Paneer
Before SnB on Tuesday I stopped by the tiny Indian supermarket by Target. I went in and asked if they had any paneer. If paneer is as well-represented in the diets of real Indian people as it is on the menus of Indian restruants, this is probably something like walking into a standard American supermarket and asking if they had chicken.
Anyway, he directed me to a refrigerator case in the back where I discovered paneer comes in a shink-wrapped block just like any other kind of cheese, which for some reason really surprised me. I guess I think of paneer as a soft cheese (and the results of my attempt to make it sort of confirmed my assumption. As I was driving away it occured to me that my Caucasian assumption that "paneer" can refer to nothing but the sort of cheese used in Indian restruants was just that, and I could well have a totally different type of cheese altogether. However, when I cut it into cubes and browned it, it behaved and tasted just the way that the paneer you get in restruants does.
Of course, I still have a big hunk of it left. I either need to try to find more Indian sauces to eat it with or see if paneer freezes. I'm also now wondering if most very mild, unaged, softish white cheeses would work just well as genuine paneer does.
Survey says: Trader Joe's Masala sauce is good, but not spicy enough (and anyone who's eaten with me frequently knows that's saying something -- I don't like hot food). Maybe I just didn't use enough sause... but I only got four meals out of the jar. Hmm.
Anyway, he directed me to a refrigerator case in the back where I discovered paneer comes in a shink-wrapped block just like any other kind of cheese, which for some reason really surprised me. I guess I think of paneer as a soft cheese (and the results of my attempt to make it sort of confirmed my assumption. As I was driving away it occured to me that my Caucasian assumption that "paneer" can refer to nothing but the sort of cheese used in Indian restruants was just that, and I could well have a totally different type of cheese altogether. However, when I cut it into cubes and browned it, it behaved and tasted just the way that the paneer you get in restruants does.
Of course, I still have a big hunk of it left. I either need to try to find more Indian sauces to eat it with or see if paneer freezes. I'm also now wondering if most very mild, unaged, softish white cheeses would work just well as genuine paneer does.
Survey says: Trader Joe's Masala sauce is good, but not spicy enough (and anyone who's eaten with me frequently knows that's saying something -- I don't like hot food). Maybe I just didn't use enough sause... but I only got four meals out of the jar. Hmm.