Greek Feta Cheese: What It Is, How It's Used, and Why It Doesn't Belong in Traditional Indian Cooking

When you think of Greek feta cheese, a brined white cheese made from sheep’s milk or a mix of sheep and goat milk, traditionally aged in brine for at least two months. Also known as feta, it’s sharp, salty, and crumbles easily—perfect on salads, in pastries, or grilled with olive oil. But if you’ve ever tried to swap it into a recipe for paneer or chhena, you’ll notice something’s off. That’s because feta isn’t just another cheese—it’s a product of Greek geography, climate, and centuries of dairy tradition. Indian cheese culture, on the other hand, was built around fresh, acid-set curds like paneer, made with lemon juice or vinegar, and never aged or brined.

Indian cooking doesn’t use feta because the flavor profile doesn’t fit. Feta’s saltiness and tang clash with the layered spices of curries, the subtle sweetness of jaggery-based desserts, or the earthy warmth of cumin and coriander. In contrast, paneer is mild, soft, and soaks up flavors like a sponge—ideal for tikka, palak, or mattar paneer. Even in vegan or dairy-free Indian cooking, people reach for tofu or coconut yogurt, not feta. The closest thing to feta in Indian kitchens? Maybe a dry, crumbly chhena used in some Bengali sweets, but even that’s not brined or aged.

Some people try to use feta in Indian dishes because they think it’s a "healthy substitute" for paneer. But here’s the catch: feta has more sodium than paneer—about 300mg per ounce versus 100mg. That’s not just a little extra salt—it’s enough to throw off the balance of an entire curry. Plus, feta doesn’t hold its shape when cooked. It melts into a greasy puddle, unlike paneer, which stays firm even after frying or simmering. If you’re looking for a dairy-free alternative to feta, you won’t find one in Indian pantries—but you’ll find plenty of options for replacing paneer, like tofu marinated in lemon and spices.

There’s a reason Indian recipes don’t include feta. It’s not about tradition for tradition’s sake. It’s about function. Indian cooking relies on ingredients that play well with heat, spice, and fermentation. Feta doesn’t play that game. But if you’re curious about how cheese works across cultures, you’ll find plenty of posts here comparing paneer to yogurt-based marinades, exploring dairy-free Indian meals, and even explaining why citrus doesn’t work well for making paneer. You’ll learn what actually holds up in an Indian kitchen—and what belongs on a Greek salad instead.