Sense of Smell-Fresh Paneer

The fresh aroma from the kitchen when you make paneer is...... heavenly. Unknowing of the fact that adding just lemon to your milk would bring out such fragrance, I was all in for surprise when I made my first fresh Paneer at home! I was wondering, maybe the reason 'paneer' got its name. [Rose water is called as Paneer in Tamil]. Not to mention, it very well satisfied my sense of taste too!

 

 HOMEMADE FRESH PANEER

• Whole Milk - 4 cups
• Lemon Juice- 2tbsp
• Muslin Cloth

Heat the milk in a thick bottomed vessel. Bring to boil and simmer to medium heat.

Now add the Lemon juice slowly, while stirring continuously. Stop adding the lemon juice, when the milk starts to curdle.

Wait till large pieces of curds are formed. Initially the curds will be very small, they gather up to form liltle bigger ones. Now, the milk will be separated into whey( which will be more like water) and the curds. Switch Off.

Line a muslin cloth in a colander and place it in the sink. Now pour the curdled milk and discard the whey. Hold up the muslin cloth tightly and squeeze out as much whey as possible.

Tie the muslin cloth at the top with the paneer inside, and hang it over the sink for about 30 minutes. Let the whey filter out.

Now, place the cloth(with paneer) in a plate and keep any weight over it for about 30 minutes(for ex. Mortar pastel, or a big vessel of water), to press the paneer and to remove the extra whey.
Remove from the cloth and refrigerate for 2 hours. And cut into desired shapes!