Paneer

Made homemade paneer recently, from the recipe here.
Happy to say it turned out great.

Here's how I did it:



I used a large pot, 1 gal of cold, whole milk. Simmered (being careful not to boil) stirring very often until the temperature reached 200F. (this isn't the picture of that, I forgot to take one).

Then I added 1/2 cup of vinegar (you can use lemon juice), stirred a bit and let it sit for a few minutes.

After a few minutes had passed, I stirred the pot gently, then slowly scooped out some of the curd, then drained the rest of the contents into a cheesecloth lined sieve.

Let it drain a bit, then added a sprinkle of salt, and stirred, gently.

After the curd drained a minute or so I put on silicone gloves, the disposable kind. This mixture was still pretty hot, the gloves diffused some of that heat. Then tightly wrapped the mixture in the cheesecloth to strain, shaping it into a flat-ish, round-ish shape.

Then I put it in the sink on a cutting board, with a heavy weight on top (my boiling pot and milk jug, both filled with water).








Let it strain a while. Maybe 20 minutes or so, then put it in the fridge (minus the weight), wrapped in plastic wrap so it could get cold. 

 Left it there about a half an hour.



 
After a half hour in the fridge, I had homemade cheese! This was the first time attempting such a thing so I was happy it came out right! 

(the little "bits" are some of the milk rind from the bottom of the pot, I didn't strain it and I didn't think to stop it from getting in with the curds. It only changes the aesthetics, not the taste)






 



I made this!:)

First try, but definitely not my last. This homemade paneer (aka farmers cheese) tasted so fresh and delicious. Went very well with the rajma masala I made this night.



















We had some with dinner, and I froze the rest. Delicious!