HOW TO MAKE PANEER
Making fresh curd cheese is such a great little kitchen hack. This is the base recipe for Kashmiri Pandit paneer. But I also use it to make fresh curd cheese that I can throw into salads, or stir through pasta. Check out my recipe for quick paneer using the Cinnamon Masala from my Spirit Of Spice collection of blends. Just be sure to deep fry the cubed and hung paneer before spicing - this is where extra flavour lives.
PANEER INSIDE HACKS:
Always use full fat milk. The proteins in milk are what help the curd to coagulate and this process is more effective - and more delicious - when using full fat dairy.
Dairy free eaters can use soy milk as an alternative.
Lemons are the preferred method for splitting the milk - they have the right balance of structural acidity and softness. The sweetness of limes means you will need more to cause the same split. Vinegars can be used, though the result is quite harsh and the sharp acidity thins the coagulated curd somewhat.
I always squeeze a little bit of extra lemon and keep it by the stovetop. Add a little lemon juice at a time once the milk begins to boil. Stir through after each addition. It should split almost instantaneously. If it doesn’t, just keep adding little-by-little of the lemon juice until the whey and curd are distinct.
Hang the curd for at least four hours if making paneer. I prefer to make my fresh curd the day before to make sure that the paneer has time to properly dry and harden a little before deep frying.