First attempt to make Fresh Cottage cheese (Paneer)!

I had semi skimmed milk in the refrigerator which was going off date and had to use it. I thought to make Cottage cheese (paneer) from it. 

But I haven't made it earlier so looked up for a recipe. I found an easy to follow recipe here: 

http://www.journeykitchen.com/2011/11/how-to-make-paneer-at-home.html. 

I used 2 pints of milk to make paneer. 

How I made Paneer? 

Ingredients 

2 pints Fresh whole milk 

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

 You will need cheese cloth (butter muslin cloth), I had regular muslin cloth and used that. Regular muslin cloth is better in making cheese. 

Method:

Heat the milk to a gentle boil 

 Add one tablespoon of juice and quickly stir it in. At this point, you will start to see small curdles in the milk but no whey. Add another tablespoon of juice and again stir it in. 

 The curdles will increase and you will slowly begin to see the greenish whey. Switch of the gas immediately at this point. 

 Line another pan with muslin cloth. Drain of the whey (collected in the pan below the muslin cloth). Wash the curdles, by running it through cold water to remove the lemon taste. Drain of of all the liquid.

 Wrap the ends of the cheesecloth over the paneer. Then place weight on the cheese to make it flatter and drain out extra moisture. I placed it on my cutting board with kitchen towel on it to soak the draining liquid. Kept a heavy pot on top for 15 minutes. 

 My cottage cheese is ready....fresh and moist. I used it in my salad for lunch with pepper, drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice for dressing. 

 What about the whey? Well, you can use it to cook rice or any vegetables. Also add it to roti dough for super soft rotis. 

 I also had to share with you all a photo of my pot of rose plant. It has got many fresh roses that have bloomed on it. These roses remind me of my grandmother. She had a lovely rose plant in the garden. She used to wait anxiously for the buds to bloom  into light red-pink roses.