Palak Paneer (leave Indian cooking to Indians)

Ethnic cooking is extremely difficult if you don't really know what the dish is supposed to taste like. Sure I can follow the recipe, but in order to become a good cook, you gotta have that "sixth sense" that tells you to add a little bit more of this or that. I have never been a fan of palak paneer, mostly because of its appearance. But it's probably one of the most popular Indian dishes known even to the non-Indians. So I decided to give it a try.

FAIL.

I'm not sure if it's because I didn't puree the spinach long enough or pour enough heavy cream. I just did. not. like. it. at. all.

wak.

So I've decided to leave Indian cooking to the experts (for now).

Paneer

I made paneer. And it was ridiculously easy.

I had planned to use this for various Indian dishes, palak paneer included. (more on that later)

But for now, I'm just glad that I was able to make my own paneer without any issues.

Here's how I made it.

Paneer

8 cups whole milk

4 cups butter milk

1. Bring the milk to a boil in a large pot. Add the buttermilk and stir until the mixture separates into solids and liquids.
2. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place it over a bowl. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined sieve to drain the curd, the discard the liquid.
3. Wrap the curd in the cheesecloth, place it in the sieve, and put a heavy weight. Let it drain for 20 minutes
4. Remove the cheesecloth. You can use the cheese immediately or refrigerate in a covered container for up to 5 days.