I have over the years tried making a wide range of different cheeses (see links at the bottom of this post), fascinated by the way you can get very different products with essentially the same starting ingredients. When I recently made Spinach & Paneer Curry I used store-bought paneer but realised that this was another style of cheese that I hadn’t made before – so of course I had to give it a go. It is extremely simple and doesn’t require any special ingredients or tools.
1.5 litres whole milk
1 lemon
Heat the milk in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Gently bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Gradually add 4 tablespoons of lemon juice, stirring continuously so the curds and whey separate.
Line a sieve with a large piece of muslin and place over a bowl. Carefully pour the mixture into the sieve so the curds collect in the muslin. Save the liquid whey (you can freeze it) to use in recipes like Blueberry & Buttermilk Pancakes.
Place the curds under cold running water to get rid of any remaining whey, then gather up the muslin and squeeze out the excess moisture.
Keeping the muslin bundle in the sieve, cover it with a plate and top with a few heavy weights (e.g. a couple of tins ). Place in the fridge for 1 hour 30 minutes to set. Once set, cut the paneer into 2cm pieces.
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- Heat milk in saucepan
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- Until just boiling
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- Add lemon juice
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- Stir to separate curds from whey
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- Pour into a sieve
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- Squeeze to remove moisture
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- Fold cloth over curds
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- Put weighted plate on top
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- Homemade Paneer Cheese – ready to use
Other cheeses and dairy products you can trying making:
Feta (and marinated feta)
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