Best vegetarian meat alternatives

[Lisafuller]

I’m not vegetarian but I don’t miss meat when it’s Indian vegetarian. My favorite is anything with nice big chunks of paneer! It’s nothing like western cottage cheese, paneer is added to dishes like squares of tofu, but denser & tastier… I could eat that all day!

Seeing that you are into DIY (from the other thread on food), you should probably give home made paneer a shot. The good freshly made stuff is soft and silky smooth in texture unlike the ready made stuff you get in supermarkets. The texture is similar to silky tofu but the taste is different obviously. You don't get it anywhere in Singapore or at least not that I'm aware of.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t making homemade cheese involve using Rennet? Wouldn’t that, then, make it not vegetarian?

[malcontent]

I’m not vegetarian but I don’t miss meat when it’s Indian vegetarian. My favorite is anything with nice big chunks of paneer! It’s nothing like western cottage cheese, paneer is added to dishes like squares of tofu, but denser & tastier… I could eat that all day!

I’m not sure I’ve ever tried paneer, does it taste like cheese at all? Or is it more of a texture thing.

You might mistake it for squares of tofu, but it’s more firm and flavorful.

[smoulder]

I’m not vegetarian but I don’t miss meat when it’s Indian vegetarian. My favorite is anything with nice big chunks of paneer! It’s nothing like western cottage cheese, paneer is added to dishes like squares of tofu, but denser & tastier… I could eat that all day!

Seeing that you are into DIY (from the other thread on food), you should probably give home made paneer a shot. The good freshly made stuff is soft and silky smooth in texture unlike the ready made stuff you get in supermarkets. The texture is similar to silky tofu but the taste is different obviously. You don't get it anywhere in Singapore or at least not that I'm aware of.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t making homemade cheese involve using Rennet? Wouldn’t that, then, make it not vegetarian?

While I love freshly made paneer, I'm not quite sure what they use to make it. I'd be very surprised if it's anything which is not vegetarian given the number of vegetarians who eat it in India. I'm not a vegetarian, so I don't care if it's not vegetarian, but I believe it does conform to the definition of vegetarian.

To your question about what it tastes like, a good paneer should be rich and creamy and a similar texture as silken tofu. Probably slightly more firm. You can eat it without cooking it.

[Lisafuller]

I’m not vegetarian but I don’t miss meat when it’s Indian vegetarian. My favorite is anything with nice big chunks of paneer! It’s nothing like western cottage cheese, paneer is added to dishes like squares of tofu, but denser & tastier… I could eat that all day!

I’m not sure I’ve ever tried paneer, does it taste like cheese at all? Or is it more of a texture thing.

You might mistake it for squares of tofu, but it’s more firm and flavorful.

Ahh, sounds interesting. I’ve always been a little turned off to the idea of cheese in Indian food, but if it’s more like tofu it might be pretty nice.

[Lisafuller]

Seeing that you are into DIY (from the other thread on food), you should probably give home made paneer a shot. The good freshly made stuff is soft and silky smooth in texture unlike the ready made stuff you get in supermarkets. The texture is similar to silky tofu but the taste is different obviously. You don't get it anywhere in Singapore or at least not that I'm aware of.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t making homemade cheese involve using Rennet? Wouldn’t that, then, make it not vegetarian?

While I love freshly made paneer, I'm not quite sure what they use to make it. I'd be very surprised if it's anything which is not vegetarian given the number of vegetarians who eat it in India. I'm not a vegetarian, so I don't care if it's not vegetarian, but I believe it does conform to the definition of vegetarian.

To your question about what it tastes like, a good paneer should be rich and creamy and a similar texture as silken tofu. Probably slightly more firm. You can eat it without cooking it.

I’m not strictly vegetarian either, just wondering since I’m not sure how else cheese would be made.