Paneer

I got tired of rarely having cheese here in Uganda (it is not sold anywhere in Soroti), so I made myself some paneer!  It is super easy and definitely worth the little trouble it takes to make.  I am very thankful that I brought my handy milk thermometer with me.  And all you need is milk, lemon juice (or vinegar), and something for draining the whey off of the cheese (like cheesecloth).
 

The first time I made it, I started with 2 liters of milk and 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice.  The second time I used vinegar instead of lemon juice.  Each one turned out just as good as the other!

I heated the milk to 195F, stirring occasionally all the while.  At 195, I removed it from the stove and let it cool to 190F.  Then, I stirred in the lemon juice/vinegar, one tablespoon at a time.  The curds separated from the whey and I let it all sit for 15 minutes.

 At this point, you would use cheesecloth if you had it.  One of the things that held me back from making cheese in Uganda right away was that I didn't have cheesecloth.  Finally, I decided there MUST be some substitute for cheesecloth and I searched online for ideas.  The best suggestion was a cloth handkerchief.  These are available everywhere, so I went out and got one and made cheese the next day!

So, pour the curds and whey into a handkerchief/cheesecloth over a colander.

Wrap the cheese up and hang it to drain for about 30 minutes.

Next, place the cheese within the cheesecloth between two plates and set something heavy on top to press out more whey.  I used a cast iron skillet.  Leave it for one or two hours, depending on how dry you want the cheese to be.

Now, you have made paneer!  As you can see, my new handkerchief dyed a little bit of the cheese blue...  But it still tasted fine.  And the second time, there was no strange color leaking out of the handkerchief onto the cheese.

And after this, it is time to make tasty Indian food.