Paneer Recipes

A Paneer Recipes collection that will help you to decide what to make with a block of paneer. Find 90 Indian Paneer Recipes ranging from breakfast, snacks, sweets and main course. From these extensive list of paneer recipes, choose the recipe that you want to make depending on the availability of ingredients and the time you have.

Table of Contents

  1. About Paneer
  2. Featured Paneer Recipe
  3. Most Popular Paneer Recipes
  4. Paneer Starters
  5. Paneer Gravy Recipes
  6. Paneer Snacks
  7. Paneer Recipes For Dinner
  8. Paneer Sweets
  9. Full List Of Paneer Dishes

About Paneer

Paneer is a fresh, non-aged cheese that is made by curdling hot milk with a food acid like lemon juice or vinegar. The curdled and coagulated milk particles are collected in a muslin to drain the extra whey. Either the muslin bundle is kept under a heavy weighted object or it is hung over a hook or the kitchen sink faucet handle for the whey to be drained.

Once all the whey is drained what you get is a block of fresh cheese which you can cut into cubes. Paneer does not melt on cooking. Paneer is firm and can be cut into blocks or cubes or any shape that you prefer. It can also be grated, shredded or scrambled.

In the Indian cuisine, you will find many dishes where paneer is either added in cubes, triangles, squares or other shapes. You will also find recipes made with scrambled or grated paneer.

Being a versatile ingredient it can be added to any recipe for some protein boost. In most of these recipes paneer is the hero ingredient. Paneer is included in the meals as it is a good source of calcium and protein for many vegetarians.

Paneer is also known as Indian cottage cheese. Though it has a different texture than the cottage cheese that is available outside India.

While paneer is easily available in stores, making it at home is super easy and gives you the best homemade paneer without any added fillers, preservatives or additives. You can check my recipe post on How to Make Paneer if interested in making it.

Paneer Substitutes

I list some paneer substitutes below that you can sub when you are out of paneer. Do note that with a few of these substitutes some modifications or changes will be needed in the recipe.

  • Cottage Cheese: Paneer can be swapped with cottage cheese where the paneer has been scrambled and added to the dish. But cottage cheese can be swapped with paneer only in some recipes where grated or scrambled paneer is used.
  • Ricotta Cheese: The other substitute for paneer is ricotta cheese which works well in many recipes. Remember to drain the ricotta cheese well before using it in the recipe.
  • Tofu: For a vegan substitute, firm or extra firm tofu is the best option in these recipes. Tofu works well as it does not melt or disintegrate while cooking. Simply press and remove the extra water or moisture from the tofu by keeping a heavy weight on it. You could also pan fry tofu before adding in the dish.
  • Plant based Options: Though not exactly a substitute, Button Mushrooms and unripe Jackfruit also work well in some recipes, where a soft meaty texture is needed. So you can take a call when making these recipes and replacing paneer cubes with button mushrooms or raw unripe jackfruit. Though for jackfruit you have to cook them prior to adding in the dish. So you can either steam, sauté or boil them. For some recipes, you may have to cook the mushrooms earlier by sautéing or stir-frying them before adding to the dish.
paneer cubes with a halved block of paneer on a black granite board

One of the most popular and a favorite Indian paneer recipe is Paneer Butter Masala. A smooth, velvety, creamy tomato based gravy with soft and succulent paneer cubes. The dish is a vegetarian take on Butter Chicken but fairly easy to make than butter chicken. This paneer recipe is so popular that is often included in the menu of many Indian restaurants.

Below I feature my paneer butter masala recipe that is loved and liked by our readers and fans. You get to see a handy list of the ingredients that you need and then you can decide if you want to make this popular paneer recipe.

paneer butter masala served in a blue rimmed white pan, garnished with cream and cilantro
Moderate 40 mins

Paneer Butter Masala (Restaurant Style Recipe)

Paneer Butter Masala is one of India’s most popular paneer recipe. This recipe with Indian cottage cheese cubes in a creamy tomato sauce is a best one that I have been making for a long time.

Ingredients

For cashew paste

  • 18 to 20 cashews – whole
  • ⅓ cup hot water – for soaking cashews

For tomato puree

  • 2 cups diced tomatoes or 300 grams tomatoes or 4 to 5 medium size, pureed

For ginger-garlic paste

  • 1 inch ginger
  • 3 to 4 garlic cloves small to medium-sized

Other ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons Butter or 1 tablespoon oil + 1 or 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf), optional
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch or ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika
  • 1.5 cups water or add as required
  • 1 inch ginger – julienned, reserve a few for garnish
  • 1 or 2 green chili – slit, reserve a few for garnish
  • 200 to 250 grams Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) – cubed or diced
  • 1 teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) – optional
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon Garam Masala or tandoori masala
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons light cream or half & half or 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream – optional
  • ¼ to 1 teaspoon sugar – optional, add as required depending on the sourness of the tomatoes
  • salt as required

For garnish

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) – optional
  • a few ginger julienne
  • 1 tablespoon light cream or 1 tablespoon heavy cream – optional
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons Butter – optional
US Customary – Metric
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Check my most popular Indian paneer recipes that have been reviewed by hundreds of our fans and readers. Goes without saying they are super delicious and feature a few homestyle recipes as well as restaurant style dishes.

Paneer Starters

Paneer dishes makes for nice appetizing starters to any Indian meal. Listed below are some popular starter snacks from the fusion Indo Chinese cuisine and a few from the Indian cuisine. You can easily scale these recipe to make a big batch for get togethers and parties.

Paneer Gravy Recipes

Find below some more curries or gravy recipes made with paneer. Some are well known and some not so popular, but all are equally delish. These paneer gravy recipes are best savored with some flat breads like roti, naan or paratha. You can also enjoy them with steamed rice or jeera rice (cumin rice).

Paneer Snacks

Below I have listed snacks or breakfast that can be made with paneer. Some are a breeze to make while some need more prep work. I have also featured a popular street food paneer snack here.

Paneer Recipes For Dinner

Most of the paneer curry and gravy recipes listed here can be made for dinner. But I have handpicked a few rice delicacies made with paneer and some lesser known paneer dishes in this list. You could opt to make them for your lunch or dinner.

Pair the rice and paneer dishes with any raita or a salad or pickle by side. Serve the paneer bhurji and other gravy recipes with some roti, paratha or bread.

Paneer Sweets

Paneer is also included in making sweets. Many Bengali sweets have paneer or chenna as the base ingredient. Find below some popular Indian sweets that have paneer or chenna in them.

Explore Recipes

Breakfast RecipesCurry RecipesDal (Lentils) & LegumesIndian BreadsRice RecipesSnacks RecipesVegetable RecipesSweets RecipesChutney RecipesMushroom Recipes

Full List Of Paneer Dishes

While I have selected and featured only some of the paneer recipes above, but below you will find a complete and full list of paneer dishes that I have shared on the blog. They include both the popular and the lesser known recipes. You will find a mix of the recipes below that feature curries, sides, sweets, snacks etc. Take your pick and make what you like.

As it is the case with most recipes, some will be easy and some won’t be easy. But with my step-by-step photos and videos with many handy tips, I am sure you will be able to make these recipes easily.

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