Many of us would have tried to make paneer at home. But it's tough to get the texture right.

Most of the times, the cottage cheese turns out to be crumbly and can be used in a paneer bhurji but not a curry. 

Neena Gupta seems to have nailed the formula for making it. The actor's secret is to cool the curdled milk well after draining the whey.

Homemade Paneer

Ingredients

• 1 litre milk
• Juice of ½ a neebu or lemon

Method

• In a saucepan, boil the milk.
  Once it boils, take off heat and add the lemon juice.
  Too much lemon can cause the paneer to harden, so use sparingly.
  Keep stirring as you add the lemon juice.
  The milk will begin to split or curdle.
• Place a muslin cloth over a channi or sieve and keep it on top of another saucepan (please see the video below).
  Drain the curdled milk by pouring it through the cloth.
  Once all the liquid has drained, hold the ends of the cloth and cool the paneer under running water.
  When it is completely cooled, tie the ends to get a small potli and squeeze hard to drain the excess water.
  Place the potli on the reverse of flat plate or thali and a heavy saucepan on top of the potli as it will help drain the excess water.
  Wait until the paneer sets and is firm.
  Don't keep the heavy saucepan on it for too long as it will harden the paneer.
  Take the paneer out from the muslin cloth and wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate or use immediately.

WATCH: Neena Gupta's technique for making paneer at home.

Editor's Note: The whey doesn't need to be thrown and can be used while making rice, rotis, dal, soup and curries, even paneer curries.