Give Us Our Paneer Back: A Public Trust in Crisis

What, just what, went wrong with India’s perennial paneer pipeline?

Asumptuous buffet was laid out at a big fat Punjabi wedding I attended recently. I confidently strode towards the sumptuous buffet expecting several varieties of paneer in the entrée and main course. Paneer is after all India’s ultimate culinary chameleon.

I was in for a rude shock. All the usual suspects were there—from Butter Chicken to Mushroom Matar, and from Sarson Da Saag to Pindi Chhole. But paneer was nowhere in sight. That’s serious stuff. Almost as serious as a Punjabi baraat without bhangra!

As I turned away listlessly from the buffet, a little ditty sprang to mind:

No more the tender block of white,

That danced in curries, soft and light.

The kitchens mourn, the thalis bare,

A silence lingers in the air.

And this silence is deafening. In India, we don’t just eat paneer; we devour it and obsess over it. It finds its succulent way into every dish. Dal? Too plain. Let’s do Paneer Dal. Roti? Boring. Paneer Paratha—now you’re talking. Salad? Sounds dull, unless it’s Paneer Tikka Salad you’re talking about? Pizza cravings? Shredded paneer would make it that much more tantalising.

So, paneer is the culinary mascot of a large swathe of India and Indians—our own curdled crown jewel.

But recent reports about adulteration—ranging from starches, synthetic milk, and even harmful chemicals like detergents or urea—have spooked people. I am certainly spooked. I have recoiled in horror looking at countless viral videos with people testing our block of dairy divinity with iodine and watching it turn into sundry shades of black and blue.

Personally, as a diehard paneer loyalist, it feels like a punch in the gut. And since I am in the business of reputation management, let me say that this is a proper public relations crisis. It needs to be dealt with in the way a reputation crisis needs to be dealt with—it is time to reimagine paneer’s future. And perhaps there is an opportunity in this vexed scenario.

Public confidence is shaken but a multi-pronged approach can help us get paneer back on our plates and palates—guilt-free. Our love for paneer is generational.

Those from the generation of Baby Boomers would talk about the virtues of making fresh paneer at home from boiling milk and lemon juice, while Millennials and Gen Z order it online in vacuum-sealed packs. In fact, our millennials have elevated it to artisanal status, with boutique dairies offering hand-crafted paneer infused with saffron or smoked with Himalayan wood.

Indeed, paneer is the great culinary equaliser—beloved across castes, communities, and economic classes. And I think we owe it to ourselves to protect that which we love so intensely, to demand quality, and hold brands accountable. Need I add that paneer needs a public relations thrust that engenders trust and transparency—from farm to fork.

How about a major crackdown and certification of what I would call a ‘Pure Paneer’ movement? The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) should come down heavily on adulterators and hand out salutary punishment. The authority should actively promote certified brands—Mother Dairy, Amul, and ID, among others—with QR codes tracing sourcing to farm.

To the regulator’s credit, it has asked consumers whether products that replace milk components should be labelled analogue or non-dairy with all its constituents mentioned on the pack.

But we also need to drum up ‘Real Paneer’ campaigns using Bollywood, and Tollywood, stars and also social media influencers, besides promoting local artisanal dairies with verifiable and clean-label paneer sourcing.

Carnivores allege that vegetarians struggle to meet their protein needs. Paneer, however, is a powerful protein-packed arrow in a herbivore’s quiver. We just need a massive drive to get Paneer Tikka, Paneer Bhurji, and Palak Paneer back on our plates. Guilt-free.

Give us back our paneer. Paneer after all is India’s true unifier. It transcends caste, creed, and calorie count, uniting a billion taste buds in a creamy, delectable embrace.