Paneer

By gnikylime

From Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz, with further notes from Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni

Ingredients

• 1/2 gallon/2liters whole milk
• 1/4 cup/60mL vinegar

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the milk to a slow boil, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Removing from the heat.

Add the vinegar, a little at a time while stirring, until the milk curdles. If the curd forms before all the starter has been incorporated, do not add the full amount of the starter, as that will only harden the curd. Leave the curds to settle for about 10 minutes.

Strain the curdled milk through a cheesecloth-lined colander. (If planning to make cheese again within 24 hours, save the whey to add to the next batch instead of lemon juice, vinegar, or yoghurt. This is what the pastry shops in India use as a starter, day after day.) Collect the curds in the cheesecloth into a ball by lifting the corners of the cheesecloth out of the colander; then join the corners together and twist the cheesecloth to tighten the ball and force water out.

Use weight to force the whey out. Place the ball of cheese on a sloped surface (a cutting board propped up slightly under one end), then place a second flat surface on top of the curds, weighted by a big book or other moderately heavy object. After an hour (or more), the cheese will hold its form when you unwrap the cheesecloth.