PANEER CHEESE
Serves: 4 as part of an Indian meal.
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Dietary Style: Veg. GF.
Making fresh paneer is one of those things that sounds harder than it actually is: I remember being totally nervous the first time I added lemon juice to boiled milk, wondering if it really would split. It takes as little as 10 minutes to create this curd cheese, and its uses are endless. Hang the curd in muslin cloth to make paneer, use it fresh in summer salads as a ricotta substitute, or add egg, fresh ginger and lemon juice to make sweet ricotta dumplings.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 litres full fat milk
- juice of 3 lemons
- 1 tbsp full fat yoghurt (optional)
Add milk to the pot and place on the stovetop on high heat. Stir it until it reaches a boil and begins to rise to the top of the pot. Once the milk begins to boil you have to move fast - it will boil over quickly.
Turn off the pot. If you are adding the yoghurt, do it now. Then add the lemon juice in dashes until the milk splits into curds and whey. You will see it clearly when this happens: the curds are distinct and the whey is thin and a very pale lemon yellow colour. You may not need to use all of the lemon juice. This amount depends on the juiciness of the lemons.
Line a colander with your muslin cloth: a thin, clean tea towel can be used if you don’t have a muslin. If you want to make paneer, place a pot beneath the colander to reserve the whey, as the whey is used in the cooking of paneer.
Strain the curds and whey through the muslin-lined colander. Gather up the muslin and tie in a knot on the kitchen sink to let hang.
Use as desired.