I have been teaching myself to cook Indian cuisine the last few days. Made my own paneer. Very pleased with myself. Now am am trying the Matar paneer recipe. I cut the paneer with a warm wet knife, heated the ghee and put the cubes in the pan. They just went all goopy and tuck to the pan. There is no way I am going to be able to put them in the recipe. In the book the pic looks like they are still perfect cubes. What am I doing wrong? ? ? ?
cookessentials,
Jul 8, 1:22am
Did you refrigerate it for an hour or so first?
cookessentials,
Jul 8, 1:25am
I also heard that you wrap it in cheesecloth and press it with weights to get a more firm textured paneer. Someone who does alot of Indian cooking may be able to give you some more in depth advice.
alimick,
Jul 8, 1:28am
Yes I made it two days ago and pressed in and had it in the fridge all that time.
pkv,
Jul 8, 1:32am
Ghee might not be hot enough? ? I use oil to fry my paneer.
alimick,
Jul 8, 1:34am
I'll have another go. Do you have to have your oil at smoking point? ? Mine wasn't that hot but now I am wondering if it should have been.
uli,
Jul 8, 1:46am
Simply means texture is too soft.
This can be because of: milk not warm enough when rennet was put in milk not kept warm enough until rennet settled didn't cut the curd properly didn't use rennet but one of the "subs" like vinegar or lemon juice didn't press the curd properly by slowly adding more weights
The curd must be a very firm cube when you cut it - feta cheese would come closest if you know that consistency. Anything softer will just "melt" in the pan.
Good luck next time.
alimick,
Jul 8, 2:26am
Oh my gosh. It is much more of a science than I imagined! ! ! OK I give up. I will just toss the cubes through the finished recipe.
alimick,
Jul 8, 2:30am
And yes I used lemon juice as per the instructions I found on line.
alimick,
Jul 8, 2:31am
And thank you uli
uli,
Jul 8, 5:23am
I am sure it will taste very nice even if not fried!
buzzy110,
Jul 8, 5:27am
Too bad the curmudgeon has had kirinesha banned. She is a whizz at Indian cooking and could have helped you with this problem in a flash. Oh well. cooks will definitely google lots of ideas for you, even if she hasn't actually made or used paneer herself.
alimick,
Jul 8, 7:17pm
Who is the curmudgeon?
alimick,
Jul 8, 7:18pm
I didn't care for it because of the weird chewy consistency once it got stirred through the dish and sort of melted, but my two grown up kids loved it.
uli,
Jul 8, 9:02pm
Yes it does have a chewy consistency once cooked. Foreign foods often have surprising consistencies LOL - I still can't get used to shirataki noodles - too rubbery for me - but I will persist and try them a few times more before I give up.
cookessentials,
Jul 8, 9:41pm
Are you sure about that? if you dont have anything nice to say, please dont lower the tone of the message board by making such rude comments.
emmapear,
Jul 9, 4:13am
Paneer is never made with rennet... the best paneer is made with yogurt or lemon juice. Indians would never use a cow product.
emmapear,
Jul 9, 4:17am
http://www.kurma.net/ingredients/i5.html
This guy knows his stuff when it comes to paneer!
hezwez,
Oct 11, 11:11pm
Link added to favourites emmapear, thanks!
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