How to Make Paneer

Learn how to make paneer at home with this easy to follow instructions and pictures.

Who can resist the soft, chewy texture of paneer? I can’t. I love paneer as much as chicken and meat dishes. In fact, whenever I visit an Indian restaurant, I always order a paneer dish. So much love for this Indian cheese.

I used to buy frozen paneer for years. I never thought making paneer at home is so easy. But one day, I made this beautifully luscious cottage cheese from scratch successfully at my very first attempt. Since then, I make paneer regularly. No more frozen stuff.

Making paneer at home is not a big deal. Even a beginner in the kitchen can do this successfully. And I’m going to show you how to do it with my no-fail recipe.

Let’s start with the basics. First, use full fat cow milk. Low fat and skim milk just won’t work. Second, the curdling ingredient. This can be lemon juice, vinegar or yogurt. Third, you must squeeze out as much water as possible from the curdled milk. Otherwise, paneer will not hold its shape, and you won’t be able to cut it into desired shapes. In short, you’ll end up with crumbled paneer.

As we head to the recipe, keep these three important things in mind, and you will get perfect paneer each and every time.

Yield: 250g paneer

How to Make Paneer

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Learn how to make paneer from scratch with these step by step instructions.

Prep Time 2 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 42 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 L whole (full cream) milk
• ¼ cup lemon juice

Instructions

1. Pour milk into a large pot. Place it over high heat. Bring to a boil. Stir continuously to avoid skin forming on the milk.
2. When milk has boiled, add the curdling ingredient lemon juice, vinegar or yogurt (I used ¼ cup lemon juice) into the milk. Milk will curdle immediately. Continue to stir. If the milk hasn’t curdled, add more curdling ingredient.
3. When milk has curdled completely, pour it into a muslin or cotton cloth placed in a sieve set over a large bowl. Gather the sides of the cloth, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. This liquid is called whey. You can use whey in curries, soups, or in roti dough instead of water.
4. Transfer the curdled milk to a plate, and cover with the cloth. Place a heavy object over the cheese. Leave it for 30-40 minutes.
5. Remove cheese from the cloth. You will get a block of curdled milk. This is called paneer. Cut paneer into desired shapes.
6. You can refrigerate paneer for up to 2-3 days.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 316Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 51mgSodium 125mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 0gSugar 26gProtein 16g