What Can I Cook With Paneer? 8 Dishes, From a 25-Minute Bhurji to Malai Kofta

A block of paneer and no plan

Paneer is the vegetarian shortcut. It needs no soaking and no long simmer, and it takes up whatever flavours you put around it. The risk is in the handling: cooked too long, it turns chewy. Almost all of our paneer recipes are built around not doing that.

Here are eight dishes from our recipe library, in order of how much effort they need. Amounts are shown in metric and US units on each recipe page.

Quick (about 25 to 40 minutes)

Paneer bhurji. 300 g (10.5 oz) of paneer crumbled with your fingers and cooked for 5 minutes with onion, green chilli, ginger, tomato, turmeric and garam masala, stirred like scrambled eggs. Eat it with paratha or bread. 25 minutes, Easy. This is the one for a hungry evening. Do not overcook the paneer once it is in. A few minutes keeps it soft.

Matar paneer. 250 g (9 oz) paneer and 150 g (1 cup) green peas in an onion and tomato gravy with turmeric, chilli and coriander. The peas simmer 6 minutes, the paneer 5. 35 minutes, Easy. Soaking the paneer cubes in warm water for 5 minutes first keeps them extra soft.

Kadai paneer. 300 g (10.5 oz) paneer, 2 bell peppers, an onion and a tomato puree with a freshly crushed spice mix. You dry-roast coriander seeds and whole red chillies, crush them coarsely, and that texture is what makes it kadai paneer. The onion and peppers are fried on high heat for only 3 minutes, to stay crunchy. 40 minutes, Easy.

Paneer tikka. 300 g (10.5 oz) paneer cubes with onion and pepper in a marinade of 150 g (0.6 cup) yogurt, roasted gram flour and spices. Marinate at least 30 minutes in the fridge, then grill or pan-sear for about 12 minutes until charred at the edges. The gram flour helps the marinade cling. 50 minutes, Easy.

Gravy dishes (about 40 to 45 minutes)

Paneer butter masala. 300 g (10.5 oz) paneer in a smooth tomato and cashew gravy finished with butter and cream. Four tomatoes and 10 cashews simmer 12 minutes, are blended, and are then strained through a fine sieve for a silky sauce. The paneer goes in last for only 4 minutes, after a 3-minute soak in warm water. 45 minutes, Easy. The gravy keeps for three days in the fridge, so make it ahead and add the paneer when you reheat.

Shahi paneer. The pale, mild one. It skips tomato entirely, and the sweetness comes from onion, cashew and a little sugar. The onion is cooked about 5 minutes until soft but not browned, so the gravy stays pale. Simmer the paneer very gently for 5 minutes, because a hard boil makes it rubbery. Add the cream off the heat so it does not split. 40 minutes, Easy.

Spinach and cottage cheese curry (palak paneer). 500 g (1.1 lb) spinach, blanched 2 to 3 minutes, cooled in cold water, and blended, with 250 g (0.55 lb) paneer. Blanching and shocking keeps the green bright. If your paneer is store-bought, soak the cubes in warm water for 10 minutes first. 45 minutes, Medium.

Something more involved

Malai kofta. Dumplings of mashed potato, 150 g (5.3 oz) of grated paneer and cornflour, deep-fried until golden, then served in a cashew and tomato gravy with cream. Pour the gravy over just before serving, because koftas soak up the sauce and go soggy if they sit. 55 minutes, Medium.

Keeping paneer soft

• Soak it in warm water for 3 to 10 minutes before it goes into a gravy. Our recipes call for this in several places, and it makes the cubes noticeably softer.
• Add it last. Paneer needs minutes, not half an hour. Overcooked paneer is rubbery.
• Keep the heat low once it is in, and never boil a gravy with paneer in it hard.
• Fry or grill hot and fast if you want colour, as in tikka, and then move on.

Storing paneer

• Shop-bought paneer: keep it in the fridge in its pack and follow the date printed on it. Once opened, store the unused block in a clean, covered container, and use it within a few days.
• Fresh paneer from a dairy: it is usually sold loose. Keep it refrigerated, in clean water in a container, and cook it within a day or two.
• Freezing: cut into cubes and freeze in a bag. After thawing, paneer is a little crumblier, so it suits curries and bhurji better than tikka.
• Cooked paneer dishes: refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within three days. Reheat gently and do not boil.

Swaps

• No paneer? We have not tested a substitute in these recipes. Firm tofu is a common stand-in for bhurji, but it is an untested suggestion here.
• No cashews? The butter masala, shahi paneer and malai kofta gravies use cashews for body. We have not tested a nut-free version. If you cannot eat nuts, start with the other dishes.
• No cream? Our butter masala tip: for a lighter version, use milk instead of cream and a pinch of crushed kasuri methi at the end for the restaurant aroma.

Cook it with Degchi

When you add paneer to your Degchi pantry, along with an onion, tomato and spices, the matching shows you which of these dishes are ready now, and the recipe page marks each ingredient Have or Out. The app is free and in closed beta; join the beta if you would like to try it.

Questions

Why is my paneer rubbery? Usually it was cooked too long or boiled hard in the gravy. Add it at the end, on low heat, and soak it in warm water first.

Can I eat paneer raw? Shop-bought paneer made from pasteurised milk is ready to eat as it is, and several of our recipes soak it in warm water to soften it. Do not eat any that is past its date, slimy or sour-smelling.

Can I use paneer from the freezer? Yes. Thaw it in the fridge, pat it dry and use it in curry or bhurji.

How much paneer per person? Our recipes use about 60 to 75 g (2 to 2.6 oz) per serving, and malai kofta uses less, about 37 g (1.3 oz), because potato makes up most of the dumpling.