Making cheese may sound time consuming and like it's out of your league, but we're here to tell you otherwise. Paneer, a fresh cheese used in a lot of South Asian cooking, is one of the easiest cheeses to make at home. It doesn't require any crazy equipment or a lot of time, but is still delicious and impressive.
To make paneer you will need:
1 gallon whole milk, not ultra-pasteurized 1/2 cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt
In a 5-quart pot, heat the milk over medium heat until it reaches 200 degrees or just before a boil. It should be foamy and steaming. Remove the pot from the heat and pour in the lemon juice. It will immediately begin to curdle. Stir for a minute, then cover the pot for 10 minutes. Line a large strainer or colander with cheesecloth and place it over a mixing bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the curds from the pot and place on the cheesecloth. Once all curds have been removed, gather the cloth around the curds and gently squeeze out the liquid. The cheese will be hot, so be careful. Open the cloth and stir in the salt. Gather the cloth again and squeeze out as much liquid as you can, for about 10 minutes. Flatten out the cheese and cut into cubes.
Paneer is a great addition to Indian dishes, but we also like it's flavor with lemon, rosemary salt and pepper.
