Pages

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Homemade Paneer - DIY Pantry

Homemade paneer - sounds hard, complicated, right? Wrong! So simple it's crazy and mind-blowing that it's taken me so long to make it at home! Thank god my beau loves Indian food and our local stores don't carry paneer. So I simply had to make it. Dead simple, really. And impressive and delicious... So go buy some whole milk and make it!

Pictured above is some paneer that was marinated in spiced yogurt and then broiled to golden perfection. It was then tossed in some Makhani sauce and gobbled up in ecstatic delight!

Homemade Paneer - DIY Pantry
(makes 1/2 lb paneer)

1/2 gallon whole milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
cheesecloth
colander strainer

Heat milk over medium high heat until it reaches 180 degrees. Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice and swish spoon through the milk so that you see curds beginning to form. Allow milk to curdle for 5 minutes and swish spoon through again to make sure all milk is curdling. The liquid left over from the curds will be a thin, greyish watery liquid, which is whey. Place cheese cloth in a large colander strainer in the sink and gently pour in curds.

Allow all of the whey to drain out and then pull ends of cheesecloth together and tie to the faucet in a know to allow the whey to drip out. Leave it hanging for about 15 minutes and then remove from faucet and twist and press out any more moisture still present. Get out as much moisture as you can. The paneer should begin to feel like a solid-ish block of cheese curds, holding together. Being careful not to break it apart, turn it out of the cheesecloth into a metal bowl that is flatter rather than deep so that the curds will spread out into a thick layer about 1 inch deep. Press the curd together and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator and cut into bite size pieces and fry to give it a crust, broil it or simply add it to your favorite curry sauce!

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Mediterranean Tortellini Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette at Eats Well With Others
Tex-Mex Chopped Salad at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
Filet-O-Chick-Pea Sandwich with Tartar Sauce Slaw at Keepin' It Kind

No comments: