Sujatha: I am glad to find you were successful despite my instructions

Sudhanshu: Yes, I know, I did try dry roasting the cottage cheese without butter, but it doesn’t clump unless you add the butter. What you can do if you want to decrease the butter content is to throw away the liquid (the whey and melted butter mix) that remains after the cottage cheese clumps. You are right, paneer makhani is a calorie and fat minefield, we can only try to reduce that a bit Let me know if you find any more tips for improving this recipe.

Thanks for the post idea, as well as the recipe!

Personally, I put the heat on medium-low, let the full-fat milk boil, then bring to a simmer and add the lemon juice (I usually need about a lemon-and-a-half of juice to make the milk separate as much as possible). Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and stir gently so it continues to curdle, then turn off heat and let stand for about 5 minutes. Then strain, add the curd, and let hang overnight (I just leave it tied to the tap in the sink). In the morning, do the board thingy.

I also add a little salt and cumin along with the curd - it’s not authentic, but it does make the paneer just a touch more interesting.

Also, since we are sharing tips, while the curdled milk is straining, I tend to add a couple of tblspoons of plain curd and mix it around in the paneer. It somehow helps it ’set’ better.

Srivalli: You press the paneer to remove the excess whey/butter mix, as ??! says. You don’t have to throw away the liquid, in my recipe I add it back to the masala. And I do add onion..

Shefaly: I can imagine how that would be - stuck in the 60s, I mean. I find people who leave India tend to stick to the behavior norms that existed when they left, and pass them on to their kids. India, on the other hand, would have changed a lot in the meantime.

La vida Loca: Did you try the paneer then ?

A Cynic in Wonderland: Yes, that’s the selling point of this dish for me.

Szerlem: It tasted as good as it looked (if that helps ;))

Sujatha: Oh, I had never come across that oven baked recipe. This one should take less time, though, as pre-heating the oven alone takes 10 minutes for me..

??!: Yeah, you just ladle in cottage cheese from the tub (say 3-4 ladles) and fry it. Cottage cheese looks like boondis or little balls in whey.
Curdling the milk at night and straining it overnight to make paneer is a great idea too! Thanks for that tip.

And HOW is making paneer so difficult? You do the boiling/curdling last thing at night, and let it strain overnight, and then put between boards in the morning. Done.

Srivalli:
The pressing is to remove any excess liquid, and to give the paneer some shape.