Chenna/Paneer for Indian dishes

Chenna or Paneer is a primary component of many Indian sweets and some savory dishes . So if you plan to make these dishes at home, it is important that you know to make good, soft paneer. These dishes taste the best, when made fresh. So, I share with you this simple way to prepare chenna at home.

Preparation time: 15 mins

Yield: 200 grams of Paneer/chenna

Ingredients

• 1 Litre full-fat milk
• Lemon juice/ White Vinegar

Directions

1. Take 1 Litre of full-fat milk in a pot and let it come to a boil.
2. In another bowl take about 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice/ white vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water. You can add more of the lime/vinegar if required. (See Note 1)
3. Meanwhile, keep a strainer (muslin cloth or any white cloth) on a big container to filter off the curdled milk from the water (whey).( See note 2)
4. As soon as the milk starts to boil lower the flame and add the lemon juice/ vinegar. Keep stirring till you see the milk curdle completely and you see the whey completely transparent or greenish in colour. Turn of the flame.(See Note 3)
5. Immediately filter the chenna and wash it properly to remove all the vinegar. Washing the chenna also cools it down and stops the process of cooking.
6. Hang it for at least 1hour so that it becomes completely dry.(Note 4)

Notes

1. You can also use curd/ yoghurt to make chenna.
2. Preferably use a white cloth such that the chenna does not take the colour of the cloth
3. If you keep the flame on or cook the chenna, the chenna becomes hard resulting in harder desserts eg. rasgulla, sandesh. (when you are preparing desserts particularly)
4. The chenna should be dried properly.

Important

Do not discard the whey of the chenna after filtering the chenna. The whey has high nutritional values and can be used for making roti, curry or soups.

Step by step instructions to prepare chenna

Take 1 Litre of full-fat milk in a pot and let it come to a boil. In another bowl take about 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice/ vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water. As soon as the milk starts to boil lower the flame and add the lemon juice/ vinegar. Keep stirring till you see the milk curdle completely and you see the whey completely transparent or greenish in color. Turn off the flame

Immediately filter the chenna and wash it properly to remove all the vinegar.

Hang it for at least 1hour so that it becomes completely dry.

Thank you for stopping by. If you like the recipe do not forget to hit like. If you prepare this dish and publish your photos on Facebook and Instagram do tag #theepicureanfeast. Also for queries, you can mail me epicureanfeast2019@gmail.com