I love DIY stuff. There is a sort of independence in making something from scratch right at home. I know, this is a contradicting belief to getting something store bought. It is easy-peasy and makes your job in the kitchen simple. At the time, the joy of making things with your own hands, knowing exactly what has gone into preparing something – I have no words to explain this feeling.
During our growing up days, Paneer – the popular cottage cheese (from India) was not that widely available. Even if it was, it was very costly which meant we seldom bought it. We as kids were very eager to try it out, as it was the new fad. One fine day, Amma showed us a newspaper clipping that gave the recipe for homemade paneer.
On reading the recipe, all three of us (amma, me and my sister) were in splits. It was nothing but the curdled milk that was used for making Paneer. Milk curdled at our place all the time. And in minutes, amma would make a delicious instant Paal Kova (recipe for some other day) out of it. Never did we think that making Paneer would be that simple. We quickly put the recipe to test and we were super successful. That marked our making of Paneer at home, whenever needed 🙂 Homemade Paneer is delicious, fresh and much more hygienic – not to mention without any preservatives at all.
I used low fat milk – the quantity of paneer could be slightly less compared to full fat milk. Instead of lemon juice, non-fruit vinegar can be used. If not, curd/yogurt can be used too. Place a kitchen mortar and pestle or some heavy pan on the paneer to get it to the shape. Additionally, some herbs can be added to the milk curds before forming the paneer. Chop Paneer into cubes and add it just before finishing off the gravy, as this is fresh paneer.
If you wish to get regular updates on my recipes, do follow me on Facebook @ Cooking From My Heart. You can also reach to me at [email protected] for any suggestions or queries 🙂
