Paneer or Indian cottage cheese is the most versatile ingredient in Indian food.Paneer is the soft white cheese used in Indian cookery It is used across regions to make various mouthwatering dishes. If you are in a mood of an appetizer there is nothing better than chilli paneer, tikka and pakoras. If you like a hearty breakfast, bhurji and paratha keep you full. Curries save the day when you have guests coming. No one can say no to lip smacking paneer butter masala or kadai paneer. Want a simple curry on a weekday, quick matar paneer and palak paneer are always an easy option. If you have a sweet tooth like me, rassogulla , chenna pudo kalakand ,kesar rasmalai and kala jamun are definitely in your menu. Recently, I have started to use it to make creamy strawberry ice cream and tutti frutti ice cream too.
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Although store bought cheese is easily available nowadays even abroad in super markets and Costco. Here is an easy way to make cottage cheese whenever you have extra milk at home.In fact, whenever I see milk with an expiry date of next day in supermarket, I end up boiling it and making my own batch of chenna. It helps me avoid wastage at my own level. Works out cheaper too.
Benefits of cottage cheese
- Excellent source of calcium so helps avoid osteoporosis.
- Strengthens teeth and bones.
- High in protein.
- Helps regulate blood pressure.
Ingredients
- Whole milk or full fat milk
- Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Sieve
- Muslin cloth/ cheesecloth
- DIY Paneer press - This nothing but
- Cake tin with removable bottom
- Heavy object or utensils to set the cheese in cake tin
Over the years that I have been away from India, I have made paneer hundreds of time( I am sure about this number now) with this method.I do not need any paneer press for home made paneer, just this way works. even if you do not have the cake tin, just put the paneer in clean and soft cotton cloth,remove the excess water and place it in a plate with a heavy object on top. You can easily make paneer at home without any paneer maker machine (I am not sure if there is any 🙂 )
What can I do with Chenna water?
Do not throw the water. You can store it in refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Use it to knead a soft roti dough. If you like you may add it while boiling rice or kadhi. However, I like to add it in dal as it doesn't change the flavor. It is rich in protein too. I make it any time I have extra milk at home. Soak grains in it.
You can also use it as a face pack. Apply it and wash it after 15 mins for clean skin.
Now,go on to make wonderful dishes from rich and yummy cottage cheese.Make a rassogulla or even bake a cake with it.Be it ras malai or rajbhog. You can never go wrong with cottage cheese. People of all age groups love it. It is easy to chew making it a good meal for both young kids as well as elders who can't chew too much.
Instructions
- Boil full cream milk over medium heat.Turn off the heat, add 2-3 tbsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar/white vinegar to it.
Whey will separate and fresh paneer or chenna comes together. Separate curdled milk using a cheese cloth in below steps. If you feel it is taking more time add a spoonful of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. .
Pass the chenna and whey through sieve and collect the excess whey or chenna water in sauce pan. Store it in glass bottles in refrigerator. It stays fresh unto 2 days.
Top tip: Do not throw the whey or cheese water. It is very nutritious. Use it to make dal,boil rice or knead dough to make soft roti.
- Wash and dry the springform cake tin which has a bottom which can separate.Put this tin in a plate/
- Layer a muslin cloth over the cake tin.
- Add fresh paneer to it and spread it evenly.
- Cover the paneer with the cake tin lid.
- Add another round box on top of the cake lid
- Keep good amount of weight on the cake tin. This helps the cheese set into thick blocks. If you do not have heavy cast iron pans. You can use any pressure cooker or 3 ltr milk bottles.
- let it rest for 4-6 hours. Then move it to the fridge for few hours.
- Remove the lid and take out the cheese block from the aluminium tin.
- You can cut pieces and store it in water or chenna water in refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Homemade paneer recipe
Equipment
- cake tin
- Sieve
- saucepan
- heavy utensils to help paneer set.
- muslin cloth
Ingredients
- 3 ltr full cream milk
- 3 tbsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Boil full cream milk over medium heat. Turn off the heat, add 2-3 tbsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar/white vinegar to it.
- Whey will separate and fresh paneer or chenna comes together. Separate curdled milk using a cheese cloth in below steps. If you feel it is taking more time add a spoonful of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
- Pass the chenna and whey through sieve and collect the excess whey or chenna water in sauce pan. Store it in glass bottles in refrigerator. It stays fresh unto 2 days.
- Wash and dry the springform cake tin which has a bottom which can separate. Put this tin in a plate
- Layer a muslin cloth over the cake tin.
- Add fresh paneer to it and spread it evenly.
- Cover the paneer with the cake tin lid.
- Add another round box on top of the cake lid. Keep good amount of weight on the cake tin. This helps the cheese set into thick blocks. If you do not have heavy cast iron pans. You can use any pressure cooker or 3 ltr milk bottles.
- Let it rest for 4-6 hours. Then move it to the fridge for few hours. Remove the lid and take out the cheese block from the aluminum tin.
- You can cut pieces and store it in water or chenna water in refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Paneer cutting tips
Before cutting the paneer, you want to make sure that all pieces end up of similar size. Hence divide the paneer block into equal size lengthwise first and then cut into cubes.
Sometimes, the knife has to be wiped while cutting the paneer as it can be a bit sticky
Variations
You can mix various herbs in fresh cottage cheese and set it to make your own herb cheese.
Storage
Store the paneer cubes or the whole block in water and refrigerate. You may use the chenna water or whey also to store it. It stays fresh for 3-4 days.
FAQs
It helps in weight loss and also prevents osteoporosis.
Yes it helps your gut. Key here is that you should not make the curries extra oily during preparation.
Yes as it is full of magnesium and vitamin B .However you need to watch your portion size / Serving size to balance it.
Yes as it packs a punch with selenium and Vitamin D.
Yes as it has omega-3 fatty acids along with good source of protein,calcium and vitamins D,E and B Complex.
If you do not have lemons then you should try out making paneer using citric acid
I prefer buying it from the local dairy for fresh paneer. Don't go after cheap paneer just like that, as you need to see if the paneer has not spoilt.
Even the store bought paneer from the supermarkets is fine, you need to store it in the fridge and finish asap once you have opened the packet. The shelf life of paneer would not be more than 5-7 days even after storing correctly.
This depends on the fat content in the milk. Generally, you will get closes to 150-200 gms of paneer from each liter . This is only for the full fat milk . For lite or skim milk, the paneer that we get is very less, its around 70-80 gms per liter of milk.
Just steam the paneer pieces or leave the pieces in hot water for few minutes.
I prefer to keep paneer in the cold chiller tray. Also, you may keep them in a box in the water that was left out (whey) or fresh tap water for few days in the fridge.
If the paneer is store bought and packed, then keep it in the fridge as per the expiry date mentioned on the packet.
if it has been prepared at home or already open , then move to a container with cold water, allow the paneer pieces to submerge partially and keep it in the fridge. This works for a few days.
if you want to preserve for long term, then move the paneer pieces in a plastic container(without any water) and store it in the freezer. Whenever you want to use it, just thaw the paneer pieces and use them in your curries/recipes. Do not re-freeze the paneer once it has been thawed.
If the paneer is store bought, then it will be little hard, in that case, just steam the paneer pieces or keep them in warm water for some time.
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Which of these is your favorite cheese dish? Do let us know.
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