Updated on Mar. 26, 2024
You can learn how to make paneer, a soft Indian cheese, with the guide below. You'll need only two ingredients: milk and an acid like vinegar or lemon juice.
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Paneer is a popular ingredient in Indian cuisine. No Indian restaurant menu is complete without at least a couple of dishes with paneer. You can find all kinds of dishes made with this soft cheese, like paneer butter masala, paneer tikka masala, palak paneer—and the list goes on.
It’s easier than you think to learn how to make paneer at home to complement from-scratch Indian recipes. This detailed step-by-step guide will teach you how to make this Indian essential.
Don’t miss our list of the best Indian cookbooks for beginners, too!
Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. It’s a fresh and a non-melting cheese prepared by curdling milk with lemon juice or vinegar. Unlike other cheeses, you won’t need a coagulating agent (like rennet) while making paneer.
The process is simple. You’ll separate the casein and whey protein, and then collect the casein protein, or milk curds. The last step is to press the curds to make fresh paneer.
Pour the milk into a Dutch oven and bring to a boil over medium heat. Keep an eye on the milk! You don’t want it to boil over, but the clumping reaction of casein protein happens only at a warmer temperature, so it is necessary to bring the milk to a good boil.
When the milk comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Put a spatula in the Dutch oven so the milk doesn’t spill over.
Add the lemon juice or vinegar and mix gently. Start with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. The milk will start to curdle and you will see the curds and whey separate. If the curdling is not happening, add the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice.
Stir evenly and gently so the curds don’t break apart.
Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes. Do not cook the milk again after adding the acid. It will make the paneer hard.
Line a colander with cheesecloth and place the colander in the sink. Slowly pour in the curdled milk to strain the curds. Gently rinse with cold water to ensure the paneer doesn’t keep the flavor of vinegar or lemon juice.
Bring the ends of the cheesecloth together and squeeze out as much water as you can. Then, tie a knot and hang the bundle on the kitchen faucet for 20 to 30 minutes.
You just made chenna! Chenna is non-firm or crumbled fresh milk curds that don’t have any shape. It’s mainly used in the preparation of milk-based sweets like rasgulla or rasmalai—the strained curds can be kneaded for making these sweet dishes.
After 20 to 30 minutes, remove the knot. Fold the cheesecloth and flatten it.
Place a heavy object on top of this flattened paneer. A Dutch oven filled with water should work. Make sure you place the paneer on a flat surface so it doesn’t topple over!
After two hours, remove the cheesecloth and refrigerate the paneer for 30 minutes.
The final step is to cut the firm paneer into cubes.
The shelf life of paneer is shorter when compared to other cheeses. Store it in an airtight container and keep refrigerated. Fresh paneer stays good for up to 3 to 4 days.
You can also freeze it for a longer shelf life. To thaw the paneer, bring it to room temperature and soak in hot water for 5 minutes to make it soft again.
You can incorporate paneer into homemade curry, along with many other Indian recipes. Some of the popular recipes that you can make with paneer are:
These paneer dishes pair well with Indian flatbreads and with basmati rice, too.
