Paneer Masala

Whenever am discussing dinner menus with my friends, the common topic will be “what curry to make for chapathi/roti”. Since everybody has become health conscious these days, chapathi has become a staple dinner food and ladies of the house are worried how to make it more interesting with different varieties of side dishes.

Having said that, I should say this dish is a perfect one for roti/chapathi and also with white rice. This recipe is adapted from malayalam women’s magazine Vanitha. The title of this curry instantly caught my attention, they named it very aptly “chapathi currykal” (curries for chapathi). This is originally a butter chicken recipe and I have modified it into a paneer masala :)

Here goes the paneer masala recipe:

1. Paneer cubes- 200 gm
2. Onion – 2 medium chopped
3. Capsicum – 1 small,cubed
4. Tomato – 2 small cubed
5. Ginger – 1 tbsp chopped
   Garlic – 1 tbsp chopped
   Chili powder – 1 tsp
   Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
   Pepper corns – 1/2 tsp
   Cinnamon – 1 small piece
   Clove – 3
   Cardamom – 3
   Jeera – a pinch
6. Cashew – 6
   Poppy seeds – 1/2 tsp (optional)
7. Oil
8. Salt

Soak cashew & poppy seeds in 2 tbsp hot water for 10 minutes & grind into a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and fry number 5 ingredients. Once it is fried, allow it to cool. Grind the cooled ingredients with 1-2 tbsp of water to a coarse paste. In the same pan saute onion & capsicum till it becomes soft. Add the ground masala and combine well. When oil starts appearing, add tomato pieces and cook. When tomato becomes soft add paneer cubes, mix everything. Add 1/2 – 1 cup hot water and cover and cook for 5-7 minutes on low-medium flame. Once the gravy becomes thick add cashew paste and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve hot with roti/rice.

Suggested improvements:

• Fry the paneer cubes before adding to the gravy.
• Add 1 tsp of butter or ghee before adding tomatoes and in the end before adding cashew paste.
• Add tomato puree instead of raw tomatoes.

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MariasMenu is a popular food blog written by Maria Jose with its no nonsense simple, tasty and delicious recipes – all tried and tested by readers, family and friends alike. Read more about Maria and her venture.