Because it is quarantine, I do not go shopping very frequently these days. So, whenever I go shopping, I buy all the items in a large amount and store it. I usually prefer fresh ingredients, but these days I am stocking some frozen food items too. They will not spoil for a long time and come in handy. Paneer is one of them. With paneer you can prepare various aromatic and tasty dishes from curries to spiced skewers.
This easy and delicious paneer curry can be prepared in a less amount of time. It can be paired up with Indian bread items like chapati, naan, and paratha.
First I pan-fried the paneer with little oil and soaked it in warm water and added in the curry. This will preserve the softness of the paneer.
For the gravy, I have added a coarsely ground onion paste and a fine ground tomato chili paste. Also, I have added cashew paste for a thick and creamy texture.
HOW TO PREPARE TOMATO CHILI PASTE
Into a blender, I have added two medium-sized tomatoes, cut into pieces, green chili, and a spoon of store-bought tomato paste. Then, I ground it into a fine paste. The store-bought paste gives a bright color. If you do not have store-bought tomato paste you don’t have to use that.
HOW TO PREPARE CASHEW PASTE
You can just grind it in a blender by adding little water to it,or you can soak the cashew nuts for half an hour in water and then grind it with little water. Both way you will get smooth cashew paste.
VARIATIONS THAT CAN BE DONE
You can add some green peas in this curry. Cook a handful of green peas and add inside the curry just before adding the paneer cubes. It tastes astonishingly good.
You can also add two teaspoon full of fresh cream to make the curry more rich.
SPICY PANEER CURRY RECIPE.
This easy and delicious paneer curry can be prepared in a less amount of time. It can be paired up with Indian bread items like chapati, naan, and paratha.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes.
Cooking Time: 25 minutes.
Servings: Can be served to 4 people.
INGREDIENTS:
300 Grams of paneer (cottage cheese)
Two whole cardamom pods
Two small sized cinnamon sticks
Two cloves
One big onion, coarsely ground
Ginger and garlic pastes – one teaspoon each
Two medium sized tomatoes
One tablespoon of store bought tomato paste (optional)
One green chili
One heaped teaspoon of coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
Two teaspoons of Kashmiri red chili powder
One teaspoon of garam masala powder
Fifteen cashew nuts ground into a fine paste
A tablespoon of kasuri methi
Four to five table spoons of oil
Salt – to taste
A handful of finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish
METHOD
STEP 1. In a frying pan pour three table spoons of oil and fry the paneer cubes until the sides turn little brown, and then soak the fried paneer cubes in warm water.
STEP 2. Into a blender add the tomato pieces, green chili and the store bought tomato paste, and make a fine paste. Keep it aside.
STEP 3. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the cinnamon sticks, cloves and cardamom pods into it.
STEP 4. Then add the coarsely ground onion into the oil and sauté until the raw smell of the onion is gone.
STEP 5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute it until its raw smell is gone.
STEP 6. Add the tomato chili paste into the pan and sauté it until it is cooked well.
STEP 7. Add the turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder and sauté it for a minute and then add a cup (250 ml) of water. Add salt.
STEP 8. Bring it to boil .Drain the water from the paneer and add the cubes into the gravy.
STEP 9. Grind the cashews into a fine paste and add it to the curry. Mix the curry gently so the paneer cubes do not break. If the curry is too thick add some water. Check the salt and add if needed.
STEP 10. Sprinkle the kasuri methi over the curry. Let it simmer for two minutes.
STEP 11. Garnish it with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve it hot.
NOTE:
To make the curry more rich you can add fresh cream to the curry. After transferring it to the serving dish, top it with one or two teaspoons of fresh cream.
After adding the paneer into the gravy stir it gently to prevent the paneer cubes from breaking into small pieces.
If you soak the cashew for 30 minutes, then it will be easy to make the cashew paste.
You can add one more teaspoon of coriander powder.I have added only one spoon in this recipe because I like the curry to be in bright red color.
STEP BY STEP PICTURES:
ADD ALL OF THE SPICES.
ADD THE COARSELY GROUND ONION AND SAUTE UNTIL THE RAW SMELL OF THE ONION IS GONE.
ADD THE GINGER GARLIC PASTE AND SAUTE.
ADD THE TOMATO CHILI PASTE AND SAUTE.
THE TOMATO AND CHILI PASTES ARE COOKED.
ADD THE MASALA POWDERS(TURMERIC, KASHMIRI RED CHILI POWDER, CORIANDER, GARAM MASALA).
ADD A CUP OF WATER AND BRING IT TO BOIL.ADD SALT.
ADD THE PANEER CUBES.
ADD THE CASHEW PASTE. ADD A LITTLE MORE WATER IF REQUIRED.
SPRINKLE KASURI METHI .
IT IS READY TO SERVE.
