Pour water into a large heavy bottomed pot—this is to help prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom.
Add milk and set the pot over medium heat to slowly come to a boil—about 20–30 minutes. A skin will form over the top of the milk—don't disturb it in any way.
Pour the lemon juice or white vinegar into the pot, and remove from the heat. Stir very gently with a wooden spoon or spatula, and then leave it alone.
You'll want to let the milk stand for 10 minutes so that the curds and whey can fully separate.
Line a colander with a couple of layers of cheese cloth and place in the sink.
Pour everything from the pot into the strainer, scraping out any bits of curd that are stuck on the side of the pot.
Wrap the cloth over the top of the curds, and set something heavy over the top to press the liquid out. A pot with some heavy cans in it works well. You'll want to press the paneer for at least one hour, and up to overnight. The longer you press it, the firmer the paneer will be.
When the pressing time is up, gently remove the paneer from the cloth and place on a cutting board.
Now you can cube or crumble it up, and you're ready to go! Fresh paneer will last up to 3 days in the fridge.
Notes
Note: Let the milk slowly come to the boil. Don't be tempted to increase the heat so it boils faster, and don't get distracted. Once it boils it happens quickly!
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