Indian Cheeses Beyond Paneer: Chhena, Kalari, Bandel and More

Paneer is the famous one, but chhena, kalari, Bandel and chhurpi each fill a different role, from Bengali sweets to street food to a Himalayan chew.

Aged, rennet-set cheeses are the exception in India, so many of these cheeses are cooked into dishes rather than eaten on a board. The directory cheeses are listed on the India country page.

Indian cheeses at a glance

This table of Indian cheeses shows how the main ones differ in region, milk and use.

Paneer, the Indian cheese everyone knows

Paneer, the Indian cheese everyone knows, is made by adding an acid such as lemon juice, vinegar or yogurt to hot milk, then draining and pressing the curds. It is a non-melting soft cheese, and North Indian cooks press the curd under a weight for two to three hours, while a shorter press gives a softer block.

That structure is why it holds its shape in palak paneer and on skewers in paneer tikka. The full guide, including how to buy it in the US, is on the paneer page, and you can make it yourself with the paneer recipe. Paneer is a full-fat cheese: Norway's food composition table lists 325 calories and 24.5 grams of fat per 100 grams.

Chhena and the cheese in Indian sweets

Chhena is the soft Indian cheese that sweets are made from. It is made by boiling milk and adding acid such as lemon juice, with no rennet, then straining the curds through muslin. For sweets the warm cheese is kneaded smooth on a board and mixed with sugar, which gives it a smooth, whipped-cream consistency, unlike paneer's firm block.

Chhena is the base of rasgulla, sandesh, ras malai, chhena poda and pantua, and sandesh is described as the most popular chhena-based sweet. Production is centered in Odisha, West Bengal and eastern India. Chhena holds more moisture than paneer and typically needs refrigeration within two to three days, so it is rarely sold fresh in US shops. In the US, look for it in Bengali or Odia sweet shops, or ask Indian grocers for fresh paneer and knead it smooth for homemade sweets.

Kalari, the cheese of Jammu

Kalari is a chewy cheese from Ramnagar in the Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, usually made from cow's milk and sometimes goat's milk. It is traditionally made from raw full-fat milk separated with soured milk, and the curd is sun-dried in leaf bowls until the outside dries and the inside stays moist.

Cooks fry it in its own fat with salt, which gives a brown, crisp outside and a soft, gooey, melted center, and serve it in kalari kulcha, a street food that tucks the cheese between fried bread. That melting behavior earns it the nickname "Mozzarella of Jammu," although it is a different cheese.

Bandel cheese from West Bengal

Bandel is a salty cheese of West Bengal that came from the Portuguese. It originated in the former Portuguese colony of Bandel and is made from cow's milk, curdled with lemon juice, molded and drained in small baskets, and then smoked. It comes in two types, plain white and smoked brown, both dry, crumbly and well salted so it keeps.

It is made today in towns including Tarakeswar and Bishnupur, near Kolkata. Treat it like a salty snack cheese: slice it thin, or crumble it over a salad.

Chhurpi, the Himalayan cheese

Chhurpi is a Himalayan cheese made from yak or cattle milk, and it comes in two forms. The soft type is eaten as a side dish with rice, and Nepal and Tibet are the main sources, with consumption in Bhutan and parts of Northeastern India. Buttermilk is boiled, the solids are drained in cloth, and the soft curd resembles ricotta.

For the hard type, soft chhurpi is pressed in jute bags, cut into small pieces and hung over a fire to harden. Hard chhurpi is held in the mouth and softened slowly, and it can last from 30 minutes to five hours. Soft chhurpi goes into vegetable dishes and momos. Hard chhurpi is also sold in the US as a dog chew, so check the package before you eat it.

Khoa is not a cheese

Khoa is not a cheese, though it often turns up in lists of Indian cheeses. It is made by simmering milk until most of the water evaporates, leaving a dense milk solid used in barfi, gulab jamun and peda, so it is concentrated milk and not curd.

How to eat Indian cheeses

Eating Indian cheeses means eating them as dishes. Paneer goes into curries or onto a grill, chhena into sweets, kalari into a hot pan with bread, and Bandel into a salad. Spice pairings follow the cuisine: garam masala, ginger and chili for savory dishes, and cardamom, saffron, rose and pistachio for sweets, with chai alongside.

For a first tasting at home, buy a block of paneer, fry cubes in a little oil until golden on two sides, and toss them in a spice mix. Compare it with a halloumi on the same pan using the halloumi vs paneer guide.

Questions about Indian cheeses

These questions about Indian cheeses come up most often.

What Indian cheeses are there besides paneer?

The Indian cheeses besides paneer include chhena, kalari, Bandel and chhurpi, plus regional fresh cheeses.

What cheese is used in Indian sweets?

The cheese used in Indian sweets is chhena, a soft acid-set curd that forms the base of rasgulla, sandesh and ras malai.

Is there an Indian mozzarella?

The Indian cheese nicknamed mozzarella is kalari from Jammu, because it melts and goes soft inside when it is fried.

Is Bandel cheese smoked?

Bandel cheese is made in a plain white version and a smoked brown version.

Is paneer the same as chhena?

Paneer is not the same as chhena: both are acid-set, but paneer is pressed firm and chhena is kneaded soft, so it is suited to sweets.

Where to start with Indian cheeses

To start with Indian cheeses, cook with paneer first, then try a chhena sweet at a Bengali shop. If you travel to Jammu or see kalari at a specialty grocer, try it hot with bread.