Cottage cheese is known the world over. It is among the most fundamental of American and European foods and an popular element of a meal in France or Greece. However, the Indian variety, known as paneer, is just a smigeon different. Similar to ricotta, it adds not just dairy produce but a fabulous hint of tang to any dish.

Making your own can be a bit difficult, but fun at that.

Ingredients:

1 litre full fat milk
1/2 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp water

Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring slowly to a boil, taking care not to brown the liquid. To prevent that, stir continuously.

Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar. Lemon juice can be used in place of vinegar for a slightly different flavour. Cover for a few minutes. The milk should begin to curdle and solids (curds) will form. Drain the through a muslin cloth over the sink gathering the edges of the cloth to form a ball. Hold the ball under cold running water for a minute then squeeze out the excess water.

Place the muslin ball on a clean chopping board. Pressure completes the operation and that can be applied in any of a number of ways. One good way is to use a flexible plastic bowl placed on top of the bag, weighted down by a heavy brick. There are cheese presses available, should you wish to buy one. Pressure should be applied for 2-3 hours at room temperature.

Cut into cubes.

Paneer Dishes

The important thing, naturally, is how you use paneer to liven up your Indian meals. One easy way to do that is by preparing Palak Paneer which is spinach curry.

Ingredients:

500 gms Paneer
2 medium-sized bunches of fresh spinach
1/2 bunch fresh fenugreek leaves
4 tbsps vegetable oil
1 large onion finely chopped
1 large tomato diced
2 tsps crushed garlic and 1 tsp finely diced ginger blended to form a paste
2 tsps ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala

Method:

Heat two tablespoons of ghee or vegetable oil in a skillet and add the paneer cubes, frying until golden. Take out and drain on kitchen paper. Add further two tablespoons of oil to the pan and fry the onions. When they are soft add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for a minute. Now add the fenugreek leaves, tomato, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala and salt and mix well, stirring until the spinach and fenugreek leaves are completely wilted. You can, if you wish put this into a food processor and blend for a very smooth consistency. Add the fried paneer cubes and mix into the sauce until warm.

Serving:

Palak paneer makes for the perfect vegetarian meal, or an equally great side dish for meat eaters. Serve warm with some naan bread or roti.

Paneer Kebabs

For a tasty barbecue idea, try some Paneer Kebabs to make a change from meat ones.

Ingredients:

8 paneer chunks
8 tomato cubes
8 thick onion slices
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic, crushed
2 tsp lemon juice

Marinate the vegetables in the yogurt with the garlic and black pepper, mixed with the lemon juice. Leave in the fridge for two hours.

Alternate each vegetable with a chunk of paneer on the skewers. Now heat the whole delicious assembly on the barbeque for about three minutes, or until the edges of the onions are brown.