I came back from overseas raring to get back into the kitchen and cook up a storm. Cindy and I settled on this paneer butter masala for Monday night. It's the perfect public holiday project - not super complicated, although the constant pausing/playing of Mallika Basu's video recipe slowed us down a bit. The paneer was fantastic - coated in a mix of turmeric, salt and chilli and charred up in the frying pan - but the sauce was the real star. It's rich, spicy and a gorgeous turmeric-y orange. We served it up with a side of spiced coconut spinach and some store-bought paratha and it was the best goddamn dinner I've had in ages.
The curry worked just as well for leftovers - there was a depth of flavour to it that beat just about any curry we've made before. This will definitely end up in our regular rotation.
The curry worked just as well for leftovers - there was a depth of flavour to it that beat just about any curry we've made before. This will definitely end up in our regular rotation.
Paneer butter masala
(slightly adapted from a recipe by Mallika Basu)
1/2 cup cashews
400g paneer, chopped into bite-sized cubes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup yoghurt
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3 tablespoons ghee
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
Cover the cashews with water and soak them for at least an hour. When you're ready to cook, drain them and grind them to a cream with 4 tablespoons water. Set aside.
In a small-medium bowl, toss together the paneer, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, yoghurt and 2 cups water. Set aside.
In a small bowl, stir together the ground coriander, remaining 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder and remaining 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, then whisk in 2 tablespoons water. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a large pan over low-medium heat. Add the paneer and fry it for just a minute on each side, until it's golden. Remove the paneer from the pan and set it aside.
Keep the pan on the low-medium heat and add the bay leaf. Add in the ginger and garlic, stirring them through 1 tablespoon of ghee. Pour in the small bowl of dried spices and water, cooking for no more than half a minute. Pour in the tomato-yoghurt mixture, and stir everything thoroughly. Simmer for a few minutes, then stir in the cashew cream. Fold in the paneer, simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala and melt in the last tablespoon of ghee; serve.
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