Paneer is an Indian cheese prepared from milk. A variety of dishes can be prepared from paneer. It is a good source of protein. Though it is readily available in stores, home made paneer is very soft and spongy and is very simple to prepare. Since I will be posting many paneer dishes, I thought first I will share the process of making paneer at home for those who are not familiar with it or who have not tried it at home.
Home made Paneer Recipe
How to make Paneer at Home-Paneer Recipe
Prep Time : 5 mins
Cook Time : 10 mins
Yields: 175 grams
Recipe Category: Cooking Basics-Paneer
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Author:Padhu Sankar Ingredients needed Milk – 1 liter
Fresh Lemon juice – 2 – 2 1/2 tbsp
Yields: 175 grams
Recipe Category: Cooking Basics-Paneer
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Author:Padhu Sankar Ingredients needed Milk – 1 liter
Fresh Lemon juice – 2 – 2 1/2 tbsp
Method
1. Bring milk to boil.
2. Once it boil, turn off the heat, wait for a minutes. Then add lemon juice to it while continuously stirring.
3. Milk will start curdling. (Pic 3)
4. Keep stirring until the curdling process is complete. (Pic 4)
5. Strain through a cheese cloth or thin cotton cloth. Rinse it with water or pour water to it to help wash away the lemon flavor. Wait for it to cool a little. (pic 5)
6. Gather the cloth with curd, squeeze out all water, tie a knot and hang it for 20-25 minutes to drain water, if any completely.
7. Keep a heavy object on top of it. I kept a pressure cooker filled with water. Leave it to set for 3 hours.
8. After 3 hours, take it out from the bundle, paneer will look as in pic 8.
9. Cut it into cubes and use it. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, if you are not going to use it immediately.
Note –
If paneer crumbles when you cut, then you have not drained/removed the whey properly.
I used milk with 4.5% fat. I got approximately 175 grams of paneer.
You may need a little more or a little less lemon juice than mentioned for the milk to curdle.
Shelf Life
It can be stored for 5 -6 days in the refrigerator.
Check out my collection of Paneer Recipes.
Meet you all again with more interesting recipes, till then it is bye from Padhu of Padhuskitchen.
Wow…what a perfect paneer recipe…very yummy.
do drop in at my space sometime.
Lovely post Padhu.
Love the step by step pics, love Paneer. Made a Paneer Omelet.
மிகவும் அழகாக step by step போட்டோ எடுத்து தெளிவாக விளக்கு இருக்கின்றிங்க…வாழ்த்துகள்…சூப்பர்ப்…
wow, padhu, i just posted paneer fried rice 🙂 next time will prepare paneer at home and use it. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for this great tutorial, with the photos and all. I have always wanted to make my own paneer and can't wait for your recipes using it.
What kind of milk is best? What is the lowest % of fat content can you use without it changing the texture or taste? Is is usually made with whole milk? Just wondering….thanks!
You have made it so perfectly padhu…nice useful post for everyone
very useful tips dear
Thanks for sharing the method of making paneer at home.Nice illustrative clicks.
Thanks for sharing this..
Hmm homemade paneer is the best..kudos Padhu..
Love
Kairali sisters
Thats nice collage of photos making paneer.
Looks perfect
perfect paneer…thanks for sharing…
The paneer looks so perfect…nice post
I had also posted how to make paneer on 20th may 2010. But I had used stainless steal strainer to strain the whey. When all the whey drained off immediately transfered it into a flat plate, and kept a heavy weight on it. Your method is also very easy… thanks.
Informative post
Useful post dear..perfect paneer recipe.
A very useful post and loved your step by step pics 🙂
padhu really good post about homemade paneer.i used to prepare paneer at home.at first it didn't came out good.anyway nicely explained with pictures.
first time here…nice blog with wonderful collection of recipes…home made paneer post is really useful…thanks for sharing this!
looks gr8 Padma ….
Padhu,
Paneer making at home, it is really fun. Nice clicks.
Nice step by step presentation of homemade paneer.
Nice step by step photos..i have already bookmarked..
Loved the step by step pics and instructions, i also try to make paneer at home. Sometimes i add vinegar instead of lemon juice.
Beautiful post..
detailed explanation and nice clicks.
what a perfect demo..I too make same way..thanks for sharing..:-)
விளக்கமான படங்களுடன் சூப்பர்ர்!!!
Great post..Thanks for sharing, Padhu..
Never dared to try it at home..thanx for step by step instructions
wow such a nice detailed recipe, thnx for sharing!
Perfect paneer cubes here!! Yumm!!
Great Padhu…looks perfect.
That looks like perfect paneer
Excellent presentation!!!!!!!
is that so simple ?…OR… you have made it look simple?…a casual look of the collage pictures illustrated everything….i am going to try at home my dear.
Paneer has comeout so perfect. Thanx for useful tips.
very well explained. excellent photos. useful to all
Fresh homemade sounds yum 😀
fresh paneer tastes the best…
Padhu, I am wondering where r u? Why am I not getting updates from you? I will check it. Very nice to hear from you. You presented very beautifully the paneer making steps. Take care and have a wonderful weekend!!!
hey u have a nice blog…loved ur space….will keep following it…
Padhu, thank you so much for sharing your recipes. You have made everything easy to follow and the pictures are mouth watering! I am just starting to cook Indian food and I really appreciate this blog. I made the paneer and it was a success! I did have to add a lot more lemon, however. The milk would not curdle! I used whole milk – I don't know if the percentage of fat was slightly different from the milk you use. I rinsed it through the cheesecloth, just to make sure it would not have any lemon left in it. Anyway, it was delicious. I used it in a saag paneer – my family loved it! Thank you again, I will be visiting regularly for more recipes! 🙂
hai, herebefore i didn't know how to make paneer. But u explained very well through steps. I worked out this and really i got a delicious paneer. Thanks a lot. Great job. Keep moving on.
but wat about the remaining milk …Is it entirely waste huh . And where can i buy cheese cloth
THANK U PADHU FOR THIS USEFUL RECIPE .
thanks for the very useful post padhu..love it…
What to do with outdated paneer got from stores
The post was very useful for people like me who love to try new things at home.. Loved your post Padhu 🙂
Padhu, Thats a wonderful way of explaining how to make paneer with pictures. You made it so simple. One question I have is where I can get cheese cloth. In what way it is different from normal cloth. Pls explain.
Lakshmi – you can use any ordinary clean soft cotton cloth (even a soft cotton dupatta or clean white soft cotton dhoti)
Thank U Padhu for this step by step method of Paneer preparation. I am going to give it a try .
thank u so much….
thanks its very nice it will come i will try and i will post for u ………
how it came
Thats great Padhu. I never thought making paneer is that simple!!!!!!
thank u so much the best cook and guide, thanks a lot
Thanks paddu. Very easy process for panneer
Thanks..! Mam.. Great secret shared.. But i dont understand where to add curd
Hi padhu , thanks for your post.
Hi Padhu..Thanks for the post. I have a query..Can paneer be made out of spoit milk due to not boiling it properly
You can but that will not be good. It is best to discard spoilt milk.
Thanks a lot for your tip…Really useful….
Thanks padhu.. This was good. . But how did you get the dough like consistency? I fooled your steps exactly and though I did get it correct in the end there were still some crumbs on outer sides of the cloth. After hanging for 15 mins I loosened the knot and then kept the weight. Should I knead or gather the curd before this? How do you get that bal/dough like consistency?
You can hang it even for more than 15 minutes. You need not knead it after hanging it but you can gather everything together to a mass and then keep the weight on top of it.
Thanks will try it the next time! ☺
Hey thanks for the receipe. I tried it today. Had a doubt before putting weight on top, but it came as perfect cube.
Thanks for the receipe. Tried it today. It Came well.
Thanks for this tutorial.. I have a query how to remove the lemon Snell from this paneer… even after washing in water it's not going.
Thank u padhu…It came out very well… U are awesome….
Kaachna paala ila kaachadha paala.. which one to use..?
"Bring milk to boil" is the first sentence under "Method".
Boil milk, reduce the heat and then add lemon juice.
Hi it is lemon juice sourness. How can it be removed??
You have to wash the paneer with the cloth and then hang it. Lemon sourness will not be there.
What to do with left over milk after extracting paneer
Milk will not be there after extracting paneer. Only the whey water will be there. It can be used for soups or for making chapati dough.
My paneer became hard what could b the reason
Once the milk curdles, you must stop boiling, pour cold water to stop it from cooking further.