Paneer Makhani
Paneer, a fresh non melting cheese covered in a velvety sauce made using almonds and tomatoes. A flavour bomb in your mouth.
This is essentially a vegetarian version of the firm favourite Buttery Chicken. The signature rich, velvety sauce of this dish is too good to only be enjoyed by meat eaters, so an easy vegetarian friendly alternative is to make it with Paneer instead of meat.
The sauce itself is already vegetarian friendly, and is a combination of tomatoes and almonds or cashews. Traditionally, the nuts are soaked in water for several hours and then ground to a paste. I find that good quality almond or cashew butter works just as well if not better, and without the extra work.
I tend to use almond butter, purely out of personal preference, but it tastes equally nice using cashew butter. Experiment with different nut butters and discover your favourite.
Heat up a very lightly greased frying pan on a medium to low flame, and sear the pieces of paneer on both sides to give them a very light golden brown colour and firm up the texture a little bit. Set aside.
Over a medium flame, heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the garlic and half the ginger till soft and only just starting to colour.
Add the nut butter and Laal Spice Blend, and fry gently for 30 seconds, stirring to make sure the spices and butter don’t burn.
Next, add the tinned tomatoes and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water.
Add the salt, cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce has thickened.
15 Minutes
Add the Paneer pieces and the Sona Spice Blend to the sauce and continue to cook with the lid on and over low heat for another 15 minutes.
15 Minutes
The dish is ready when the Paneer is soft and the sauce has thickened. This dish is left quite saucy, with the Paneer pieces completely covered by the delicious, velvety sauce.
If it looks too dry, add a little bit of water and bring the sauce up to the boil.
Once you are happy with the consistency of the sauce, mix in the fresh coriander, mint and remaining ginger off the heat. Cover and let the flavours of the fresh herbs infuse into the dish for 5 minutes.
5 Minutes
Ingredients
Directions
Heat up a very lightly greased frying pan on a medium to low flame, and sear the pieces of paneer on both sides to give them a very light golden brown colour and firm up the texture a little bit. Set aside.
Over a medium flame, heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the garlic and half the ginger till soft and only just starting to colour.
Add the nut butter and Laal Spice Blend, and fry gently for 30 seconds, stirring to make sure the spices and butter don’t burn.
Next, add the tinned tomatoes and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water.
Add the salt, cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce has thickened.
15 Minutes
Add the Paneer pieces and the Sona Spice Blend to the sauce and continue to cook with the lid on and over low heat for another 15 minutes.
15 Minutes
The dish is ready when the Paneer is soft and the sauce has thickened. This dish is left quite saucy, with the Paneer pieces completely covered by the delicious, velvety sauce.
If it looks too dry, add a little bit of water and bring the sauce up to the boil.
Once you are happy with the consistency of the sauce, mix in the fresh coriander, mint and remaining ginger off the heat. Cover and let the flavours of the fresh herbs infuse into the dish for 5 minutes.
5 Minutes