Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | If you want your cheese to be Satvic it must be fresh, unripened and cooked with good spices. Try making Paneer at home its easy and much, much cheaper than buying it from an Indian Market where you are not certain about the milk being organic.
It can stay in the fridge for a couple of days no problem. Just make sure you don’t eat it if it goes even slightly off, the worst kind of toxins from food are from bad protein.
What you need is;
1 Gallon of full-fat organic milk (depending on how much you want to make, you can make it in smaller batches). It’s even better if you can get raw and/or un-homogenized.
Juice of 4 organic limes or lemons – or you can use raw apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh, full-fat organic yogurt (best if homemade) – you can omit this altogether, I use Fage’s Greek Yogurt
Cheesecloth
Colander/strainer
Bring milk to a boil stirring constantly....as soon as it begins to boil add the yogurt and lime juice. Milk solids will separate from the water, you will know if you have added enough lime juice when the liquid looks nice and clear, it should not be cloudy...it may look a little yellow or green due to the juice, its fine.
Turn heat down and let simmer for 15 min....Do Not stir…and don’t let it boil over.
Remove from heat and strain through a colander lined with about 4-6 layers of cheesecloth...leave enough extra cheesecloth around the edges to cover the milk solids and wrap them up tight, this will hold it together nicely preventing crumbly Paneer.
Place a small plate (saucer) on top of the solids and add extra weight on top, I use a 5 lb round free weight. Let it sit for about an hour till the extra moisture gets pressed out. Alternatively you can collect the solids in the cheesecloth and hang it up to drain until it becomes a firm ball. Paneer should be nice and firm but not dry. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate to store.
For cooking: Cut it into cubes and sauté in some ghee with turmeric, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, kulunji (Black Cumin Seed), fennel seeds, a little garam masala if you like and some sea salt...cooking it this way eliminates the majority of the 'heavy' qualities dairy tends to have...but still...don’t eat Paneer in large quantities.
Some variations are to add fresh green peas, tomatoes and cilantro to the above. You can also add 1 cup of yogurt diluted with a half cup of water too, for this variation.
Or you can make Palak Paneer by sautéing one small onion, finely chopped, in 4 T Ghee. Stir in a half of teaspoon of a ginger paste – you can do this by mashing ginger in a mortar or pound the crap out of it on the chopping board, one-quarter teaspoon of Turmeric powder and fry for about a minute. Add 4 cups of shredded spinach, finely chopped, salt to taste and half cup of water. Bring to boil. Cook until almost done, then add sautéed Paneer cubes and simmer for about 5 minutes.
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How to make Paneer
I'll have to pick up some extra milk and try it this recipe out. My daughter is a big fan of milk, and I can't use hers up.
