Paneer Butter Masala
Meera Sodha's delicious recipe for comforting paneer butter masala is the ultimate vegetarian comfort food. This decadent curry is simple to put together and is great for a weekend feast with friends.
From the book
Fresh India: 130 Quick, Easy and Delicious Recipes for Every Day
The go-to guide for vegetarian Indian cooking
130 stunning recipes with a fresh and light feel
Beautiful puddings with Indian-inspired flavours
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Introduction
Hindus consider cows and all their milky produce – cream, butter and cheese – sacred. I can’t argue with that. Traditionally, this dish would be made with a few large slabs of golden butter, but for the sake of decency I’ve toned things down a bit. It’s still an extravagant dish, but channel India and enjoy yourself.
Ingredients
| Rapeseed oil | |
| 500g | hard paneer, cut into 2cm cubes |
| 3 tbsp | unsalted butter |
| 1 | large brown onion, finely chopped |
| 4cm | ginger, peeled and grated |
| 6 | cloves of garlic, crushed |
| 800g | tomato passata |
| 1 tbsp | kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) |
| 1 tsp | ground cinnamon |
| ¼ tsp | ground cloves |
| ½ tsp | chilli powder |
| 2 tbsp | honey |
| 1½ tsp | salt |
| 250g | peas (fresh or defrosted) |
| 100ml | double cream (plus extra to serve) |
| A handful | toasted flaked almonds |
Method
Put a tablespoon of oil into a large lidded frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the cubes of paneer. Fry for a couple of minutes until golden on all sides, turning regularly, then remove to a plate.
Put the butter into the same pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the onion and fry for around 10 minutes, until translucent and turning golden. Add the ginger and garlic, stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the passata. Cover with the lid and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until reduced to a lovely thick sauce.
Add the fenugreek leaves, cinnamon, cloves, chilli powder, honey and salt to the pan. Stir, then add the fried paneer, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Add the peas and cream and cook for a further 5 minutes.
To serve, scatter with the almonds and drizzle with a little extra cream.
This curry is perfect with steamed basmati rice.
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