Paneer

Using Paneer in Indian Cooking

This is Indian cottage cheese and it is very popular as an ingredient in Indian cuisine. Not just because there is a high vegetarian population but because most Indians love it. Even though it makes a great substitute for meat, as an ingredient it has many uses and it is a dish in its own right.

It is made by curdling hot whole milk with an acid either lemon juice or vinegar. The curd is separated and all the whey is squeezed out. This can then be left to solidify and is cut up (can be fried) and used in sauces or crumbled into masala pastes.

Like tofu and soya it is all about the squeaky texture and doesn’t have a strong flavour of its own. It works wonderfully well with rich sauces as it soaks up the flavours it is put with.