Indian Cheese Block Paneer

Paneer is an easy-to-make Indian homemade cheese that can be used to make many different dishes such as Cheese and Bell Pepper Skewers , Creamed Swiss Chard with Cheese Cubes , and Indian Cheese and Pea Curry . Once you make paneer you will be amazed at how easy it is to make cheese at home! To get the optimum yield and creamy taste and texture, it is best to use whole milk instead of reduced fat milk when making this cheese block. As a substitute you may use a firm tofu block and crumble it.

Makes ¼ lb (125 g)

Prep work: 5 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes + 30 minutes sitting + 1 hour to set in the refrigerator

Refrigerator life: 1 day Reheating method: None! Simply use to make desired dish.

4 cups (1 liter) whole milk
Juice of 1 lime

1 Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed, medium-sized stockpot. Slowly bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently as it comes to a boil. Don’t let the milk boil over and out of the pot! Immediately turn off the heat.

2 Add the lime juice and gently stir for about 45 seconds, or until the milk separates into curds (solid cheese clumps) and whey (watery liquid). (If the milk does not separate, add more lime juice—2 teaspoons at a time—until it does.) The whey may appear to be light green in color from the lime juice. Turn off the heat.

3 Fold a large piece of cheesecloth into 4 layers (this will keep the cheese from falling through). Line a colander with the folded cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl to catch the whey. Gently pour the separated milk into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Let the whey drain through the colander down into the bowl.

4 When the whey has stopped draining (about 1 minute), gather up the sides of the cheesecloth to create a bundle. Using the back of a spoon, press the bundle against the side of the colander to squeeze out the excess whey. Be careful, as it will be hot.

5 Place the bundle on a plate. Unfold the cheesecloth and, using your hands (make sure it is not too hot to handle), mold the cheese into a square block about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick and neatly fold the cheesecloth back over it.

6 Pour the collected whey into the same pot that you boiled the milk in. Place the pot with the whey over the wrapped cheese block for 30 minutes to press any excess whey out of the cheese and allow it to firm up.

7 Remove the pot and discard the whey. Unfold the cheesecloth and gently place the cheese block on a clean plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and maximum of 1 day before cutting into cubes and/or panfrying to make your favorite paneer -based dish!