Butter Paneer
Description
Direct from, ‘Vegetarian India’, by Madhur Jaffrey, this is soooo easy, delightful and super tasty. There is definitely room to maneuver with the recipe (add chickpeas?, make it extra spicy?) – I double it every time! and we have Kyla to thank for pointing this out to me as a wonderful weeknight meal – enjoy!
Ingredients
2 T. butter AND 1 T. olive oil
1/4 t. whole cumin seeds
~400 g paneer, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
Sauce
1 bottle (680 mL) passata (tomato puree) + 1 c. water (rinse out the bottle first)
1 c. cream
2 t. finely grated fresh ginger AND 1 t. garam masala
2 t. lemon juice AND 1/2 t. sugar
1 t. EACH kosher salt AND ground cumin
1/4 c. crumbled dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
1/2 t. your favorite red chili powder OR flakes (optional)
1 fresh hot green chili, finely chopped (optional) OR a can (118 mL) of green chilis
1 small can (398 mL) chickpeas, drained (optional)
a handful of chopped fresh cilantro or green onion for garnish
Instructions
In a large bowl (preferably with a spout), whisk together all of the sauce ingredients, with or without the hot bits and chickpeas as you wish and set aside.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat up the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat and sprinkle in the cumin seeds, allowing them to sizzle for a quick several seconds before adding in the paneer. Sprinkle all with the freshly ground pepper (if I’m not using extra spice, then I’m very liberal with the black pepper), and cook and stir until all paneer cubes are browned on a couple of sides. If I’m doubling this recipe, I use my extra large wok-like non-stick skillet and do the paneer in batches – it’s all about the browned bits!
If you’ve worked in batches, then add all of the paneer back into the pan, whisk the sauce once more and pour it all in. Heat over medium-low until warmed through…taste for seasonings (usually a titch more salt or sugar is needed), bring it all just to a boil and then dinner is ready. We love ours straight up over rice with some garnish and some roasted vegetables.
