Knowing how to make Paneer and Chenna is an essential part of your Indian cooking Repertoire. At a truly basic level, Chenna and Paneer are essentially the same thing. The difference between them is their use and resting time. Whilst Paneer is used in savoury meals are the primary protein (you can find my famous Paneer Makhani recipe right here), Chenna is used to make Indian sweets.

Making either is a bit of a labour of love. I say this because of the time it takes to make Chenna and Paneer as well as the final yield. But a little on that later.

What is Chenna?

Chenna is very commonly used in making Indian sweets, particularly those traditional to the state of Bengal and Bangladesh. After curdling milk, the solids the remain after draining the whey is the Chenna. The key to making good Chenna is moderating the amount of lemon used to curdle the milk as you don’t want the lemon flavour through the Chenna itself, as well as moderating the moisture levels. Essentially the result should have enough moisture to knead it properly in order to be shaped.

Some recipes use cornstarch to help stabilise the Chenna, but this is completely optional. If you aren’t planning to use the Chenna right away, then I suggest using the cornstarch which gets added during the kneading phase.

What is Paneer?

Paneer and Chenna are essentially exactly the same! The difference is in the way the paneer is shaped and finally stored. Paneer needs to be very dry which is what gives you that iconic crumbly texture and is hence used in savoury foods as a protein with the ability to cut into cubes or strips

What milk should I use?

Full. Cream. Milk.

I’m talking packed with fat, cream and all the goodness. You won’t be able to make good quality Paneer or Chenna using anything less. Unfortunately there isn’t an adequate plant based substitute to get you the same result.

Boiling the Milk

What seems like an easy task can actually be very difficult. Whilst boiling the milk you need to be extra careful to ensure that the milk doesn’t burn (particularly at the base of the pot) and to make sure the milk does not boil over. Both of these things can occur quite easily if you don’t watch the pot carefully. The best way to prevent burning the milk or boiling the milk over is to keep a close eye on the pot and stir the contents continuously using a spatula or wooden spoon. Once the milk reaches a rolling boil, it is time to move on to curdling the milk

Curdling the Milk

Yes, you read this correctly.

Not many people realise that Paneer and Chenna is made by curdling full cream milk. To do this we need to simply squeeze some lemon juice into the boiling milk and stir it through. Depending on the acidity of the lemon and the milk you are using, the amount of lemon juice required will vary. Only add as much as is required to cause the solids to float to the top of the pot.

Typically for 1 litre of milk, I require the juice of 1 and a half lemons to get the solids floating. Too much lemon and there will be a strong acidic flavour to your paneer/chenna so be careful not to add too much!

How to strain the Chenna & Paneer?

Aside from getting the curdling perfect, the straining component to making the Chenna and Paneer is extremely important. To strain the curdled milk you will need a cheesecloth.

I use this one from Amazon, but there are plenty of other options available online. You can also find cheesecloths at Target.

If you cannot source a cheesecloth, there are a couple of substitutes. This article from Spruce Eats provides some good information on alternatives. The best substitutes for cheesecloth for this recipe are a sheet of cotton fabric (which is what we used at home! We legitimately had a cotton fabric dedicated for straining of yogurt and chenna/paneer), CLEAN pantyhose, a very fine mesh sieve or a very fine mesh bag.

Once you have the material to strain the liquid, you need the right set up. Pour the curdled milk (solids and whey liquid) into the cheesecloth (or alternative) with a large bowl to collect the whey liquid. You can also do this first step over the sink. Now you need to tie the cheesecloth (or alternative) onto a large wooden spoon or stick such that you can set this rod over the diameter of the large bowl and raise the cloth with its contents. This will allow the excess liquid to continue to drain away.

How to Make the Chenna?

For making Chenna, you don’t need to strain the solids for too long. I normally leave it to strain for roughly 1 hour because for the purposes of preparing the Chenna, you need just a little bit of moisture. After the 1 hour, I gently squeeze out any further liquid and remove the solids in the cheesecloth onto a plate or into a bowl.

Now it’s time to knead! You could do this with a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer, but by hand is also fine. Depending on the amount of Chenna you have collected this could take anywhere between 15 minutes to half an hour. Here we are trying to make the crumbly solids into one smooth and homogenous dough-like ball.

And that is your Chenna! I use this in my Rasgulla recipe which is a total family favourite.

Let’s make it together

As always, I hope you enjoyed this recipe! For more like this, leave me a comment below! Share all of your recipe photos with me on Instagram and tag @theminiaturelife