Turn store-bought paneer into the most delicious cheese you’ve ever eaten

Paneer cheese is my ultimate Indian comfort food — I mean, who couldn’t love a big bowl of cheese with a creamy spicy sauce? — but is it possible to make store bought paneer taste homemade in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee? Well, it is possible, and it’s so much easier than even I thought possible.

I first had paneer when I moved to London at 20. It was one of my first experiences, if not THE first experience, I had eating Indian food. In Los Angeles I grew up eating California-style Mexican food, with lots of grilled fish, peppers, rice, beans and gobs and gobs of guacamole. Cheese in those days was greasy, yellow and stringy — think the viral TikToc cheese pull — nothing like the delicately flavored paneer I absolutely fell in love with at first bite.

But because paneer was still so foreign to me, I never thought I could make it at home. It was always a Friday night restaurant treat, one that I looked forward to all week. It wasn’t until I became a mother, and started cooking regularly, did I learn how easy it is to recreate my favorite Indian dish at home. And no, I don’t mean making it from scratch, because whatever BBC Good Food says, it is NOT easy to make paneer from scratch by boiling milk and adding acid. I can just never get the temperatures right, which is probably…