Let's Make Some Indian Cottage Cheese at Home!!
Indian Cottage Cheese or Paneer
Paneer is a soft yet firm, non-melting cheese that is made by curdling milk using acidic ingredients like Lemon juice, white vinegar, or citric acid. Paneer is loaded with healthy fats, proteins and carbs count is really low. It's excellent for weight loss & diabetics.
let's make some Cottage cheese at the comfort of your home :)
Cook Time
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ready in: 40 min
Yields: serves 2-3 people
Ingredients
- 1 liter - Full fat milk
- 2-3 tablespoon - Lemon Juice or Vinegar
Equipments:
- 1 - Colander
- 1 - Cheese cloth or muslin cloth
- 1 - Large bowl
Instructions
- Take a heavy bottom pan and add milk to it. Bring it to boil at medium flame.
- If you used homogenized milk from Carton - Then pour the lemon juice in small batches (1 teaspoon at a time) once the milk comes to a boil. Keep stirring the milk as you add lemon juice in small batches until you see milk curdling. The flame should be set to medium throughout this step.
- If you used Non-homogenized milk from the farm - Once the milk comes to a boil, turn off the flame and wait for 4-5 mins. Thereafter add lemon juice in small batches and keep stirring till you see milk curdling. If milk is not curdled within 5 mins then again put the milk at medium flame and keep stirring. Do add some Lemon juice or vinegar if needed.
- Note: Be careful with adding Lemon Juice or Vinegar. There is no specific amount of it to be added. Just that It should be added in small batches until you see clear whey separated from milk chunks.
- Once you see the whole milk curdled, switch the flame off immediately else the Cottage cheese will become hard.
- Keep the pan aside for 5 min letting the milk chunks to settle.
- Meanwhile, take a large bowl and place the colander over it. Cover the colander with the cheesecloth.
- Now pour the entire milk chunks with whey to the colander.
- Rinse it gently with clean water to remove the smell & taste of acidic ingredients used.
- Once the excess water is removed from the chunks, wring the cheesecloth making a round shape of the cottage cheese.
- Squeeze any excess water & make a knot.
- Now simply take a bowl and put the colander over it. Put the cottage cheese wrapped in cheesecloth in the colander and place a heavy object on it.
- So that excess water will be collected in the bowl through the colander and our cottage cheese will get a good shape.
- For example: Place a plate over cottage cheese(wrapped in the cloth) and in the plate put any packet of 2-3 kgs. Leave it for 30 mins.
- Tadaaa... our Indian cottage cheese is ready to be eaten !!
© 2020 Himanshi
