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Paneer Pasanda

Paneer Pasanda is a traditional Indian recipe for a classic vegetarian curry of paneer cheese in a mild, spicy, gravy with a pureed onion base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Paneer Pasanda.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurryVegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesCheese RecipesIndian Recipes

This is a truly excellent paneer (Indian curd cheese) based curry. It has smooth, creamy and mild spicy gravy that incorporated shallow fried paneer cubes and pureed onion, tomato and cashew nut paste to make a delicious curry with rich creamy gravy. This is a restaurant curry that's been adapted to be cooked easily at home. Rather than paneer you could also make this with tandoori cauliflower, pre-cooked chicken, pre-cooked lamb or prawns (shrimp).

Ingredients:

500g (1 lb) Paneer (cottage cheese)
6 medium Tomatoes, chopped
4 medium Onions, cut into large chunks
15 Cashew Nuts
4 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 Bay Leaves
4 Black Cardamom pods
2 Green Chillies, chopped
1 tsp Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp cumin powder
250ml (1 cup) Fresh Cream
3 tbsp Oil
4 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves
Salt, to taste

Method:

Combine the cashew nuts and 1 1/2 tbsp water in a small food processor, pulse to chop then render to a paste and turn out into a bowl. Add the ginger-garlic paste and the green chilli to the processor then process until smooth.

Bring a pan of very-lightly salted water to a boil. Add the onion chunks and boil for 4-5 minutes to blanch. Drain in a colander and place the onion in a food processor. Render to a puree and set aside. Add the tomatoes to the food processor and render to a puree.

Cut the paneer into squares about 5cm (2 in) a side and 6mm (1/4 in) thick. Cut each square into two triangles each. Add 2 1/2 tbsp oil to a pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot use to gently fry the paneer triangles until the edges start to brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the pan over medium heat and when hot add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste, bay leaf and cardamom. Stir fry for a few seconds before adding the onion puree. Continue stir-frying until the onion browns lightly and the oil starts to separate (2-3 minutes).

Stir in the tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the cashew nut paste and stir-fry for 2 minutes before scattering over the turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala, cumin, coriander powder and salt. Stir in to combine and stir for 1 minute before adding 360ml (1 1/2 cups) water.

Bring everything to a boil and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the fenugreek leaves and the shallow-fried paneer triangles at this point. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes.

Finally, stir in the fresh cream, stir to mix thoroughly and cook for 2 minutes, until everything is hot.

Take off the heat and allow to cool for 4 minutes before turning the curry into a warmed serving bowl. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.