Red Pepper Paneer

Paneer is creamy, soft, and perfect for curries, fry ups, or even to top a salad with. It’s easy to make and stores in fridge perfectly. You take that – add red pepper – and boom – you gotta yourself some fancy red pepper paneer! Still creamy, soft, but now with a hint of spiciness to it. Perfect to jazz up that dish you’re making.

Red Pepper Paneer is light in flavor and incredibly versatile. I’ll never say it enough, Punjab is a farming community personified. We’re the grain belt, but given that India has nearly 75 million dairy farms, it’s no shocker that we’re a dairy state, as well. We drink milk by the liter and eat butter and cheese by the pound. So it was no shock that when panir came to Punjab with the Mughal empire, that it quickly was adapted and became modern day paneer – a staple in Punjabi cuisine.

Personally, I love flavored paneer. Paneer on it’s own is mild and doesn’t have too heavy of a flavor, so it’s perfect to flavor with whatever tickles your fancy. I flavor mine with anything from red pepper, basil, fenugreek, down to lemongrass and lime leaves. Literally, whatever you want to throw into it. There is no wrong answer. It’s a really versatile cheese and will pick up any flavor you put on it.

The one thing to keep in mind with red pepper paneer, or any paneer for that matter, is that it won’t last long in the fridge. So use it within a few days or plan on freezing it. Personally, I can’t stand previously frozen paneer but that’s a me issue. I always find that it’s easy enough to make, so why not just whip up a batch for when I’m craving it.

Fun fact #823: India is the world’s largest producer of milk.

Love paneer and need a couple ideas? Try these:

Paneer

Course: IngredientsCuisine: PunjabiDifficulty: Easy

Total Cheese

1

lbs

Prep time

0

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Resting Time

1

hour 

Total Time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 1 gallon whole milk

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp red chili flakes

Directions

• Line a large colander with a large double layer of cheesecloth, and set it in your sink for later.
• Bring milk to a bare boil, over medium heat, stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. The worst thing that can happen is burnt milk in paneer.
• Turn the heat to low and stir in lemon juice. The milk should begin to curdle nearly immediately.
• Continue stirring for approximately 3-5 minutes. You should see the curds (white milk solids) and whey (the whitish liquid) continue to separate. If it’s not fully separated add another teaspoon of lemon juice. If it still won’t separate, check your milk and be sure you are using non-UHT milk; this kind of milk won’t separate.
• Carefully pour the curds and whey into the colander.
• Stir in chili flakes.
• Once it’s cool enough to handle, gather the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese, gently squeezing to remove the excess whey.
• Flatten the cheesecloth w/curds into a round/square block. Place it on a large plate or cutting board (back in the sink for extra run off) with the twisted part of the cheesecloth on the side. Then set another plate on top. Weigh the second plate down with a heavy pot full of water. Let sit for 1 hour. If you want the cheese to be firmer let sit overnight.
• Refrigerate: Once set, your paneer is ready to eat. I really suggest refrigerating the paneer overnight so that it’s firmer and less likely to crumble.

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