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Indian cooking / Dishes / How to Make Homemade Paneer
How to Make Homemade Paneer ()

How to Make Homemade Paneer

VegetarianMakes 400 G (14 OZ)

Homemade paneer is a soft, mild fresh cheese made by curdling hot milk with lemon juice and pressing the drained curds. It is firm enough to cut into cubes and has a gentle milky tang.

Ingredients

01
Whole milk · Doodh
2069 g2 l
dairy
02
Lemon juice · Nimbu Ka Ras
31–46 g2–3 tablespoons
souring agent

Method

  1. Line a sieve with muslin and set it over a bowl.
  2. Pour 2069 g whole milk into a heavy-based saucepan and heat over medium heat until it boils; this takes 25–30 minutes, so keep the heat steady.
  3. When the milk rises in the pan, lower the heat, stir, and add 30.6 g lemon juice a little at a time, keeping the remaining 15.3 g in reserve.
  4. Continue stirring over low heat for 30–40 seconds until the milk curdles and the curds separate from the whey.
  5. If the milk has not curdled, stir in the reserved lemon juice, up to 15.3 g.
  6. Take the pan off the heat and pour the mixture through the muslin-lined sieve.
  7. Rinse the curds under cold running water to remove the remaining whey.
  8. Gather the muslin, squeeze out as much water as possible, then twist and flatten the bundle.
  9. Put the wrapped curds on a plate, place a heavy weight on top, and leave for 1 hour to set.
  10. Unwrap the paneer and cut it into cubes.

Don't have something?

Whole milk
  • Milk

    Use 100% of the weight. If using semi-skimmed milk, stir in 10 g butter per 200 g milk to match the richness of whole milk.

  • Single cream

    Use 60% cream diluted with 40% water by weight to match the fat content of whole milk. Gravies will taste richer and reduce faster.

Lemon juice
  • Lime juice

    Use equal volume or weight; delivers almost identical sharp acidity with a faintly more aromatic, bitter-edged profile.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight (about 1 g amchoor for 4 g juice); provides clean fruity tartness without thinning the sauce.

  • White vinegar

    Use 75% of the volume; gives direct sourness without any citrus floral fragrance.

Similar dishes

Paneer (Kricket)
Paneer is mild and milky like this dish, but its texture is softer and more crumbly.
  • Same: Paneer shares whole milk and lemon juice as the curdling ingredients with this dish.
  • Different: Paneer adds sea salt and is only drained, not pressed, so it is soft and crumbly rather than firm like this dish.
Homemade Ghee
Homemade Ghee is rich and nutty, while this dish is mild and milky.
  • Same: Both are homemade dairy products made by heating a dairy ingredient and separating solids.
  • Different: Homemade Ghee uses only unsalted butter, while this dish uses whole milk soured with lemon juice; it is simmered and strained rather than acid-curdled and pressed.
Smoked Butter
Smoked Butter is rich, buttery and smoky, while this dish is mild, milky and fresh.
  • Same: Smoked Butter shares a dairy base and a very short ingredient list with this dish.
  • Different: Smoked Butter uses butter and hot coal to infuse smoke and is strained clear, while this dish curdles milk with lemon juice, then drains and presses the curds into firm cheese.
Kalakand
Creamy Milk Sweets
Kalakand is sweet, rich, and fudgy with a pistachio crunch, while this dish is mild, milky, and firm.
  • Same: Kalakand shares a milk base with this dish.
  • Different: Kalakand uses khoya, sugar, ghee or butter, and pistachios and is cooked into a sweet set mass, while this dish uses whole milk curdled with lemon juice, then drained and pressed.