Cheese & Butter

Butter and cheese have long been part of the Indian kitchen, even if the cheese was more often paneer. Makhan, white butter churned from cream, is the traditional topping for makki di roti and saag in Punjab. Salted yellow butter is melted on the tawa for pav bhaji, spread on hot toast with a cup of chai, and stirred into butter chicken. Processed cheese slices and cubes are the cheese of the Indian sandwich stall and the Bombay toastie, while cheddar is grated over a cheese naan or a masala omelette at home.

This collection brings together cheese and butter and spreads. Choose salted butter for the table and for pav bhaji, unsalted for baking and for making ghee at home, where it lets you control the flavour. Block cheese suits grating and melting; slices and cubes are quicker for sandwiches and lunch boxes. Spreads made from vegetable oils stay soft straight from the fridge and suit those cooking without dairy.

To make ghee from unsalted butter, melt it slowly in a heavy pan and let it bubble until the milk solids turn golden and settle, then strain it through muslin. It keeps for months once cool.

Keep butter and cheese wrapped tightly in the fridge so they do not pick up other smells. These lines are chilled, so they go out on local delivery only. Fresh paneer is a separate collection, and the full fridge is in chilled and dairy.