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1
Add the water to the a heavy bottom 5 quart pan and set to heat on medium- high. Add the milk into the pan (adding the milk directly to the pan & heating it tends to scorch the bottom resulting in brown bits of caramelized milk solids. adding the milk to water tends to minimize that))
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2
Squeeze out the juice from 4 lemons. Strain to remove pulp and seeds. set aside. Moisten a large piece of cheesecloth & set over a mesh strainer. Set the strainer over a large container to contain the whey.
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3
When the milk boils over, remove from heat & IMMEDIATELY add the lemon juice . Stir the milk to ensure that the acid is well mixed. You should see the milk curdle almost instantly. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Pour the curdled mix into the cheesecloth covered strainer. Gather the corners of the cloth & Twist to squeeze out as much whey as you can. Take care, the whey is still scalding hot!
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4
Once most of the whey has been squeezed out and the cheese is cooled down to a point where you can handle it with your bare hands, Gently untwist the cheesecloth and cover the ball of cheese with it. Place a container over the cheese and weigh down with a heavy can until it completely cools. Walk away from the contraption, leave it alone to its own devices for the next 2 hrs!
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5
Unwrap the cheesecloth, The texture will now be set, but yielding. This is great if you're looking to crumble & shred it for your recipe. To get a firm consistency for cutting into cubes & frying, wrap the round block of Paneer with some sturdy kitchen paper towel ( to wick away any stray moisture ) then tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
