my paneer always turns out hard?

How do you press the paneer? How long ?

These questions will answer your main question.

The more the weight on the paneer mass, the less the time it needs to "set"... half hour should be enough with weight that presses out all the water...conversely, the longer you leave it pressed with the heavy weight the more dense (read hard) the paneer will become.

Getting the correct "pressing weight - to time" ratio is key to making spongy paneer.

As for irregular shapes, if you get the paneer flattened into a disc, you should be able to get nice cubes out of it.

Use muslin (cheesecloth) to strain the paneer curds, then gather up the cloth as if you were going to hang it, then rotate the cheese cloth twisting it over the ball of paneer so that it will wring out as much water as you can.

The next step is to place the paneer ball in the muslin twisted side down on a flat surface -- such as cutting board -- then place another cutting board on top -- over which goes your heavyweight... such as an iron skillet or a bag of rice...with good timing the loose coagulated paneer will adhere together into a cohesive mass yet retain some air pockets to give it that sponginess...

The problem is overcooking. When you are frying the paneer, you are actually taking out its moisture (which gives colour to paneer). Further when you add it to the gravy, further heating causes more moisture loss, resulting in hardness.

Cottage cheese doesnt have flavour of its own. It takes up the flavour of the gravy it is being put in.

So dont fry the paneer before adding to the gravy.

And first prepare your gravy and add paneer in the last.

Make sure that when you put the paneer in gravy, you cook only for 5 minutes. Overcooking of paneer hardens it.

In hotels, no one fries the paneer, and they keep it soaked in normal cold water rather than hot water. Hope it will help you.

make as this recipe ........ it will make paneer soft

INGREDIENTS:

1 l milk

300 ml buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the gallon of milk into a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Watch carefully, as it will boil over almost as soon as it starts to boil. As the milk begins to boil, pour the buttermilk into the pot in a steady stream while stirring constantly. The milk will separate into curd and water.

Place a cheesecloth into a colander, and pour the milk mixture through it. Reserve some of the liquid for later. Let the milk mixture sit in the colander for a couple of hours, or until it stops dripping.

After the curds are strained and settled, transfer them to a food processor. Process until smooth. It should be able to form a ball if it is the right consistency. If it is too dry, add a little of the reserved liquid and process again. The consistency should be like a firm ricotta cheese.

Turn the cheese out onto a clean surface, and knead until smooth. Form into a ball, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until needed.

Do not freeze after u made paneer

Put in a sqare or round box and keep in fridge to maintain shape

What is paneer just out of curiosity?

do not cook paneer for long time after u r gravy is ready add paneer and cook it for 10 minutes

Dont fry too much just put it in the oil and take out. It wont be hard.

Buy it readymade, here in Australia I buy :TryMe. It's amazing!

mujhe be nahi banane atah hai...