Cheese and India are not two words synonymous with eachother. But paneer has to be one of my favorite milk products.

Firm and actually without flavor, it absorbs the herbs and spices it is cooked with. The perfect vehicle.

The cheese itself dates back 6000 years and is a curd, made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice, or vinegar. It is then left to set.

It is served either in a curry (or gravy as it is called in India), fried or made into fritters.

Indian food is in abundance in the city where I live. So when my friend Carlotta demanded we try a legendary Indian restaurant in Doha called Garden Village, I preloaded up on water and tissues and ordered our taxi.

Known for South Indian cuisine, namely from Kerala, or “God’s Own Country”, the restaurant has a long and confusing menu. But it also has a number of paneer dishes.

We tried the paneer with chilli and spices, which you will see from the photos, was a firey little number. The firmness of the cheese was the perfect offset for the bite of the chilli.

We also ordered one of the most sinful, and therefore my favorite, of the Indian breads. Paneer Kulcha is essentially their flatbread stuffed with paneer. Cheese. Bread. Hot. Heaven.



Carlotta and I left that restaurant barely able to speak let alone walk…all worth it for the paneer.

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