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Sure, you could buy fresh pasta or preserved lemons at the store. And sure, it would be quicker than making either yourself. For when you have a day off, though, try the scenic route instead. In this series, Slow Down, we're sharing cooking projects that are the equivalent of knitting your own scarf: both relaxing and rewarding. Today, make your own paneer.
Milky and tender, this cheese shines in some of our favorite dishes. Store-bought paneer leans firm—but make it from scratch, and you can get both a softer touch and fresher-than-fresh flavor. Picture it in a burst cherry tomato sauce with coriander and cumin seeds. Or marinated, skewered, and grilled (then doused in green chutney). Or riff on this Saag Paneer, But With Feta—but with paneer. You can't go wrong.
Typically in India, buffalo milk is used to make paneer—it has a higher fat content than cow’s milk and a richer flavor. If you can get your hands on whole buffalo milk, then do use it, but you can still get great results using regular cow’s milk. Extra-creamy Jersey milk, which has a higher fat content, will give you a slightly higher yield.
I use lemon juice to split the curds from the whey, as it leaves a slight lemony taste, but you can instead use vinegar, if you prefer. Distilled malt vinegar is a good choice, as it does not leave any after taste.
Here’s how to make paneer:
Pour 2 liters (8½ cups) whole milk into a heavy-based pot and place it over a medium heat. Bring the milk to a gentle boil, stirring continuously to ensure the milk does not scald on the bottom of the pot.
Remove the milk from the heat, add the juice of 1 lemon or 2 Tbsp. distilled vinegar.
Stir. You will see the curds begin to separate from the whey as the milk curdles—if this doesn’t happen after 1 minute, add 1 Tbsp. more of lemon juice or vinegar. Leave the milk to sit for 1 minute to fully separate.
There are two ways to strain the curds from the whey. First, you can line a sieve with muslin cloth (large enough eventually to fold back over the curds in the sieve) and place it over a bowl. Carefully pour the curds into the muslin and sprinkle a few sea salt flakes over the top.
Fold over the muslin and stack a few saucers on top to press down.
My aunty’s favored technique, on the other hand, was to wrap the curds in muslin and tie the bundle to her overhanging kitchen tap so the excess whey would drip into the sink—brilliantly efficient! In either case, I always keep the whey (put a bowl in the sink to catch it, if you use Aunty’s method) and use it in place of stock or water in cooking, particularly dals and curries. The whey has a great acidity and is full of protein.
The final texture of your paneer will depend on how long you hang it for and how firmly (and if) you press it. For a loose paneer, strain the curds without pressing. If you like a soft, spreadable paneer, hang for just a few hours (my aunt’s kitchen-sink technique is ideal for this). If you prefer something that you can crumble (through recipes such as the pea, fennel, and paneer salad from my book), then gently press with some saucers topped with unopened food tins (I prefer the sieve technique for this). If you prefer something even firmer, then double your saucer-and-tin stack and press the paneer overnight in the fridge. The result in this case will be a paneer you can dice and cook while still retaining its integrity.
Once you have pressed them, you can turn the curds out into an airtight container, seal them and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days. (This recipe makes about 350 grams.)
Finally, feel free to jazz up your paneer with a few simple ingredients—add these after you have strained off the curds. For example, you could add crushed cumin seed, finely chopped chile, finely ground coriander seeds, chopped coriander leaves, chopped mint leaves, or chopped fenugreek leaves—among many others.
Excerpted from Parsi: From Persia to Bombay: Recipes & Tales from the Ancient Culture. Used with the permission of the publisher, Bloomsbury. Copyright © 2022 by Farokh Talati.