle and separate. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. If the curds and whey don't separate add a bit more lemon juice. Place a clean piece of muslin (or tea-towel) in a sieve over a bowl, pour in the milk and allow to drain. When the curds have cooled enough to touch, wrap them up in the muslin and give a good squeeze. Reserve the whey (the watery liquid) for cooking with. Place something heavy on top of the muslin in the sieve to weigh it down and leave to set in the fridge for anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours; the longer you leave it the firmer the cheese.
