21 Best Paneer Recipes Ever!

Paneer is a fave food of Indians everywhere. There must be a paneer recipe on all restaurant menus, at every shaadi, for parties, inside pulavs, on cocktail snack platters, stuck into dosas, salads or sandwiches, atop pizzas etc etc. Choose a scrumptious paneer recipe from any of our lucky 21 and hit the kitchen!

Pic: Canva

Zeer Biryan Paneer

Does your mouth water at the thought of any biryani? Salma Husain's royal Mughal Zeer Biryan Paneer is a recipe worth bookmarking. The paneer is coated in batter and deep fried beforehand. Green gram and herbs are also used. 

Please find the recipe here: Zeer Biryan Paneer

Pic: Canva

Kashmiri Methi Chaman

Zelda Pande offers Mrs Bakshi's signature Kashmiri Pandit paneer recipe which masterfully combines two parts methi to one part spinach. The dish is lightly spiced, elegant. No bhunoed onions, garlic, cream, tomatoes. Green methi and spinach, freshly-pounded hing, mustard oil give the paneer all it needs.

Please find the recipe here: Kashmiri Methi Chaman

Pic: Zelda Pande for Rediff.com

Paneer Chaat

This Paneer Chaat is as per a recipe provided by Delhi clinical nutritionist Ishi Khosla. It's tangy and refreshing. The textures and flavours come from baby corn, onions, green chillies, curry leaves, boiled potatoes, cubed paneer, all nutritionally perfectly balanced. 

Please find the recipe here: Paneer Chaat

Pic: Kind courtesy Kirti Poddar on Flickr/Wikimedia Commons

Paneer Pakodas

Maharaj Bhanwar Singh's crispy pakodas combines the yumminess of cottage cheese with spices and besan (chickpea flour). Sprinkle chaat masala on top and serve hot.

Please find the recipe here: Paneer Pakodas

Pic: Maharaj Bhanwar Singh for Rediff.com

Lauki Paneer Kofta Curry

Divya Nair blends lauki/doodhi or bottle gourd with paneer to create a kofta curry that can be relished with rice and rotis. And makes lauki more palatable for kids.

Please find the recipe here: Lauki Paneer Kofta Curry

Pic: Divya Nair/Rediff.com

Butter Paneer 

An utterly butterly concoction of paneer from Reshma Aslam's recipe book, its hatke taste comes from lotsa makhan, cashew paste, cream.

Please find the recipe here: Butter Paneer

Pic: Kind courtesy Devika/ Creative Commons

Crispy Rice Paper Paneer Roll

These paneer summer rolls have a lovely filling of veggies, cottage cheese and walnuts rolled into a rice paper and served with a sweet-sour mango dip. An Indianised take on a Vietnamese fave, it's a party piece. Or simply have as nashta with a hot chai.

Please find the recipe here: Crispy Rice Paper Paneer Roll

 

Pic: California Walnuts for Rediff.com

Paneer Bhurji

Feeling too lazy to prepare an elaborate meal? Go for Sangita Agrawal's chatpata, jaldi bhurji. Spiked with ghee and chillies it goes well with steamed rice or rotis and is a great way to add protein to your diet.

Please find the recipe here: Paneer Bhurji

Pic: Sangita Agrawal for Rediff.com

No Onions Stuffed Paneer Tikka

Ameya Warty's tikka follows a simple recipe. But unusually the pre-marinated paneer is stuffed with green peas. It will be a showstopper at your home every time you make it.

Please find the recipe here: No Onions Stuffed Paneer Tikka

Pic: Ameya Warty for Rediff.com

Paneer Pasanda

In 2022, Google Trends reported that Paneer Pasanda was the world's most searched recipe. This dish remains ragingly popular. Shumaila Chauhan's recipe has the stuffed paneer triangles floating in a creamy gravy that can be paired with steamed rice, vegetable pulav, rotis, parathas, naans, puris.

Please find the recipe here: Paneer Pasanda

 

Pic: Shumaila Chauhan for Rediff.com

Paneer Parathas

Can there be a better breakfast than Paneer Parathas? Mrinmayee Ranade's recipe has a paneer stuffing flavoured with black pepper powder, among other intriguing spices.  

Please find the recipe here: Paneer Parathas

Pic: Kind courtesy Pullak Parag Khetan/Wikimedia Commons

Paneer And Mayo Sandwiches

Nadiya Sarguroh's open Paneer and Mayo Sandwiches are about sliced potatoes, paneer with crunchy green bell pepper on bread. And plenty of cheese! Kids will love it.

Please find the recipe here: Paneer And Mayo Sandwiches

Pic: Nadiya Sarguroh for Rediff.com

Air Fryer Herb Paneer Patties  

Deepa Mehrotra's Air Fryer Herb Paneer Patties With Sauteed Broccoli And Peppers is lightly cooked and healthy, while scoring tops in the taste department. It's a wonderful Indian take on a Western meal.

Please find the recipe here: Air Fryer Herb Paneer Patties 

Pic: Ashish Mehrotra/Rediff.com

Chilly Paneer

Of course, paneer can be made Chinese style too via umpteen ways. Indrani Roy Mitra would cook this Chinese cottage cheese for her dad, who was obsessed with paneer.

Please find the recipe here: Chilly Paneer

Pic: Kind courtesy Siddharthagandhi26/Wikimedia Commons

Shahi Paneer Matar

When you dunk cubes of cottage cheese and green peas in an easily-made rich, cashew-based Mughlai-style tomato gravy you, voila, create Shahi Paneer Matar. Bethica Das's recipe goes well with steamed rice, biryani, pulav, naans, tandoori rotis and chapattis.

Please find the recipe here: Shahi Paneer Matar

Pic: Bethica Das for Rediff.com

Mawa Paneer Kofta Curry

Chef Yogendra Pal's gorgeous Mawa Paneer Kofta Curry contains lovely little koftas or crispy-fried balls made from mawa (khoya or milk solids), paneer, mushrooms, spinach, raisins/prunes, apricots, cashews.

Please find the recipe here: Mawa Paneer Kofta Curry

Pic: Chef Yogendra Pal for Rediff.com

Lasooni Paneer

This garlic-packed paneer preparation by Taruna Deepak uses one preferably heaping tbsp of garlic, but it's well balanced out with the tomatoes and milk.

Please find the recipe here: Lasooni Paneer

Pic: Taruna Deepak for Rediff.com

Twice-As-Tasty Paneer Makhani

Chef Sanjyot Keer gives the classic Paneer Makhani recipe a break by whipping paneer up with an interesting spicy, nutty gravy. This version of paneerwallahs' fave dish can be served with Jeera Rice or parathas or naans for an Indian-inspired feast.

Please find the recipe here: Twice-As-Tasty Paneer Makhani

Pic: Chef Sanjyot Keer for Rediff.com

Afghani Paneer

Sangita Agrawal has yet another paneer speciality -- it doesn't use onions and tomatoes, but nuts and yoghurt form the base of the gravy. The dish is finished off by adding fragrant saffron milk.

Please find the recipe here: Afghani Paneer

Pic: Sangita Agrawal for Rediff.com

Kasuri Methi Palak Paneer

Chef Narendra Singh has created a version of Palak Paneer with plenty of garam masala, kasuri methi, milk and no onions, because you don't need them. He serves up this restaurant-style dish with a dollop of cream. Yum!

Please find the recipe here: Kasuri Methi Palak Paneer

Pic: Chef Narendra Singh for Rediff.com

Tandoori Paneer Tikka Three Ways

The paneer in Chef Merajuddin Ansari's Paneer Tikka preparation is marinated twice -- first, in a ginger-garlic paste, and later, in a spiced yogurt marinade and has three colours.

Please find the recipe here: Tandoori Paneer Tikka Three Ways

 

Pic: Chef Merajuddin Ansari for Rediff.com
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