Paneer or cottage cheese cooked in a rich, creamy and mildly spiced onion based gravy.
Paneer is an Indian cottage cheese, do is double and pyaza is onion. It is paneer curry with twice the amount of onions. I have seen so many different ways to do this recipe, some add tomatoes to it and some don’t. And some mince onions ,some dice onions, some blanche onions and add to the recipe. I guess there is no specific recipe. I saw sanjeev kapoor recipe and it was done on a dum( slow cooking) but there was no chilli powder or bell pepper added to it. I guess everybody has their own way to do this 🙂 So, I did this recipe adapting from all recipes I knew. And I totally loved it. It was perfect for parathas and peas pulao.
Onion based recipe sounds crazy as most of our recipes have onions to it. When I started cooking, I knew most of my recipes with just onion and garlic in it. But in this recipe, it is mainly onions. The onions are added in two different ways for different taste and texture. I added one as a fried onion, blended it and other as diced onions. This is semi dry kind of gravy.
For my non-Indian readers, Paneer is a type of fresh cottage cheese that can be made easily at home. Paneer has a milky flavor on its own, so it taste best when paired with strong spicy flavor like curries or tikka. This is a cheese that won’t melt like mozzarella or cheddar will. We can add them on any curry, or crumble them into flat breads like roti. Or even add them to kebabs and the cheese will keep its shape and chewy texture. I like making paneer at home. But sometimes i do buy them outside if I am very indolent. But I am sure home-made paneer is more hygienic and it saves a lot of money as well. Here is the recipe to make homemade paneer.
After a month, I am posting this recipe. I had lot of personal commitments to work as we all have some 🙂 once in a while. I was off this Monday, and I made this with some parathas and ghee rice. It made my day! And I clicked the pictures and posting it now.
Vegan Note: You can replace paneer with firm tofu for this recipe. And also avoid cream, yogurt and use coconut milk instead.
Other favorite Paneer recipes: Methi malai Paneer, Paneer Makhanwala, How to make homemade paneer, Paneer Biryani, Matar Paneer, cashew paneer
- • Oil – 1 tbsp
- • Spices – Cardamom – 1, bay leaf – 1, star anise – 1, clove -1
- • Cumin/Jeera - ½ tbsp
- • Onions - 1 (diced in a medium size)
- • Mint – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
- • Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
- • Chilli powder – ½ tbsp
- • Crushed pepper – 1 tbsp
- • Garam masala - 1 tsp
- • Kasuri methi leaves – 1 tbsp, crushed
- • salt - 1½ tbsp (or as per your taste/ or add it after the gravy is ready also)
- • Green Bell pepper – 1, diced ( I used both green & red to make it colorful)
- • Paneer cubes - 15 cubes
- • Yogurt – 2 tbsp
- • cooking cream - 1 cup
- • Coriander - to garnish
To grind: - • Onions – 1, fried.
- • Chillies - 3 (chopped roughly)
- • Ginger – 1 inch
- • Garlic - 5
- Blend everything under “to grind”.
- Heat a pan in medium flame. Add some oil, cumin, onions, and salt. Sauté them till they are translucent. You can add bell peppers in this step also.
- Now add the blended paste and bell peppers and sauté for few seconds. Now add the yogurt, mint leaves, coriander leaves, chilli powder, crushed pepper, garam masala, Kasuri methi leaves. Mix well and sauté for a minute.
- Add ½ cup of water and close the lid for 4-5 minutes.
- Now add the cream and paneer. Add ½ cup of water again and mix gently. Close it and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes
- When you see oil oozing out on the top,switch off and garnish with coriander leaves.
2. My salt amount was perfect. But if you want to add more or less, you can adjust as per taste.
3. I wanted it to be colorful, so used green and red bell peppers. You can use any colors or just one.
Taste luscious with Paratha,parotta or ghee rice,veg fried rice, Restaurant style vegetable biryani.
