my Passion for all things Paneer

 

Paneer is a cheese common to South Asia.  It is a curd cheese that is made from curdling milk with lemon juice and vinegar.  It has a soft texture that falls apart in your mouth, and it is my favorite part of South Asian cuisine.  It can be cooked a number of different ways, and I love it in every form.  Having been warned by others that good paneer is hard to come by in the States, I have vowed to eat paneer as much as possible in the next 6.5 weeks.  (For those of you keeping track, my South Asian adventure is coming to a close at the end of next month.)  Rajma paneer cooked to perfection by my friend Z is my favorite way to eat paneer.  Think of the spiciest chili beans you have ever eaten, add some cilantro, some South Asian spices, and paneer and you will have Z's rajma paneer (see picture above).  Paneer pecora, which is just fried paneer, is another one of my favorite treats.  There are some local stands that are famous for their paneer pecora just about an hour outside of my city up in the mountains.  I always love it when I have work that takes me up in that direction because it usually means a stop on the way home for the fried snack.  The pictures below were taken after a successful village visit in the area of these famous paneer stands so we grabbed some for the ride home.  We even got some fried gobhi (cauliflower) to go with the fried paneer.  In case this has not been made apparent from the number of posts I've written about food, I love South Asia food, and I am going to miss eating it all the time.