Claire
Master Chef
I grew up with cottage cheese in lasagna (never lived anywhere that ricotta was readily available, period, and if it was, probably more expensive than my parents could afford). My husband did as well. Since lasagna is really a comfort food, if I'm just baking it for us, I still use cottage cheese (use ricotta if it is for company). It seems to me, though, having had paneer, that it probably is closer to ricotta than our cottage cheese is. Mexican grocery stores (and here in Wal-Mart) carry a type of queso fresca that I think would be good as well (I know, doesn't help you in India!).