Homemade Paneer is one of the best things you can do when you have some extra milk that's about to go sour, or when you just feel like making some homemade cheese. Until you actually throw it in the deep fryer - which we don't do very often - it is actually pretty healthy and comprises only of whole milk and lemon juice. It's worth the effort - it's also a zero waste recipe, and you can use it in SO many different ways.
The trick is to use a pot that has a pretty thin bottom so that the milk can heat through quickly and evenly. That being said, you have to make sure you're constantly watching the pot and keeping your heat to a medium-low like shown in the picture. Squeeze out a full lemon into a bowl so you can make sure there are no pits. And then wait for the milk to come to a light boil!
Once the milk has started boiling, you can add the lemon juice in. Start stirring (gently) and you'll start to see the milk curdle. You're going to continue to do this for a few minutes until you start to see the greenish/yellowish whey. If you don't see this - don't fret! Just add 1 or 2 more teaspoons of the lemon juice.
The evolution will look like this! In the last picture, you can see the complete separate of the curdled milk and the whey - that's when you know you're ready to strain everything into a cheese cloth.
Take a large bowl thats securely lined with a cheese cloth and very gently pour the mixture in. Be sure to keep the whey - it is highly nutritious and can be used as a vegetable broth or to cook vegetables! Squeeze the cheese cloth so that all the water is drained out and then place the cheese cloth under a heavy weight so that you can get rid of any excess water. Let is rest for 30 minutes and then you're done!
That's really how simple it is - be sure to use it in delicious dishes such as this Palak Paneer, Methi Paneer, or even Paneer Manchurian.