Why You Need To Soften Store-Bought Paneer Before Using It

Paneer is a hard, mild cheese that is bouncy, squeaky, and holds its shape. As a fresh, perishable cheese, store-bought paneer like this Gopi brand is packaged and stored in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Unfortunately, the cold temperatures of your refrigerator can negatively affect the texture of the paneer.

Paneer has been pressed multiple times to achieve its hard texture, and most American paneer isn't made with the traditionally fatty and rich buffalo milk. So, not only is paneer devoid of a lot of moisture, but lower-fat content cow's milk paneer that's ultra-compact also inhibits the reabsorption of water. So, if you want to avoid a rubbery, hard, and impenetrable consistency, you need to soften store-bought paneer before using it. Unsoftened paneer is also exceedingly bland, and softening it improves its flavor by increasing its absorption power. Any sauce, stew, or soup you add it to, or oil you might use to cook it will infiltrate and season paneer much more easily if it's softened.

While you can throw store-bought paneer into your dish without softening it, the result would be disappointing. The paneer will not soften, no matter how long you stew it, and will thus contribute nothing to the dish but a hard, chewy, dry bite with no flavor that no sauce or seasoning will adhere to.

There are numerous ways to soften store-bought paneer. At the very least, you should bring the paneer to room temperature before slicing and cooking it. This should take around two hours. You can also soak paneer in warm water for five minutes to soften it if you're short on time. Another method that's more gentle and hotter is to steam the cubed paneer for 10 minutes. But if you want paneer that's soft and spongy enough to soak up moisture or other sauces, frying it is best. Ultra hot frying oil steams paneer cubes from the inside out, creating pores you can enlarge even more by soaking them post-fry. Then, you can add it to stewed or saucy dishes like this paneer tikka masala recipe as the final touch. A tender yet crispy fried paneer would be good to gobble up on its own with a flight of different types of chutney for dipping.

The textural contrast will be absent, but cubes of uniformly soft, smooth, and squeaky paneer are still a delicious addition to this creamy and herbaceous palak paneer recipe. You could even branch out from Indian flavors, using soaked or steamed blocks of paneer steaks to throw on the grill instead of halloumi. Additionally, grilled paneer would pair well with a chimichurri sauce for a vegetarian option at your next Argentinian asado.