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Paneer, a type of fresh cheese, can be made at home by curdling milk using an acidic food ingredient like lemon juice or vinegar. This is also a non-melting form of cheese makes for yummy paneer recipes for kids and adults. In addition, there are close to 1000 paneer recipe dishes, healthy snacks, and breakfast meals that can be prepared market bought or homemade paneer.
Health benefits of Paneer:
Paneer is a great source of protein and also fulfills the nutritional requirements of the body. Moreover, rich in calcium, it helps in building strong bones and teeth. In kids, particularly, it improves metabolism and builds immunity. Kids and babies love the texture of paneer So, why not use this fact to your advantage.
Who hasn’t tried the ever-famous kadhai paneer? But, have you ever heard of paneer snack-y popsicle? I bet not. Moreover, there are many simple Indian paneer recipes using this power-packed and delicious ingredient which is versatile enough to suit many kinds of savories. Hence, listing down 7 of these paneer recipes which you can serve as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Prepare yummy snacks that kids will love, tasty lunch dishes, and also appetizing dinner meals using nutritionally dense paneer!
Let’s have a look at 7 easy paneer recipes:
- Grilled Paneer Sandwich
- Paneer Kheer
- Paneer Nuggets
- Paneer Tikka
- Paneer Pakora
- Paneer Momos
- Paneer Bhurji
Grilled Paneer Sandwich
Ingredients
- 6 Slices Bread
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- ½ to ¾ cup Crumbled Paneer
- 1 Small onion finely chopped
- 1 Small tomato finely chopped
- 1 tsp Grated ginger
- 1 pinch Turmeric
- Salt as per taste
- ½ Ttp chilli powder/garam masala powder
- 2 tbsp Coriander leaves
- ½ cup Grated carrots or beetroots optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Once it splutters a little, add the chopped onion.
- After the onion turns translucent/golden brown, add the grated ginger and sauté a bit.
- Next, put the chopped tomato on to the pan and salt as per taste. Sauté until it turns soft.
- Add turmeric and the chili powder. Mix them all well and sauté for a couple of minutes. Check the salt and spice as per your taste.
- Turn off the stove and add the crumbled paneer and coriander leaves. Mix well. Shift contents to a bowl.
Notes
You could use a toaster if you have, to prepare grilled sandwiches. For grilling on Tawa, apply ghee or butter on one side of a bread slice and toast it until it turns golden brown. Then, place a layer of the prepared paneer onto the slice. Garnish it with some grated carrots and beets and place another slice of bread over it. Press the second slice with a flat spoon/ladle.
Flip the sandwich using 2 spoons and remove it from the Tawa after a minute or so. Serve it hot. You could have it as it is or with a flavor of tomato sauce.
Recipe Credits : Swasthi’s recipes
Paneer Kheer
Ingredients
- 1 cup Crumbled Paneer
- 1 ½ ltrs Milk
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- ½ – ¾ cup Sugar
- 8-10 Saffron strands
- 8 Almonds blanched and slivered
- 8 Pistachios blanched and slivered (optional)
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
Instructions
- Boil milk in a deep pan. Keep stirring it and let it simmer until it reduces and thickens slightly.
- Add rice flour and water in a small cup. Mix well until it turns to a paste-like consistency.
- Add this mixture to the boiling milk and stir well. Cook till the milk thickens a little more.
- Add saffron strands and keep stirring the mixture.
- Put the almonds, pistachios and cardamom powder to the boiling milk and stir well.
- Pour in the sugar to the mixture and stir well until it dissolves completely.
- Finally add the crumbled paneer and mix well.
- Switch off the heat and let the mixture cool down.
- Serve it hot or cold as you wish.
Paneer Nuggets
Ingredients
- 200 gms Paneer cut into cubes
- 1 tsp Chilli powder
- Salt as per taste
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- ½ cup Corn flakes crushed put all the corn flakes in a zip lock cover and crush them using a pestle/rolling pin
- ¼ cup Bread crumbs toast 2-3 bread slices to nice crispiness and then powder them to make crumbs
- ¼ cup Maida multi-purpose flour
- ¼ tbsp Cornflour
- ½ tsp Black pepper powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- Oil to deep fry
Instructions
- Keep the paneer cubes immersed in hot water for about 15 mins. This step ensures softer results.
- Drain water from the paneer cubes, add chili powder, salt, and lemon juice. Coat the cubes well with this mixture.
- Make a batter with maida, cornflour, garam masala, and pepper powder. Use milk as required to make the batter that is not too thick, but enough to coat the paneer.
- Dip the paneer cubes one by one well into this batter and keep it aside on a plate.
- Now sprinkle the bread crumbs and the corn flakes powder generously on all sides of the cubes.
- Coating them well with cornflakes powder and bread crumbs adds more seasoning to the nuggets. You can ignore this step if you don’t have the ingredients available immediately.
- Heat oil in a Kadai and deep fry the coated paneer cubes in batches. Stir gently to ensure even cooking. Cook in medium flame so that the nuggets don’t get burnt.
- Once gold and crisp, take them out and drain the excess oil on a tissue paper.
- Serve them hot with a little tomato sauce.
Recipe Credits : Swasthi’s recipes
Paneer Tikka
Ingredients
- 4-6 Medium-sized paneer cubes
- ½ cup Thick curd
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Red chilli powder
- ½ tsp Cumin powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tsp Gram flour
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- Salt as per taste
- 5 Tsp Oil
- 5-6 Onion petals Use any vegetables of your choice – potato cubes, broccoli, mushroom, baby corn, etc.,
- 5-6 Red or green capsicum cut into cubes.
Instructions
- To make this dry paneer recipe, take a large bowl and pour the curd into it. Add in the spices mentioned – turmeric, chili powder, cumin powder, garam masala, and ginger-garlic paste Mix well.
- Add gram flour, lemon juice, and salt to this mixture and combine them well with the curd.
- Now put in the onion petals, capsicum cubes, and the paneer cubes to the mixture.
- Add a tsp of oil.
- Mix gently so that the onions, capsicum, and the paneer cubes get coated well with curd mixture.
- Cover the bowl and let it marinate well for about 45 minutes. You could also refrigerate it if you would like to.
- Take out the bowl and pin the vegetables and the paneer cubes into the wooden skewers. This can be grilled in an oven or tawa. The tawa method is explained here.
- Heat the tawa and spread 2 tsp of oil over it.
- Place the skewers over the tawa and roast them all in a medium flame.
- Spread 1 tsp of oil over the tikka.
- Roast them on all sides and ensure not to burn them. Keep rotating the skewers over the tawa so that the tikka gets roasted on all sides.
- Serve the paneer tikka immediately, else it doesn’t taste great.
Recipe Credits: Rakskitchen
Paner Pakora
Ingredients
- 200 gms Paneer cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp Red chili or pepper powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- 1 cup Gram flour
- 2 tbsp Rice flour or corn flour
- Salt as per taste
- 1 tsp Ginger-green chili paste
- Oil to deep fry
Instructions
- Take the paneer cubes in a small bowl. Add ½ tsp of chili powder and garam masala.
- Toss the cubes well so that they get coated with the chili powder and masala. Keep it aside.
- To prepare the pakora batter, take a bowl, add gram flour, rice flour, salt, and ginger-chili paste and mix well.
- Add water in little quantities and mix well so that we get a thick yet pouring consistency.
- Heat oil in a kadai. Dip the paneer pieces well into the batter and drop them gently into the oil.
- Keep tossing and flipping them in the oil so that they get deep-fried and turn a golden brown.
- Ensure not to burn them. Fry on a medium flame.
- Repeat the same to fry the pieces in batches.
- Take them out and drain the excess oil using a tissue paper.
- Serve the paneer pakoras hot with chutney or a cup of tea.
Notes
(You would need wooden skewers for grilling the marinated paneer cubes)
Recipe Credits: Raks Kitchen
Paneer Momos
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup Wheat flour
- Salt as per taste
- 2-3 tbsp Oil
- Water as required
For Paneer fillings
- 200 gms Paneer crumbled Use the pulse option in the mixer and grind once
- 1 Onion finely chopped Use grated carrots or any other finely chopped vegetables of your choice
- 2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- Salt as per taste
- 3 tbsp Coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp Oil
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- Take wheat flour in a bowl, add salt and water in small quantities as required and knead it well into a good non-sticky consistency.
- Keep it covered air-tight for a minimum of 10 minutes.
Prepare Paneer fillings
- Heat oil in a pan. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry a little.
- Add the chopped onions and fry till they turn golden brown.
- Add turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, and salt and keep frying the contents.
- Put the crumbled paneer to the contents in the pan now and fry till the oil separates.
- Ensure not to burn the paneer.
- Add the finely chopped coriander leaves at the end, stir a little and switch off the flame.
- Cool the mixture down.
- Shaping and preparing the momos:
Cooking
- Take the dough and knead well for a few minutes.
- Divide the dough into 3 almost equal parts and roll each ball into a big circle.
- Use any jar lid or a small container lid to press it on the circle to make small thin discs out of it. Thin discs provide good final results.
- To make the momos, take each of these discs and smear the edges with little water. Place 1 to 1 ½ tbsp of the prepared paneer stuffing and fold the dough pleat by pleat to make a good momo shape out of it. Pinch the top to make the sealed portion thin.
- Grease a tray/plate with 1 tsp of oil and arranged the momos over it.
- Heat a steamer/cooker and steam this plate with momos for about 5-6 minutes or until the outer momo coating turns shiny.
Notes
Tip – Keep the dough – rolled circles, small discs and the shaped momos – covered to prevent them from drying
Recipe Credits: Raks Kitchen
Paneer Burji
Ingredients
- 200 gms Crumbled paneer
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 Medium-sized onion finely chopped
- 1 Tomato
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Chili powder
- 2 tsp Green chillies finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped
- Salt – as per taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a tawa and add cumin seeds.
- Once it splutters, add the chopped onions pieces. Sauté on a high flame for a minute or 2 until it turns golden brown.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp of water, mix well and cook on a low flame for a few minutes until the contents combine well. Stir continuously.
- Add the garam masala, turmeric powder, chili powder, green chilies, and 1 tsp of water to the onion-tomato base and mix well. Cook on a medium flame for 1-2 minutes. Toss the mixture continuously.
- Add the crumbled paneer, coriander leaves and 1 tsp of water and cook on a medium flame for a couple of minutes. Keep stirring continuously.
- Switch off the heat and cool it down. It can also be served hot for pav, roti, or used over toasts/as roti fillings too.
Notes
Tip – Small quantities of water is added at each step to ensure that the contents don’t get burnt
Recipe Credits: Tarla Dalal
by Lavanya P
The Paneer recipes we have collated are suitable for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and also dinnner. Hence, try them at home and let us know the experience in the comments below. Do you have a Paneer recipe to share? If so, send us and get featured!
