Fresh Indian Cheese in a Butter-tomato Sauce (Paneer Makhani)
Fresh Indian Cheese in a Butter Tomato Sauce (Paneer Makhani) from Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Easy Vegetarian cookbook. This delicious recipe is perfect to serve as a vegetarian main or as a side dish and is generally eaten with Indian flatbreads, especially naans.
From the book
Curry Easy Vegetarian
Delicious meat-free recipes
Simple recipes for popular classics
A perfect introduction to vegetarian curries
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Introduction
This is the vegetarian version of Chicken in a Butter-tomato Sauce, for which a tandoor-roasted bird is cut up and enfolded in a rich, creamy sauce. This vegetarian incarnation is much loved and generally eaten with Indian flatbreads, especially naans.
Ingredients
| 250 ml/8 fl oz | tomato passata |
| 250 ml/8 fl oz | double cream |
| 2 tsp | peeled and finely grated fresh ginger |
| 1 tsp | garam masala |
| 2 tsp | lemon juice |
| ½ tsp | sugar |
| 1 | fresh hot green chilli, finely chopped |
| 1¼ tsp | salt |
| ¼ tsp | nice red chilli powder |
| 1 tsp | ground roasted cumin seeds |
| 1 tbsp | dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crumbled (optional) |
| 400 g/14 oz | fresh Indian cheese (paneer), cut into 2 cm/ ¾ inch squares |
| freshly ground black pepper | |
| 2 tbsp | unsalted butter plus |
| 1 tbsp | olive or peanut oil |
| ¼ tsp | whole cumin seeds |
| 2–3 tbsp | chopped fresh coriander |
Method
Combine the tomato passata, cream, ginger, garam masala, lemon juice, sugar, green chilli, 1 teaspoon of the salt, chilli powder, ground roasted cumin and dried fenugreek leaves (if using) in a bowl. Stir thoroughly and set aside.
Put the cubed cheese into another bowl. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Toss well to mix.
Put the butter, oil and cumin seeds in a medium, non-stick pan and set over a medium heat. Put all the cheese cubes in the pan in a single layer and brown them very lightly on at least two sides. Pour the tomato sauce over the top and stir to mix. Bring to a simmer, then heat very gently for 4–5 minutes, stirring with a light hand as you do so. Sprinkle the fresh coriander over the top before serving.
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