“Few think of paneer as cheese,” says chef Sohail Karimi, executive chef, Radisson Blu Karjat, continuing, “Hot, curdled milk masses the proteins and fats texturing are pressed together in a cloth producing a smooth white solid that almost everybody in India connects with at some level.”

Don’t we all love paneer? It is more like an emotion. The chunks of soft cheese when dunked into curries ooze out so many different juices and flavours that you can’t stop at one. The fact that they can be grilled and enjoyed with capsicum and tomato is just one of the many reasons to fall for the versatile ingredient. Such is India’s love for paneer that it is synonymous with many Indian cuisines that produce a wide variety of dishes that are not only enjoyed in northern India but also the southern parts.