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A Taste of India; Homemade Paneer Cheese

Photo above: Roadside restaurant on the windy and treacherous road from Rishikesh to Gangotri in the Himalayas.  The food was excellent.
Link to Cheese Making Home Page

How to Make Paneer (or Panir) at Home

A food that I learned to love during my trips to India, is paneer, a fresh cheese that can be cooked in many ways, and which is a great cheese for serving as part of many Indian dishes along with their amazing sauces.  Paneer can be cooked or fried without melting.  This cheese can be made with whole goat's milk or whole cow's milk.
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Toggenburg goats at Swiss Frau Farm near Rubicon Wisconsin. I drive over to this farm for the pasteurized goat milk I use for cheese making. The cheese below was made with milk that was milked the same day. It is a lovely farm.
STEP 1: Sterilize the work area and counters where you will be working.  Also sterilize all pots, containers and utensils that will come into contact with any ingredients.  I use Star-san, but there are many sterilizing products, including diluted bleach, available.

STEP 2: Measure out a 1/2 cup of lemon juice
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STEP 3: Over medium heat, heat 1 gallon of whole milk (goat or cows) until it just barely starts to boil

STEP 4: Pull the milk off the heat and thoroughly stir-in the 1/2 cup of lemon juice.  Keep stirring until it is distributed throughout the milk.  It will curdle immediately and separate out into solid curds and liquid whey.  Keep off the heat and let rest for 1/2 hour, stirring gently every 8-10 minutes.
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Lemon juice quickly curdles the milk when making paneer.
STEP 5: Line a colander with cheese cloth.  Pour the curds and whey into the colander to stain the curds from the whey.
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STEP 6:  The curds will be hot and they will still retain very hot whey, so carefully grab the edges of the cheese cloth and compress the curds to squeeze out some whey.  I squeeze from the top so that the hot whey doesn't drip on me.
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Squeezing whey from the fresh curds.
STEP 7: Salt the curds with 1/2 teaspoon of cheese salt or pickling salt. Gently stir in the salt to distribute it throughout the curds.
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STEP 8: Press the cheese into a flat block.  Using your fingers press the curds into a solid mass.  Wrap the curds in cheesecloth and press them into a flat block about an inch thick.  If you do not have a press, you could press the cheese between two plates or two flat cookie sheets or anything like that.  I made a simple rectangular press for Paneer and Feta, out of hardwood.  Press it for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the cheese; keeping it in one piece, flip it over and put it back in the press and press again for 20 minutes.
Paneer Cheese Press, Feta Cheese Press
Hardwood paneer cheese press, also works for pressing feta. I drilled the drain holes at a downhill slop so that whey drains freely out of the holes.
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Line the press with cheese cloth, then fill it with curds and use your hands to press the curds into a solid flat mass. Then fold the cheesecloth over the top. Cut off any excess loose ends of the cheese cloth, otherwise they will make dents in the top of your cheese.
Paneer cheese being pressed
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Here is the cheese block after 20 minutes, leave it in the cheese cloth, flip it over, and press for another 20 minutes.
STEP 9: Remove the cheese from the press, lay it on a cutting board, and slice into square pieces
Homemade paneer
Fresh homemade paneer
STEP 10:  Enjoy!  Your yummy paneer is ready to eat and cook with.  Keep it in the refrigerator (in a tight container or wrapped in something to keep it sealed.  There are many exciting Indian recipes to make.  My favorite ones involve frying the paneer to a golden brown on all sides and then serving as part of a dish with tasty sauces.
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Copyright 2016 - 2024 www.argobuilder.com ALL photos and writing are copyrighted by Jason W Talbot of Wisconsin USA as of the date on the top header section of each page, unless credit is given to others. Contact [email protected] to request permission to use any writing or images from this site. Thanks. Use the information at your own risk, please ​make safety your first priority, the author does not claim responsibility for the accuracy ​or inaccuracy of any information on this site
  • Home
  • The Shipyard
    • Building SCAMP "ARGO"
    • Compac 16 Pilothouse
    • Building a Kaholo SUP
    • Making a SUP Paddle
    • Ships' Provisions
    • True Seafaring Tales: Book Reviews
    • Nautical Fiction: Book Reviews
    • Seafaring and Boat Building Reference Books
  • The Woods of Arcady
    • Wisconsin Mushroom Hunting
    • Wisconsin Wildflower Photo Gallery
    • Making Apple Cider
    • Making Maple Syrup
    • Building a Stone Arch
    • Making Traditional Wooden Skis
  • The Homestead
    • The Warp and Weft >
      • Making a Large Tapestry Loom
      • Making a Small Hand Loom
      • Weaving Projects for Small Hand Loom
      • Beautiful Handmade Tapestry Beaters
    • The Merry Blacksmith
    • Making Cheese
    • Wooden Cheese Boxes
    • How to Make Pickled Pike
    • Wisconsin Bluegill Fry
    • Making Wooden Spoons by Hand
    • Handmade Wooden Dustpans
    • Making Broom-Corn Brooms
    • Making Horsehair Brushes and Brooms
  • The Muse
    • Poetry
    • Building a Martin Style Backpacker Guitar
    • Making an Alphorn
    • 3D Printed Alphorn
    • Making an Alphorn Bag
    • Alphorn Gallery
    • Viking Lur
    • Antique Typewriters >
      • Underwood Standard Portable 3 Bank Typewriter
      • Corona 3 Folder Typewriter Refurbishment
      • Typewriter Platen Replacement
      • Design of Rubber Parts for Antique Typewriters
  • The Model Maker
    • Making a booknook
    • Krick Alexandra Steam Launch >
      • Assembling Miniature Steam Model Clyde Oscillating Steam Engine
    • Ship Model FD 10 Arnanes Fishing Smack Johanna
    • Artesania Latina, Cargo Ship "Capri"
    • Building a Ship in a Bottle
    • Model of a Disney Water Taxi
    • BlueJacket Optimist Sailboat Model
    • Oseberg Viking Ship Model
    • Paddle to the Sea Model
    • Making a Cuckoo Clock
    • 3D Print Workshop >
      • 3D Printed Object Gallery
  • Tales of Adventure
    • Sailing from Door County to the UP Michigan
    • Sailing Northern Door County
    • Sailing Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    • Sailing Lake Huron: St.Ignace, Mackinac Island, Les Cheneaux Islands, St Martin Islands
    • From Manitowoc to Algoma and back on a small boat, 2017
    • Sailing around Chambers Island Door County Wisconsin