When I was a teenager, I had a friend whose parents were Hare Krishnans. There's two things I took away from those days - fried tofu with soya sauce and tomato sauce on toast is an awesome breakfast, and you can make your own paneer. Yet for the last thirty odd years, I haven't even given it a shot. And I love paneer - as vegetarians, we'd always order palak paneer at an Indian restaurant as part of the feast. Later I figured out how to make the dish with homemade greens. Yet I never, ever attempted paneer.

Part of the reason for that was I don't usually buy milk - I don't like milk and have always had oat, soy or almond as alternatives. We don't eat a lot of dairy, either. But we also need protein, and it's hard to do that in a house where one of us is allergic to a lot of nuts and legumes! Even soya beans don't agree with Jamie much, so it's always me eating the tempeh and he misses out. Paneer is a good alternative that suits both of us, whether it's in a tomato based curry or a spinach sauce.

So, on the weekend, my daughter in law and I decided to make paneer. All one needs is lemon juice and full fat milk. You bring the milk to the point it's just about to boil, then add about 1/3 cup of lemon juice and stir, noticing the curds form. If they don't, bring back to the boil. Once the curds form, we strained it into a chux cloth (you can use cheesecloth or even a teatowel), then rinsed under cold water to rinse out the excess lemon juice.

Two litres of milk make around about 250 g - about half the price you buy it from the shops, and without things like tapioca starch or preseratives.

Once that five minute job is done (honestly, it takes that long!) you keep it in the cheesecloth over a strainer, pop a plate over it and some weights like cans of tomatoes! It gets left for about 4 hours, and then voila - paneer! Any longer than that and it'll get too dried out. Oh, and note it's not a square block - but we can live with that, right?

This time we decided to fry it. I've never done that before but it does help keep it firm for the curry and the browning adds a new dimension. I then just added it to the palak paneer and voila - dinner! My grandson, Ned, certainly enjoyed it - all over his face. I served it with spiced brown rice and zucchini pakora. I'll talk more about this recipe when I perfect it, but it was certainly delicious.

As you may be able to tell, there's no spoon feeding here. Twenty years ago, you spoon fed babies because that's what you did. Now it's frowned upon, which I think is great. It's all about allowing kids to experiment with textures and flavours and enjoy their food, making them, apparently, less fussy eaters. However, it does mean Ned needs a shower to wash him off after every meal!

If you're keen for my recipe for palak paneer, it's pretty easy. I have shared recipes a couple of times on Hive - here and here. Here's my latest recipe if you can't be bothered going searching!

Palak Paneer with Coconut Milk

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 small onion (I used garlic tops)
2 tbsps grated ginger
2 tablespoons palak paneer spice mix (available at Indian grocers) - or, a tsp each of cummin seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric poder, garam masala and optional chilli powder)
1 can of tomatoes or 3-4 large fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 large bunch of leafy greens (e.g., silverbeet, broccoli leaves, or spinach), washed and chopped
1 can of coconut milk
Vegetable stock or salt, to taste
200g - 300 g paneer, crumbled and cubed (available at Indian grocers)

Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the coconut oil, then saute the onion. Sprinkle the palak paneer spice mix over the onions and ginger, stire well and sauté for another minute to allow the flavors to blend nicely.

Add the tomatoes, and simmer for about five minutes. Add the greens and let wilt and reduce in volume. Pour in the can of coconut milk, stirring to incorporate it with the other ingredients.

Transfer to a blender and blend until it reaches your desired level of creaminess. You can make it completely smooth or leave it slightly chunky. Return the blended mixture to the pan and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes to thicken and develop the flavors further. Taste, and add stock powder or salt if you like.

Add half crumbled, half cubed paneer to the pan, and heat through (or you can fry it first!).

Do you make your own paneer?

With Love,

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