Paneer is a type of Indian cheese. It tastes very much like a solid chunk of cottage cheese. It's similar to mexican queso fresco in that it doesn't melt quickly and holds its shape when hot. This makes it a good cheese to fry, and in most preparations that I know of, the recipe requires the paneer to be fried. Personally, I like the taste of unfried paneer a bit better than the fried version. I usually just cut up the paneer and throw it into the dish that I have stewing on the stove.