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Homemade Paneer

Kankana Saxena
If you enjoy Indian food, then you must have tasted Paneer in some form of curry. It's one of the most common vegetarian ingredient used on a daily basis. While Paneer can be easily found in Indian stores, frozen aisle, Homemade Paneer can take the dish to a whole new level. I have shared all the tips and tricks you need to know to prepare Homemade Paneer.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 4 minutes
Total Time 19 minutes
Course Basics
Cuisine Indian
Servings 24 ounces of Paneer
Calories 596 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 gallon full fat whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 4 to 5 ice cubes

Instructions
 

  • In a glass, mix the vinegar with water and keep it aside. Also keep the ice cubes ready and close to the stove top.
  • In a heavy bottom pan, pour the full fat milk and let it come to boil. Keep stirring to avoid the milk from getting burnt at the bottom of the pan.
  • Once it comes to a boil, switch off the heat and pour the ice cubes. This will drop the temperature instantly and that helps to give a smooth texture to the paneer.
  • Pour the vinegar and water, keep stirring, and you will notice the milk curdled and whey got separated.
  • Place a muslin cloth on a colander and strain the curdled milk. You can choose to save the whey and use in soup or stew, or discard.
  • Run cold water on the paneer to wash off any excess sour taste from the vinegar.
  • Bring the edges of the cloth and squeeze off all the excess water. Tie the edges and place sometime heavy on top like a motor pestle or a heavy plate and leave aside for 4 to 5 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. This will drain off all the excess water and set the paneer.
  • Once it's set, untie and slice the block into bite size pieces.

Notes

The milk didn't curdle after adding the acid

You have to bring the milk to full boil before you add the acid.
PRO-TIP: Add few ice cubes as soon as the milk comes to boil and then pour the acid. Adding ice cubes will bring down the temperature of the milk instantly, and this results in a soft texture of the paneer.

Homemade Paneer not setting or broke apart in curry

If you prepare paneer using low fat milk, it will not set properly. Or it will break apart when added in curries.

How to Store Homemade Paneer ?

You can store the entire block of paneer wrapped in clear film or vacuum seal or airtight container, kept in the refrigerator.
The sliced paneer cubes can be store the same way.
It will stay fresh for a week in the refrigerator. If you want to keep longer, store in the freezer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 596kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 31gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 421mgSugar: 49g
Keyword basic, cheese, Dairy, Indian Cheese