Paneer is faster and easier to make than expected, although it's very important to use high quality whole milk. We used non-organic cheap milk and it was a mess. The paneer disintegrated when I tried to fry it and it felt sticky and difficult to deal with.
To make:
Heat a half-gallon of whole milk in a saucepan over medium heat. When it's just coming to a boil (steaming), add 4 T lemon juice (or lime juice, in a pinch) and stir gently. The lemon juice will make the milk curdle, separating the curds from the whey. Remove from heat and pour through a (cheese)cloth-lined mesh strainer over a large bowl. The whey will be a yellowish liquid and can be kept for a few days in the frig to add to soups, rice or to deglaze pans while cooking. The curds will be white and chunky. Wrap the curds in the cheesecloth, place it between two plates and then rest something heavy on top of the plates (a cast iron skillet or a bunch of books will do nicely). Let this sit an hour or so, until the curds have been compressed into a flat, dense slab. Cut the slab of paneer into squares and fry in a skillet with hot oil. Brown on both sides and then move to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. (You can fry right away or keep in the frig until you are ready to fry. You don't even have to fry it, but it keeps it shape better if you do.)
Our paneer kept falling apart and sticking to the pan, so I had a messy pile of overly greasy paneer. Thankfully, muttar paneer is a forgiving dish, and the paneer worked out just fine when added to everything else.
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