Paneer recipes collection- A collection of easy and amazingly delicious Indian paneer recipes with step by step photos & videos that you can make at home.

Paneer is that one ingredient so widely used in Indian cuisine. It is one of the main sources of calcium and protein for vegetarians in India. Paneer lends itself beautifully not only in curries & gravies but also in desserts, making it an extremely versatile ingredient in Indian cooking.

In this post I am sharing a wonderful collection of easy Indian paneer recipes like paneer butter masala, palak paneer, paneer tikka along with loads of information, tips and tricks to make amazingly delicious paneer recipes at home. Enjoy!

Whenever we dine in Indian restaurants or get takeout, most of go for a paneer curry right? My standard restaurant order used to be butter naan and paneer butter masala or paratha with kadai paneer 🙂

Once I started cooking regularly, I also began to recreate these restaurant paneer recipes at home. Over the years I have tried many recipes, tweaked them to add personal touches, fine tuned them to taste more like restaurant ones yet use only real ingredients & refrained from adding too much fat.

This collection will be very helpful for you to pick and get all your favorite paneer recipes in one place. I have divided this post into following sections

• An introduction about paneer
• quick recipe for homemade paneer
• Popular paneer recipes
• Starter & snacks with paneer
• Paneer rice recipes
• Desserts with paneer.

Do go through the collection, take your pick and enjoy! Most paneer recipes shared here can be made in less than 45 minutes.

What Is Paneer?

Paneer or Indian cottage cheese is an Indian cheese made from curdled milk. It is a fresh acid set cheese very widely used in Indian & Pakistani cooking. It is also called Indian cottage cheese or paneer cheese outside India.

To make paneer full fat milk or whole milk is curdled by using an acidic agent like lemon juice or citric acid crystals or yogurt or vinegar. The curdled milk solids are strained to remove the whey and further pressed down using a heavy object to be shaped into a block.

Unlike many other cheeses, paneer is a soft cheese, fresh cheese, it is unaged & does not melt on cooking. As it does not melt, it is used in curries and gravies as vegetarian substitute for chicken and other meats.

The word paneer in Hindi is from urdu word panir, meaning cheese. The acid set milk solids before being set as paneer is called chenna. Chenna is also widely used in Indian cuisine for making sweets, curries etc.

The origin of paneer has many theories. The most common one says it was developed for Mughal rulers. Now it is one of the most loved and commonly used cheese in India.

While paneer is very easily available in almost all grocery stores, I prefer to make it at home as it super easy, economical and clean.

However these paneer recipes can also be easily made with store-bought paneer. Outside India in the countries like UAS, UK you will find paneer in Indian grocery stores, Asian stores or online.

If you wish to try your hands at making paneer at home, here is an easy recipe.

How To Make Paneer At Home?

This is my quick & easy to make paneer recipe at home. Homemade paneer is best used within 3-4 days of refrigeration.

Always use full fat cow’s milk for making paneer for best tasting rich cheese. You can use lemon juice, vinegar or yogurt for breaking the milk. I have mentioned the quantities for each.

First add 6 cups milk to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the milk reaches a gentle boil, add 3 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar or 1/4 cup yogurt. While the milk is boiling, place a colander over it and line with a muslin cloth.

Stir very well in low heat until the milk curdles completely. Remove from flame but keeping string to separate as much whey as possible from milk solids. The whey should be in pale color and very clear and not milky at all.

Once all the whey is separated, pour the whole thing into the prepared colander. Let all the whey drain away. Now tie the edges of the cloth and rinse the milk solids very well under water to remove the acidic sour taste.

Place the cloth containing chenna on a flat surface and place a heavy flat object over it. After 3-4 hours the paneer would have been set & you can cut into cubes. Use the paneer cubes in paneer recipes like shahi paneer, kadai paneer recipe or you can crumble it to make paneer paratha, paneer kulcha etc.

Now let us move to Indian paneer recipes collection.

Popular Paneer Recipes

palak paneer: The most popular restaurant style Indian paneer recipe is this palak paneer. Soft paneer cubes in gently spiced velvety smooth spinach sauce! serve with plain paratha, steamed rice or naan.

paneer butter masala: A very tough competitor for palak paneer is this paneer butter masala. I have 2 different versions of paneer butter masala shared in blog. The addition of cashew nuts in the gravy makes this simply rich and creamy.

Shahi paneer : A rich and mildly spiced paneer curry from mughlai cuisine. If you like rich and delicious curries from mughlai cuisine do check navratan korma, veg korma recipes

Malai kofta: This is also a very popular restaurant style paneer side dish for rotis or naan. Malai kofta with phulka is the best ever combination!

paneer tikka masala: A super hit paneer side dish sought after in most restaurants. You can easily convert the paneer tikka to paneer tikka masala by making a simple gravy with onions, tomato puree, ginger garlic paste and few Indian spices.

kadai paneer : The easiest restaurant style paneer recipe to try at home. This curry is spicier and very flavorful by the use of robust kadai masala made of red chilies and few more freshly ground spices like ground coriander powder.

Matar paneer: Fresh green peas and paneer cubes simmered in tasty and flavorful onion based gravy.

Chili paneer gravy: An indo chinese paneer side dish for veg fried rice or noodles. Here cubed paneer are tossed in a super flavorful Chinese style sauce along with stir fried capsicum or bell peppers & onions.

More Paneer Recipes

Along with the above listed most popular Indian paneer recipes, there are many more easy paneer dishes that gets ready in a jiffy. The below mentioned paneer dish can be made in 30 minutes or less.

Methi paneer: Easy to make light and tasty paneer curry with methi leaves. Also check aloo methi recipe

paneer lababdar: Yet another popular restaurant style punjabi paneer side dish that can be  made easily at home.

paneer jalfrezi: An easy to make paneer veg curry with minimum prep work. Serve with roti or bread.

paneer chole: A popular variation with traditional chole recipe. Addition of paneer cubes makes this dish more rich.

methi matar paneer: easy to make Indian paneer recipe with methi leaves, peas and paneer.

paneer masala: An easy paneer curry that you can put together after a long day. This quick curry comes together within 10 minutes if you have paneer handy. Also check paneer capsicum masala.

Paneer bhurji: Yet another paneer recipe within 10 minutes. paneer bhurji is best served with roti or bread.

Shahi paneer korma: Mildly spiced rich and delicious korma with paneer.

Paneer makhanwala: Easy to make mildly spiced paneer curry with buttery flavor.

handi paneer: A popular variation of veg handi recipe made with paneer

Paneer tawa masala: Easiest paneer side dish after a tiring day. Comes together in minutes

paneer kalimirch : – One of the lesser known yet delicious and flavorful restaurant style paneer curry flavored with black peppercorns.

Aloo Paneer– A delicious, easy to make no grind dry curry with paneer and potatoes that goes well with rice and roti!

Paneer Recipes- Rice & Flatbreads

Paneer biryani: A superb paneer biryani to try at home with excellent flavors and taste. If you love biryani please check veg biryani, aloo biryani recipes.

Paneer paratha: Punjabi paneer paratha with spicy tangy paneer filling. Also check aloo paneer paratha. if you love Indian paratha recipes do check aloo paratha, capsicum paratha, methi paratha recipes

Easy paneer pulao: Easy to make mildly spiced paneer pulao. Also check veg pulao, gobi pulao recipes. Also check palak paneer pulao, paneer butter masala pulao recipes

Paneer fried rice: A delicious recipe of indo chinese variation of veg fried rice with paneer cubes.

Paneer Starter & Snacks

paneer kofta – super easy to make crispy yet melt in mouth paneer kofta without deep frying. This paneer snack can be served both as snack or starter. A huge hit among toddlers and kids! You can also check aloo paneer kofta recipe for a slight variation. Similar kofta recipes are cabbage kofta.

paneer pakoda: A classic pakora recipe with paneer cubes. Crispy outer cover with melt in mouth paneer cubes, these pakoras are apt to be served with tea during monsoons. Similar pakoda recipes shared in the blog are cabbage pakoda, gobi pakoda, cashew pakoda recipes

Paneer cutlet: Easy to make healthy and easy mint favored cutlets with paneer. Best snack to be served with tea. Similar cutlet recipes shared on the blog are paneer peas cutlet, bread cutlet, poha cutlet, rice cutlet recipes

paneer tikka: The most popular restaurant style paneer starter made easily using oven. You can also check gobi tikka, aloo tikki recipes which are similar.

paneer kabab: Very delicious melt in mouth paneer corn kabab with crispy exterior. Easy to make no deep ry kabab recipe! Also check palak paneer kabab!

Hara bhara kabab:   Another popular restaurant style paneer starter or snack recipe with paneer, potatoes and spinach!

paneer manchurian dry: Easy to make quick paneer snack with cubed paneer, bell peppers. best served as starter with an indo chinese meal with veg fried rice, veg manchurian. Also check gobi manchurian, idli manchurian recipes.

paneer wraps: Easy to make on the go paneer wraps with paneer stir fry!

paneer tikki: Easy to make healthy paneer tikki

Paneer sandwich: A quick to make easy and whole paneer sandwich recipe. Other popular sandwich recipes from the blog are Bombay sandwich, spinach sandwich, mayo sandwich, cream cheese sandwich recipes.

paneer rolls recipe: Another quick and easy snack or stater recipe with out deep frying! Also check bread rolls recipe.

Dessert Recipes With Paneer

Easy kalakand: Quick and easy to make tasty recipe of kalakandh with paneer. Kalakand is a popular milk sweet made by simmering milk for hours but this easy version with paneer

Paneer gulab jamun: A delicious variation to classic gulab jamun with crumbled paneer. Also check bread gulab jamun, milk powder gulab jamun, kala jamun, bread gulabjamun recipes.

Malai ladoo: easy to make ladoo with just 2 ingredients. If you are looking for ladoo recipes do check besan ladoo, coconut ladoo, rava ladoo recipes

Rasgulla: Rasgulla is made with fresh soft paneer or chenna so I am adding it here. Also check rasmalai, chum chum, mango rasgulla recipes.