Paneer cheese -- A quick howto

If you have eaten at an Indian restaurant, you have no doubt seen on the menu "Saag paneer", spinach with cheese. This is the technique for making the cheese. It is a favorite  when preparing a frugal meal because it provides an interesting way to make two ingredients out of one thing.

Swampy also uses this as a way to get rid of excess milk -- he doesn't drink milk, so if he has the fresh stuff on hand it is only to use in cooking.

This technique works very well with 2% milk. Swampy has done it with higher fat varieties and doesn't like the outcome as much.

You'll need a pan, and a big strainer.

2% milk and citrus juice (lemon, lime...doesn't matter). Minimum amount of milk is 2c.

Heat the milk up to boiling -- it is important that the milk actually boil.

Now start adding the lemon juice, a teaspoon at a time, and stir. All of a sudden, the milk will separate (the curds "crack"). At that point, immediately remove from heat and pour though the strainer. Keep the leftover liquid (yellowish), and make bread out of it (see Shaker Daily Loaf recipe earlier, sub whey for milk).

Now your strainer will have a thick mass of curds (some Indians call this "chenna"). Wash them off by passing a little water through the strainer. There will be no taste of the lemon juice left, its a very milkd fresh milk taste.

From here, you can:

1. Put it in a blender, add some salt, and blend to a thick paste. Swampy uses this as a dairy sauce base for cilantro pasta salad.

or

2. Take it out of the strainer, and weight it under cheese cloth for a few hours. The result will be paneer. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. As this is a non-melting cheese, you can fry it and add it to sandwiches or salads. It freezes well, too.


There are fun variations. You can spice the milk and you'll get some flavor in the cheese. You may also want to add some salt.

[peekawho]

My marriage proposal still stands.

[LenoraS]

I have always seen this on the menu when i go to an Indian restaurant, but have never ordered it.  What does this dish taste like?

[swampcritter]

Saag paneer is very much like a creamed spinach, the spinach is puréed slowly cooked in a sauce of turmeric, coriander, cumin, and a small amount of fenugreek. Sometimes, ground cloves are also added, and some cayenne powder to raise the spice level.  The paneer is cut into small cubes, fried, and added to the spinach mixture. It then simmers so all the flavors blend.


Someone asked Swampy if 1% or non-fat milk will work. The answer is not very well. There isn't a high enough concentration of complex proteins and fats in the milk. What you get is lower in yield, and a dry texture that isn't all that satisfying.

[peekawho]

I am making this today, as I have some 2% milk on hand.  

[peekawho]

I got about 1/3 cup cheese from the 2 cups of milk.  Is that what the yield is supposed to be?  

[swampcritter]

That seems about right, sometimes you get a little more.