3 ms·

>if you put milk in a pot, heated and added lemon until it separated sounds like you made ricotta, not cream cheese. Interesting. That is basically how paneer

>if you put milk in a pot, heated and added lemon until it separated sounds like you made ricotta, not cream cheese. Interesting. That is basically how paneer is made. Then you strain off the whey after the milk "splits", and hang the paneer up to drain, wrapped in a porous cloth, for a few hours. Then you can eat it straight away, either raw (delicious that way too), or deep-fried alone, or in some recipe for a dish having paneer as an ingredient. The raw paneer lasts for a few days in the fridge. The whey can be drunk as is, or used instead of or in addition to water for cooking.

OJFord 3y ago
Correct that is (unpressed) paneer, not ricotta - the latter should be the acid-split curds from the whey left from a rennet-set cheese; the result is much creamier (and of course much much lower yield).
- fuzztester 3y ago
  Right, thanks, I forgot to mention the need to press the paneer for a while, if you want to make cubes for cooking. That is both for giving it shape and firmness, and removing more of the whey, after which it will fry or cook better without falling apart.
  - OJFord 3y ago
    Oh I wasn't meaning to correct you - you mentioned draining, and I know some people don't press it any more than under its own weight like that. (I do prefer it a bit firmer personally though - just not as far as the stuff we get in shops in the UK, which is like rubber.) I just meant that up-thread cheese sounds like paneer because it is (on its way to being), ricotta is/should be slightly different.
    - fuzztester 3y ago
      Got it now. And yes, rubbery paneer is not good.
foobarian 3y ago
Hmm is this the paneer from "palak paneer" the delicious Indian desert? :-)
- fuzztester 3y ago
  Yes, it is the same paneer (a kind of Indian soft unaged cheese) that is used in palak paneer (a spinach + paneer dish with spices and masalas), which I agree is delicious when made well. It's like a comfort food because you feel good after eating it, for some reason, not sure why. But it is a main dish, not a desert :) It is eaten with either chapatis or rotis or naans or rice, mostly. Not sure how you thought it was that, since it is not sweet, rather it is savory. It is a dish from Punjabi or North Indian cuisine, whic is one of my favorite cuisines. I like many other regional Indian cuisines too, as well as some from other countries. Unfortunately in Indian restaurants, you don't get many options of ethnic, regional Indian foods, although that is slowly changing, but then again, some of it is the chi-chi and overpriced kind.
  - foobarian 3y ago
    My apologies, I was thinking of gulab jamun! Totally different dish, I spaced out on recalling the name.
    - fuzztester 3y ago
      No problem, it happens to us all :)
- fuzztester 3y ago
  BTW (and I made the mistake below too), no Indian or other desert is even remotely delicious :) They are all dry, and mostly hot, though some are cold. Now desserts, on the other hand ...

OJFord 3y ago

Correct that is (unpressed) paneer, not ricotta - the latter should be the acid-split curds from the whey left from a rennet-set cheese; the result is much creamier (and of course much much lower yield).

fuzztester 3y ago
Right, thanks, I forgot to mention the need to press the paneer for a while, if you want to make cubes for cooking. That is both for giving it shape and firmness, and removing more of the whey, after which it will fry or cook better without falling apart.
- OJFord 3y ago
  Oh I wasn't meaning to correct you - you mentioned draining, and I know some people don't press it any more than under its own weight like that. (I do prefer it a bit firmer personally though - just not as far as the stuff we get in shops in the UK, which is like rubber.) I just meant that up-thread cheese sounds like paneer because it is (on its way to being), ricotta is/should be slightly different.
  - fuzztester 3y ago
    Got it now. And yes, rubbery paneer is not good.

foobarian 3y ago

Hmm is this the paneer from "palak paneer" the delicious Indian desert? :-)

fuzztester 3y ago
Yes, it is the same paneer (a kind of Indian soft unaged cheese) that is used in palak paneer (a spinach + paneer dish with spices and masalas), which I agree is delicious when made well. It's like a comfort food because you feel good after eating it, for some reason, not sure why. But it is a main dish, not a desert :) It is eaten with either chapatis or rotis or naans or rice, mostly. Not sure how you thought it was that, since it is not sweet, rather it is savory. It is a dish from Punjabi or North Indian cuisine, whic is one of my favorite cuisines. I like many other regional Indian cuisines too, as well as some from other countries. Unfortunately in Indian restaurants, you don't get many options of ethnic, regional Indian foods, although that is slowly changing, but then again, some of it is the chi-chi and overpriced kind.
- foobarian 3y ago
  My apologies, I was thinking of gulab jamun! Totally different dish, I spaced out on recalling the name.
  - fuzztester 3y ago
    No problem, it happens to us all :)
fuzztester 3y ago
BTW (and I made the mistake below too), no Indian or other desert is even remotely delicious :) They are all dry, and mostly hot, though some are cold. Now desserts, on the other hand ...