Indian: Paneer – Cheese (basic Recipe)

1. Heat the milk in a saucepan and add the vinegar just before boiling. Mix well with a whisk. The cheese separates from the yellowish clear whey, you can see that very clearly.
2. If the separation process cannot be clearly seen (i.e. if the liquid is still milky), add a little more vinegar. But beware! Not too much, otherwise the cheese will taste too much like vinegar. Boil the whole thing. By now, cheese and whey should be completely separated.
3. Place a sieve on a bowl and cover with a cloth. Strain the cheese over the cloth and collect some of the whey in the bowl. The rest of the whey can go.
4. Stir a little so that the whey comes out of the cheese. Now you can season the cheese a little if you want. Eg with garlic and herbs .. maybe some salt .. pepper .. as you like. For Indian food, it usually stays natural.
5. Now the cheese has to be pressed so that the excess whey comes out of the cheese. Either you twist it in the cloth and press (that’s very hot) or you use a tool, like me. Since I don’t have professional cheese molds, I use two stainless steel cutlery cups with small holes. They slide into each other and are perfect for pressing cheese. (Sometimes it is available in the discounter for 1 €) So fill one with cheese and press the second cup on it.
6. Put the whole thing upside down in the pot and weigh it down a little. I take a carton of milk .. so about 1 kg. The harder you press, the drier and firmer the cheese will be. Now let the cheese cool down and then take it out of the mold. You can keep it covered with the cold whey in a sealable can in the refrigerator. It should be durable for a week.
7. I took 3 liters of milk straight away, that’s why the form is so full. Not that you are surprised. And I’ll show you soon what you can do with this cheese.

TIP:

1. You can also use lemon juice instead of vinegar. You may need a little more of this, because lemons are a natural product and the acidity is subject to natural fluctuations.