Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

Paneer (Cottage Cheese) [Wikipedia reference] is a primary ingredient in many dishes in North Indian cuisine and is a good source of Protein. It is also used in making many Indian sweets. In India we also prefer having Paneer with some chat masala sprinkled on it as an appetizer.

No. of servings: 100 gms
Preparation Time: 5 mins (once milk is boiled)

Ingredients:

• 1 litre of Milk
• Juice of 1 lemon or 1 cup curd

Method:

• Put the milk to boil.
  
• When it starts boiling, remove from the heat and wait for 2-3 minutes.
  
• Add the lemon juice/curd and stir gently till all milk curdles.
• Leave covered for some time.
  
• Pour over a thin muslin cloth and drain out the whey.
• Cover with cloth and place a weight on top to drain out the water.
• Cut into pieces or crumble as required.

Tips/Variations:

• Use of curd gives the paneer a smoother texture
  
• One can also use Fat Free Milk for a low fat paneer. Just add salt along with lemon or curd. This may result in lesser amount of paneer.
  
• Pressing for a shorter time (approximately 20 minutes), results in a softer, fluffier cheese.