Paneer is a fresh cheese that is very common in Indian cuisine. I never cooked with it until last year, when I made a fried paneer recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s Vegetarian India. Part of the battle is finding a store that carries the cheese in the first place. In Sacramento, you can find paneer at Nugget Markets, Sprouts, and Sacramento Foods Co-Op. You can also find it at Indian grocery stores. One thing that I didn’t expect from store-bought paneer was the difference in texture from fresh paneer. If you have ever eaten packaged halloumi, you’ll know what I mean. When you bite into the paneer, the cheese feels quite chewy, and it makes a little squeak against your teeth as you bite. I don’t mind that feeling at all, but not everyone enjoys it. In the photo above, the top row is store-bought paneer, and the bottom row is homemade. As you can see, the store-bought cheese is smoother, and it looks like mozzarella. Conversely, you can see a lot of texture in the homemade version (from the curds), almost like tofu. It is a lot more crumbly when you slice into it, too. Homemade paneer tends to have a softer, more crumbly texture. In comparison, the store-bought version is much more dense and firm.
HOW TO MAKE PANEER
Making paneer at home is very easy. You want to start with whole milk because the texture of the cheese is creamier. Turn off the heat right when the milk boils. I usually boil the milk in a large pot with the lid on because it speeds up the boiling process. As a result, the milk tends not to burn on the bottom of the pot. The big issue with boiling milk with the lid on is that you need to pay attention to the stove. The milk can boil over quick and spill all over the stovetop. Then, if you’re anything like me, you’ll forget about the spill and cook with the same hob soon afterwards. You’ll then start smelling something burning and then realize the area around the hob is dark brown from the burnt milk. Don’t make that same mistake. After the milk boils, pour in some lemon juice or vinegar. Give everything a stir, and the milk should start curdling immediately. The liquid will turn into a yellow/light-green color, especially if you use vinegar, but that’s completely normal. I usually let the the curds sit in the pot like this for about 5 to 10 minutes. It gives the liquid a chance to cool, too. Many recipes will say to add a few ice cubes into the pot to help cool everything, which you can certainly do as well. I haven’t noticed a significant difference one way or the other. Next, you want to strain the curds through a cheesecloth and rinse the curds with cold water. This really helps to cool the cheese and it helps wash away the lemon juice or vinegar. Then, gather up the corners of the cloth and squeeze out the excess liquid from the cheese. Many recipes at this point will instruct you to tie a knot on the cheesecloth and hang the cheese on your faucet to let more water drain. I have done this several times, and didn’t notice much more water dripping from the cheese, so I skip this step. However, I do press the cheese to release more liquid. This is how my block of paneer looks like before I press it between plates. Notice how I lay the cheesecloth flat over the block of cheese. This helps create a more smooth, even surface on the exterior. Afterwards, I will place the block of cheese on a plate, place another stack of plates on top, and stick everything into the refrigerator. Some people like to place the cheese over a colander so that the water drips out from the bottom, but I don’t have one that’ll fit the cheese. Refrigeration really helps firm up the cheese. Otherwise, the curds will crumble quite easily when you cut into the paneer or cook with it. After an hour or two of pressing, your cheese should look like this!
LOOKING FOR MORE PANEER RECIPES?
If you are looking for more ways to cook with paneer, check out my spiced pan-fried paneer recipe or the tasty recipes from some of my favorite food bloggers below! Paneer Tikka MasalaPaneer Jalfrezi (cheese and pepper stir fry) from Playful CookingMatar Paneer (peas and paneer) from Indian SimmerPaneer, Mushroom, Corn Curry from The Jam Lab
