How to make paneer at home without lemon? Know ingredients required & more

Paneer is one of the most popular food items in the Indian kitchen. It is one of the most versatile food items that is not only a tasty milk item but also an incredible health beneficial food that you can gain from homemade cottage cheese. Not many would have been aware that paneer can be made at home with some easy steps even if you do not have lemon at home or you forgot to store lemons prior. Other than lemon juice you can opt for vinegar that also makes the milk curdled. If you are running out of both lemon juice and vinegar you can also use buttermilk or curd and citric acid which are things that are mostly available at everyone's home. 

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5 items to curdle milk 

• Vinegar
• Curd
• Buttermilk
• Citric Acid

All these items help you to make tasty and fresh paneer at home because of their acidic nature. As soon as they are mixed with the milk, milk gets spoiled and turns into a curd of larger pieces that stick together and form paneer. Hence, these acidic food ingredients help you to make fresh and soft paneer at home.

Paneer can be used as follows:

• Can be eaten raw in salads
• Also acts as an alternative to eggs
• You can make paneer pakora as a snack that everyone loves
• If you love rice, you can also make the preparation of pulao, by adding cubed paneer to your rice dishes.
• Paneer sandwiches can make for a light and delicious snack and many more gravy delicacies can include paneer.

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How to make paneer at home without lemon?

To prepare homemade paneer, you just need these things-

Ingredients

• 2 litres of whole milk
• 6 tablespoons of white vinegar
• Cheesecloth

Instructions

• Pour the milk in a large vessel and boil it over medium flame.
• As the milk is boiling, keep the vinegar ready.
• As soon as the milk is done, turn off the flame and pour lemon juice (or vinegar) in the milk while stirring it.
• Make sure that the milk curdles immediately, but if it does not happen, you can add 1 more tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar.
• Let the curdled milk cool for 15 minutes.
• Then take a large sieve or strainer and place a cheesecloth in it. Strain the curdled milk through the cheesecloth and rinse the curd under cold water to wash out the remaining lemon juice or vinegar.
• Washing it can help the curdled milk to cool down and hence you can also squeeze it immediately.
• Twist the cheesecloth and remove the water properly from the soft cheese.
• Now, place the wrapped cheese on a flat surface and press it down with a plate on top and also keep a weight on the cheese.
• Keeping weight will keep the paneer pressed for at least 1 to 2 hours.
• After that refrigerate the paneer before cooking. Your delicious homemade paneer is ready!

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