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122 Comments

  1. It’s the little things which really make the difference in this recipe: don’t heat the milk on too high a heat and wait for it to come to the boil properly.

    I’ve tried making paneer before but it’s never come out well; your recipe worked first time. I used it for the butter paneer masala recipe on this site – delicious!5 stars

  2. Thank you for this and all other recipes. I am a regular reader of your recipes and the effort you put into description is laudable. I always search on this site for the recipe I want and follow your instructions. The alternative options you give are also very useful and practical.

  3. I tried making paneer for years. But I never succeded in making it with lemon.
    I used a chemical acid (allumen) before but I had the impression it was not totally good for health.

    Your recipe is fantastic. I never had better paneer than this one. The description is perfect. I am so happy to have paneer again… now I can try all your wonderful recipes with it. Thank you!5 stars

  4. Hi Dassana,

    Thanks for this and your entire archive of wonderful recipes. I love how you curate recipes from all over India! One question: how does this paneer stay firm when it’s fried in a recipe like kadhai paneer? Mine tend to disintegrate. Thanks!5 stars

    1. gitanjali for making paneer, use full fat or full cream or whole milk. do not use toned milk or low fat milk as the paneer breaks while cooking and also does not set well. the paneer cubes in the post were made from full fat milk and even after frying they stay firm.

  5. Hi Dassana,
    Your website is wonderful and so inspirational!!. I spend a lot of leisure time browsing through.

    Thanks
    Anu5 stars

  6. Hi Dasana
    Thank you for your super easy recipes. I have tried many and they have turned out really well.
    But I could never see whey forming when I make paneer. I made it more than once. It came fine. But once I add lemon juice. I keep stirring it till the milk reduces in volume afraid it might stick at the bottom.
    When I add lemon juice the milk curdles but I can only see small parts separating. I cannot see whey separating as you show in the picture.
    For 30 mini just keep stirring the milk. But you mentioned only 5 min to completely curdle.. what is the mistake?5 stars

    1. welcome bhargavi. this is happening due to the fat content in the milk. use full fat milk. do not use skimmed or toned milk. in fact it takes just ½ to 1 minute for the milk to curdle. in case the milk does not curdle, then add some more lemon juice.

    1. you can freeze paneer. you can keep the paneer in warm water for defrosting or let it defrost at room temperature. yes paneer can be used well after defrosting

  7. Dear Dassana!!
    Thank you, thank you, thank you!! 🙂 Your recipes are easy to follow and the food becomes yum and makes me feel im back in India!
    I found your website 3months back when i was searching for an aloo baingan recipe. I had enjoyed what I had eaten at a restaurant here in Auckland and kept asking who ever was serving if they knew what was in it 🙂 I love food and I love experimenting. And I found your easy peasy recipe and it was a hit! I have used your website to make different dishes.. And i just made paneer using your recipe! 🙂 🙂 🙂
    Keep up your awesome work and thank you for sharing your awesome recipes and tricks and tips of making yummy food! God bless!5 stars

  8. Hello..
    I tried to make paneer many times but it was never upto my expectations. I used this method and i got a very good block of soft paneer. Thanks a lot for solving our kitchen problems. I want to know the shelf life of this paneer block and please do mention the method too. Thanks once again.4 stars

    1. Welcome Bhavna. Glad to know this. In the refrigerator, Paneer will stay good for 3 to 4 days. Just keep it cover in the container while keeping in fridge.

  9. Is this muslin cloth or something specific? ? I have muslin cloth but paneer doesn’t come out clean when I drain the water. Thanks for your help!

    1. i use muslin for straining paneer and even for preparing hung curd. use a finely woven muslin. in these pics its a cotton kitchen towel. so you can use either a cotton kitchen towel or a finely woven muslin.

  10. Hi Dassana, May I know where you bought your muslin cloth from? The one I’ve got is not as good. Thanks ?

  11. First, I’m loving this website. I’ve made several recipes and have loved EVERYTHING! Regarding paneer, in the U.S. we use ounces, quarts, and gallons. Would a liter be about the same as a quart?

  12. I did it and it’s perfect! I’m so happy because I will be able to cook many more recipes from your blog! I’ve tried a lot already and they were all successful and I’m proud of myself because I hate cooking except Indian recipes(I’m french) because it’s so easy and colorful and tasty! And I’m a vegetarian too. Next step, I want to try naan bread!
    Thank you so much for your blog and your hard work!5 stars

    1. thats nice stephanie. thanks for such a lovely comment. indian cooking is colourful and tasty too as you mention. i am a fan of french cooking. though just tried a couple of recipes. do try naan and i hope you will like it.

  13. What can we do with the whey we get after preparing paneer?
    Heard the whey is very nutritious. How long can the whey be preserved.

    1. kavitha, you can use the whey in making chapatis, parathas, dals, gravies and even pulaos & biryanis. generally i add it to chapatis or gravies. i keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days only. just note that there will be a slight sour taste in any dish that you add the whey. it is due to the lemon juice/curd/vinegar added while making the paneer. so you can easily use in recipes where a faint sour taste is there, eg biryanis or some sour gravies or curries.

    1. on the face both look same. but are not. chenna is the coagulated milk and paneer is the coagulated milk which has been set firmly. chenna is more moist than paneer.

  14. I am from the Cayman Ishands ant find paneer at all, so I made my very own. It turned out great. Thank you for your help5 stars

  15. I used your recipe last night and I admit that it was SO EASY and SO GOOD that I’m amazed. Thank you for posting. I did use regular whole milk but I did have to have a tablespoon of vinegar, a bit more than you recommended. Turned out beautifully and super tasty. I’ll be making this all the time now because I love paneer and since I’m vegetarian this is a much better option that having tofu in recipes. Too much soy is not a good thing.5 stars

    1. thanks for the positive feedback, beth. making paneer is very easy. yes sometimes the proportion of acidic agents like lemon juice o vinegar can be less or more depending on the quality of milk.

  16. I made paneer from cows milk. Its has come out really very good. And I used it for paneer tikka. I was lil worried as to whether it will hold the scewer or not but it was firm enough to hold.
    Thanks for sharing.4 stars

  17. I just made this paneer and it turned out excellent as do all of your dishes. I did add a bit of extra lemon juice to get all of the milk to curdle. I left mine to sit about 2 or 3 hours to help it fully drain.

    My husband is from India and I am American, and your blog is my go-to place when I am trying to learn a recipe he loves. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are always so shocked that I can make things like khandvi or paneer, but I really owe all my success to your blog!5 stars

  18. I never thought that it was this easy to make your own paneer cheese! Thank you so much Dassana, for the recipe and the step-by-step methods. I will be making this asap, I can’t wait to try your delish paneer recipes. 🙂

  19. Hi! just wanted to know whether it is possible to store the whey in the fridge to use it later??

  20. Found it, thanks!!! I can’t get paneer here, so I’ll try to makee it by myself for the recipes from your site 🙂 .

  21. OH! ..and the whey, I have been using it in broths and smoothies. What an amazing pure protein. LOVE IT!5 stars

  22. I was so pleased with this. It was the first time I made paneer. I used raw milk (I always drink it too even though govt has demonized it) and apple cider vinegar. I made it for vegetable biryani and it came out perfect. I did pick up on the vinegar in the taste but not after it was in my dish. I think I may try the lemon next time. It was quite easy to make and was perfect in my dish. Thank you 🙂5 stars

  23. Thank you so much for such wonderful recipe, followed your recipe step by step you made it look so easy to make. It turned out great ended up using it in matar paneer. Recipe is totally a keeper. Stay blessed ♥

  24. Thanks a lot for the recipe/process. Of course it took repeated additions of lemon juice (total 1 medium size lemon for 1.5 lt) for it to work. But the result was fresh, soft homemade paneer plus bonus whey! Now I’ll always make it at home.

    One query tho, the paneer had a distinct tho mild flavour of lemon, is that to be expected? Any way to avoid it?5 stars

    1. welcome pradha. after you add the paneer in the muslin, the squeeze the whey carefully and rinse the muslin under a tap of running water. this will remove the mild lemon flavor. homemade paneer is always best.

  25. I used food grade 50% phosphoric acid to set my cheese. It has almost no flavor. For 500 ml of milk, I added 2.5ml acid. I have also tried 88% lactic acid and it works too. Still much more neutral than vinegar or lemon juice. Both those types of acids are sold at homebrew stores.

  26. Just a tip – for those having trouble getting their milk to curdle, it could be the milk. The milk can be pasteurized, but avoid ultra-pasteurized, as the ultra-pasteurization process keeps the milk from curdling properly. Here in the US, the milk cartons are labeled, and I always make sure.
    Also, I often use lime juice my acid. I think it leaves a wonderful flavor, depending on what I am using my paneer for.

    I just found your blog today, and I am hooked! Thanks so much!!

    1. welcome bonnie. thanks for sharing the tips. i am sure its going to help other readers. in india we get both raw milk and pasteurized milk. so the curdling happens easily.

  27. Thank you for all the recipies ! It’s an amazing job that you are doing !
    I have a question. Can I add little bit of curd and let’s say one teaspoon of lemon. I love when paneer is soft and that’s what I’m trying to do, to make it soft.5 stars

  28. I would love to hear more about your uses for the leftover whey! Great recipes and instructions. Thank you.

  29. Just tried this and it worked out great. Much better than paneer from supermarket in my opinion. Thanks for the recipe and clear instructions. Pictures were really helpful.5 stars

  30. Just made my first truly home made palak paneer curry and it tasted great. Thank you for sharing such great yet surprisingly simple knowledge which produces paneer so much nicer than supermarket bought! My only slight issue was yield, I ended up with about 150g from 1L of full fat fresh cows milk which still had a milky looking liquid remaining. From reading the instructions and the Q&A below, perhaps I was taking the milk off heat too soon? How long from putting the lemon juice into boiling milk would you say is maximum for getting a ‘full curdle’ without overcooking?5 stars

    1. thanks a lot andy for your feedback. generally from 1 litre of milk, you can get about 200 to 250 gms of paneer. this depends on the quality of the milk. as you mention there was a milky looking liquid. which means that the milk has not curdled completely. the milk has to come to a complete boil. then you add the lemon juice. stir well and if the milk still does not curdle completely, then add some more lemon juice. generally the milk begins to curdle as soon as the lemon juice or vinegar is stirred in it.

  31. Hey Dassana,
    Thanks for the easy instructions. I was wondering since both lemon juice and curd can be used, is there any difference with the texture of paneer that comes. I was confused with which one to use. Does lemon juice give a different texture as compared to curd?5 stars

    1. with curd you get a bit softer texture in the paneer. plus with curd you won’t get the after taste if you add vinegar or lemon juice. depending on what you have, you can use any.

    1. generally paneer is not stored in the whey. not sure of the reason though. some people keep the set paneer in water in the refrigerator. this is so, so that the paneer stays moist.

  32. Salam Dassana!
    Sidra from Pakistan…I was looking for new and into the budget recepies…and I am happy that I clicked the very right place…I am really inspired by the way you guide the people…this honest try of yours reveals your enthusiasm to cooking…
    God bless you for giving us the very best directions for cooking…I will be a regular visiter Inshallah….5 stars

  33. Hi dear dassana I’m so happy and surprised on seeing my paneer block. I could not believe my eyes. No one can explain clearly like u. Thank you so much. I became a big fan of you .4 stars

  34. Oh my. I made this tonight and cannot believe how easy it was to make delicious, soft paneer! Better than a lot of paneer I have eaten, in India and Australia. Thank you so much.5 stars

  35. Hi, I have been hesitating to prepare paneer as many of my friends could not get a firm paneer. Yesterday finally followed your recipe and it came out wonderfully. Its soft, firm and tasty. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

  36. Hi dassana
    Lovely!!! Thanks for sharing
    Also I need to say that you have got a fantastic Blog
    I need to try them all one by one soon
    Also, can you please tell us how to make tofu at home
    I’m just longing for this recipe. Plz do share on how to make tofu as soon as possible5 stars

    1. thanks priya. making tofu is a bit complicated as you need some special stuff for it which is not available in india. you can search on google as there are a lot of recipes showing how tofu is made.

  37. Hi Dassana. I followed the directions and ended up with awesome quality paneer, much much better than the store brought, frozen version. Thank you for all the wonderful recipies on this site, including this simple paneer. Keep it up! 😀5 stars

  38. Can I use Limbu Ka Phool
    (Cytric Acid ) to curdle the milk?
    And how would I store paneer or
    Khoya in the freezer ? Thank U

    1. you can use citric acid to curdle the milk. i usually keep the home made paneer in an air tight box and keep on the rack below the freezer if using in a couple of days. you can also keep in the freezer. if using the next day, then i just refrigerate it. keep the khoya in an air tight container or the khoya packet in the freezer.

  39. Hi Dassana,Thank you for sharing such an important aspect of vegetarian cooking – step by step process of making home made paneer. The pictures and write up are very informative!5 stars

  40. Hi dassana ,even thou i knew how to make paneer ,i was not comfortertable to make it .now after i read your recipe,i went strate in the kitchen and started showing my kids how to make it.you don’t only teach us ,but you bring the confident in to the people , that means you don’t only reach in to the reader’s computers but you knew how and how deep to reach in to their mind also .these words of mine should explain you how well and how perfectly your recipes are written and explained.keep up good job.

  41. thanks a lot to u dassana….u have made cooking very easy for people like me..becoz of u i have started cooking once again…thanks for ur good recipes….bye

    1. thanks vandana. cooking is easy, but just that at times we require more patience while cooking, especially some of the indian dishes.

  42. Thank you so much for posting homemade paneer, now i can make it easily at home and whenever i need. thanks once again.

  43. Your post on paneer was very well explained & came as a saviour as I was having trouble keeping it from crumbling…
    I tried your method & suceeded in keeping it in one piece…thanks a ton for the post..