Saturday, November 1, 2008

Paneer

I posted before about Saag with Tofu , but it just isn't the same as real honest to goodness Saag Paneer. Here's the easier than you'd think method. Fun to try at least once. Although, this is at least my third! :-)

Paneer, or Homemade Cheese:

1 Gallon of whole milk
1/4 cup white vinegar
canola oil for frying

extra needs:
cheese cloth
strainer
oil thermometer

Line a strainer with several layers of cheese cloth and place over a bowl.
In a large stock pot, heat milk to boiling, stirring often to prevent scalding.

After milk boils, remove from heat and stir in vinegar. The curds should form immediately, separating from the whey.
Pour curds into strainer lined with cheese cloth and pour out whey (although I've heard your plants will like this, I've never tried it since I wasn't sure if the vinegar would be a problem).

Draw up the cheese cloth around the curds pressing more of the whey out.
Weight the cloth wrapped curds down with a pot full of heavy ramekins, etc. and leave to compress/drain for about 5-6 hours.

Remove from cloth, and cut into cubes.

Heat ~1-2" of oil in a pot or wok to 300 degrees.
Fry in several batches for 4-5 minutes each.

Drain on paper toweling then store in the fridge in a tightly covered container until ready to use.

Continue on and make a killer saag paneer with the recipe I posted earlier and this is what it will look like.

3 comments:

Mike said...

Ooh - one of my favorite Indian dishes. We tried a version of this once - total FAIL. Yours looks much better!

Erndog said...

Mike- Make sure you've got some good tamarind sauce to go with if you make it! I make a quickie sauce with tamarind concentrate (keep in fridge, lasts forever, totally worth buying), agave nectar, a dash of cumin and a dash of cayenne, and a little water. Simmer it on the stove top for a bit.
Easy! :-)

Deb Schiff said...

So awesome! Good for you for making your own paneer! I'm so lazy -- living in Central Jersey as I do, we have very good local access to many Indian food stores and restaurants. I just drive about 5 minutes to get fresh paneer. ;) Maybe when I'm not so lazy, I'll try your recipe!