Fresh cheese is unique among cheeses for its versatility, its fine taste, and its resistance to melting at high temperatures.
Paneer
10 cups (2.3 l) whole milk
5 tbs lemon juice, or 2 tsp citric acid,
or 1 Ľ cups (300 ml) yogurt, 2 ˝ cups (600 ml) sour whey
Heat the milk over medium heat in a pot large enough to allow the milk to rise without overflowing. While waiting for the milk to boil, prepare the curdling agent and get a strainer ready by lining it with two layers of cheesecloth and propping it above a receptacle to collect the wey.
When the milk begins to rise, stir in the curdling agent. Almost immediately, the spongelike paneer will separate from the clear, yellow-green whey with a kind of a magical suddenness. If the whey is not clear, add a little more curdling agent and stir again.
After the curds and the whey have separated completely, remove the pot from the heat. Collect the curds in the cheesecloth. Rinse them under cold water for half a minute to make them firmer and to remove any excess curdling agent, which would alter the taste. Then press out the rest of the liquide in one of the following ways:
If you want firm paneer for making cheese cubes or kneading into a dough, bind the paneer within the cheesecloth and press it with a weight for some time. The longer it is pressed, the firmer it will be. Remove the weight, cut the paneer into the desired shapes, and use as required. Paneer will also become firm if you suspend it in a piece of cheesecloth and leave it to drain.
If you need soft cheese, simply tighten the cheesecloth around the paneer and squeeze out the water.