Hurray! Today I made paneer and used it for Mattar Paneer. I also made courgette curry and had them with basmati rice. We loved them both! This was the first time I had "dared" to make recipes from your site, Mamta, - for some reason I have been a bit scared of making Indian recipes....can't think why! It was all so easy - I just prepared all my spices in a little pot and chopped up my ginger, garlic and onion well in advance.

Speaking of the ginger etc - it ended up as a paste - did that matter really? It all tasted good, but it wouldn't brown at all.

The main reason for posting is that I don't think my paneer worked quite right. I ended up with just over 100g, rather than the amount your recipe says, from my litre of whole milk. Also, I expected large curds to form but it only went granular, though the resulting cheese pressed well and held together fairly well while it simmered. I used Long Life milk - do you know if that affects the curdling/volume? It is so convenient to keep in stock ready for use!

Sorry to go on so, but I am quite excited at the whole new range of [vegetarian] recipes I now feel confident enough to try - thanks!

Caroline.

Well done Caroline! Indian cooking is quite easy, just like any other. I hope you will try many more dishes in the future, we Indians have a vast selection of vegetarian dishes, as more than 70% of India.s population is still vegetarian.

The best paneer is made from the whey as a curdling agent. This is what you get from making paneer, like a starter in bread making. People keep it in a bottle in the fridge. But since most of us do not make paneer very regularly, lemon and vinegar is used instead.

Once the milk has boiled, turn the heat down to simmer and add lemon/vinegar a bit at a time, until paneer and whey separate. Leave it to rest for a few minutes, to form lumps. Then strain and press under a weight, to compress it together. I am not sure if the lower amount that you got was because of sterilized milk. Try making it with normal milk and see. If it still comes to around 100 gm. let me know, I will check again.

Ginger/garlic paste is fine.

Mamta