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Sana Thongba (Manipuri Paneer Curry)

Sana Thongba (Manipuri Paneer Curry) is a traditional Indian recipe (from Manipur) for a classic curry of fried paneer cheese in a lightly-spiced milk gravy base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Manipuri Paneer Curry (Sana Thongba).

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurryVegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesMilk RecipesCheese RecipesIndian Recipes

This is one of the rae Manipuri recipes that's suitable for vegetarians, as it does not include the fermented and dried fish that are the flavour base for so many of the dishes served in Manipur, Northeast India. It's a very milk rich dish as milk is used to form the bases for the gravy. Moreover there's no onion and no garlic (which are also basic consitutens of typical Manipuri curries).

Ingredients:

250–300g Paneer cheese, cubed (set Indian cottage cheese)
80g (1/2 Cup) Green Peas
250ml (1 Cup) Milk
250ml (1 Cup) Water
1 tsp Nigella Seeds (Kalonji)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2-3 Bay Leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp hot chilli powder
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp ghee (Clarified Butter), for shallow frying the paneer

Method:

Place a pan over medium heat and when hot add the oil and ghee and use to shallow fry the paneer cubes until lightly golden all over.

Remove the paneer and set aside. To the oil remaining in the pan add the bay leaves and nigella seeds and cook for 30-40 seconds.

Stir in the ginger and fry over low heat for 30-40 seconds more. Now add the peas and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Scatter over the turmeric and chilli powder, stir to combine and cook for 60 seconds.

Stir in the milk, water and salt then increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer, add the paneer cubes and simmer until the sauce thickens to a gravy (about 10-15 minutes).

Serve hot, accompanied by rice or phulkas.