Paneer

Squeaky curd gives the puree the texture it cannot make itself.

Bland fresh curd needs a loud bitter leaf; the fat carries the sotolon.

Acid, sugar and butter in the gravy; cubes that hold their shape in it.

Warm spice against a curd with no flavour of its own. The whole system.

The marinade tenderises nothing, but it makes the spice stick and char.

A cheese with no fat left in it, fried in the fat that was taken out.

Fat on fat, and the cream stops the curd from squeaking on the teeth.

Pungency into blandness. Julienned over the top, not cooked into it.

Ground into the gravy it thickens and sweetens where flour would dull.

Green sugar in a spiced tomato base, against neutral curd.

Squeaky bland curd; the tart dust is doing the work of a marinade.

Smoke in a pod. It gives paneer the tandoor note without a tandoor.

Hay and milk. A Kashmiri direction, closer to dessert than to curry.

Ash-rolled fresh curd is a goat-cheese trick. Paneer takes it and stays cleaner.

Unsalted fresh curd is a dessert waiting. Furaneol against plain milk fat.