Forgive me if this has been asked before, but when I order a paneer dish in a restaurant the cubes of paneer are always extremely soft and spongy. But when I buy packets from shops, they are always quite tough, and by the time you have fried them until golden and frozen them, they are very rubbery.

Any ideas why?

Liza

Hello Liza

When you buy a block, it is quite firm. When you add cubes to curries, they swell up as they cook and become softer and larger. If you want to fry paneer cubes, fry them in quite hot oil to almost smoking, very quickly, so that they become browned outside but not dry inside (my mum taught me this more than 40 year ago ;-)!

Paneer cubes sometimes stick together during frying. Do not worry about this, they can be separated later on.

If you are grilling paneer, as in tandoori paneer, cook under a hot grill or in a hot frying pan. Do not let it cook for long, that make it dry/sticky.

I personally don't fry paneer for curries any more, I just use cubes of white, un-fried paneer, as do most people in India. It is healthier that way.

Mamta

Hi! The softer paneer could also be made in the restaurant, whereas shop-bought commercially produced paneer is put under very heavy weights, so is much denser.

Health goes out of the window with me and paneer I'm afraid Mamta! I always fry it off until golden first! It always tastes and smells wonderful that way!

All the best

Paul, Wakefield