If you live near an Indian market you may be able to buy paneer in bulk. I
do, and add that to make palak paneer and matter paneer. I've made paneer,
but after I found it in the market I haven't.

Kent



"Steve Freides" > wrote in message
...
> Cool! Thanks for the instructions - might even try this over the upcoming
> long weekend.
>
> -S-
>
> Landon wrote:
>> On Thu, 26 May 2011 11:55:49 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I've been doing a bit of reading on paneer and ricotta. (My wife
>>> likes a frozen "palak paneer" we buy a Trader Joe's and we're
>>> thinking of trying to make the paneer ourselves and then trying to
>>> make the palak paneer, which is spinach, paneer, and seasoning,
>>> ourselves after that.
>>>
>>> Paneer is made from the curds, and ricotta from the whey - can you
>>> take the same pot of milk, heat it, add lemon juice, and then make
>>> paneer from the curds and ricotta from the whey?
>>>
>>> Clearly I have too much free time today, but it seems like an
>>> interesting summer project for us.
>>>
>>> -S-
>>>
>>
>> Both Paneer and Ricotta are simple to make.
>>
>> After your first attempt at both, you'll laugh at yourself for not
>> doing it sooner.
>>
>> Paneer:
>>
>> Heat whole milk to just under boiling. DO NOT BOIL
>>
>> Turn off heat.
>>
>> Stir in the juice of one lemon per/gallon of milk.
>>
>> Stir *gently* to move the forming curds around. They bind to each
>> other better with a tiny bit of movement.
>>
>> After about 2 minutes, you'll notice that the curd has stopped
>> forming. Pour the curd through a cheese cloth lined colander and
>> reserve the liquid (whey).
>>
>> Gently gather the cheese cloth and gently twist it until the ball of
>> curd is joined and feels solid. At that point, you can press the curd
>> ball into a glass dish of appropriate size to form it.
>>
>> Then, let the whey sit at room temperature overnight or for 24 hours
>> if needed. (Trial will tell you how long you need to do this where you
>> live).
>>
>> Then reheat the whey to just under boiling. You should notice a fine
>> curd forming in it as it heats. when no additional curd forms, let the
>> pot cool and when cool, pour through a quad-folded cheese cloth to
>> collect the curd. Gather and twist the curd ball as you did with the
>> Paneer and again, press it into an appropriately sized glass dish.
>>
>> Refrigerate both the Paneer and the Ricotta.
>>
>> Note: you can use a sushi press before putting it into the dish. Use
>> progressive weights to further refine the curd into a more dense mass.
>> This will press out more water from the cheese and make it firmer.
>> After doing this and cooling it in the fridge, it makes it able to be
>> sliced with a wire cheese cutter.
>
>