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Saturday, April 5, 2014

Making Paneer

#Paneer butter masala, paneer tikka, paneer starters all these recipes need paneer [ #Indiancheese ]. Sweets like rasagulla, rasamalai, sandesh, etc., are also prepared using paneer. paneer is the basic ingredient in all these recipes. Paneer is available in the sweet shops, supermarkets and also in milk co-operative outlets. Paneer bought from market is good for preparing many varieties of gravy and snacks.But it is not suitable for sweets. Moreover it has very limited shelf life as it is prepared from milk. So it is advisable to make paneer at home.
Now we will see how to prepare paneer at home.


Ingredients :
1/2 lt                                      Milk
2 - 3 Tsp                               Vinegar
Or
2 Tsp                                     Lemon Juice

Method :
Boil milk in a wide mouthed vessel.
Turn off stove when the milk starts boiling and rises up.
Wait for 5 minutes and then add a tsp of vinegar/lemon juice.
Mix well and the milk would start curdling.
Now again add 1/2 tsp of vinegar/lemon juice.
Milk would have curdled fully and separate into paneer and water.
This water is called whey.
The whey water color should change to light greenish yellow.
If needed add little more vinegar.
Now paneer is ready to be separated from whey water.
Allow to stand for 15 to 20 minutes.

I have used disposable strawberry containers to filter whey water instead of muslin cloth.
I made holes on all four sides of the container at regular intervals just above the bottom edge.
Now pour the curdled milk into this container with holes to strain the whey water into another vessel.


Do not throw away this whey water.
It can be used for cooking rice.

Now place another disposable container without holes over the paneer.
Add some weight over it to set.
This way excess water comes out through the holes under pressure.
Keep the whole set up on a plate and refrigerate. Allow to stand for 2 to 3 hours to get dry paneer..




Ah! paneer is ready to use. Cut and use for preparing gravy, tikka etc.,..
Crumble paneer with fingers and use for the preparation of rasagulla, rasamalai, etc.,....



The prepared paneer can be stored in refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.

It can also be stored in fridge by immersing paneer in water. Change the water daily.




Paneer Recipes :

Paneer masala curry
Rasagulla





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