Rasha paneer

Paneer, you will find this in most Indian fridges. A versatile ingredient with hundreds of recipes dedicated to it. Soon after coming to Slovenia, I eagerly bought something resembling paneer. Imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be some young cheese. Even though it is very easy to make, it is a bit hassling when I just want to cook a quick simple recipe. So while sometimes I made the paneer from scratch, other times I tried to replace it with tofu or cheese for grills. But the replacement compromised the flavors hugely and I rarely cooked paneer dishes. Therefore, I was excited when Blaž’s mother stumbled upon paneer in some local fresh market. It was fresh and good and she bought a big block. I confirmed it to be paneer. She happily gave me a big chunk of it, and up came this recipe. I wanted to play with the sweetness of onion and raisins. A savory preparation with the underlying layer of sweetness, this is what the dish turned out to be. The garnish of kasoori methi leaves gave this heavenly aroma. The fresh cheese pieces in the gravy were a delight. A simple flavorful paneer dish after a long time.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

250g of paneer

1/2 red onion

1 big tomato

1inch ginger

3tbsp black raisins

1 dried red chili

1sp coriander powder

1/2cup milk

1.5tbsp kasoori methi leaves

1/2sp garam masala

Salt, sugar, oil/ghee

METHOD:

1.       Roughly chop the onion, tomato and ginger.

2.       Heat little oil/ghee in a wok. Add the onion, tomato, ginger, raisins, dried red chili, coriander powder. Fry on medium heat until the onion turns golden and softens.

3.       Blend everything into a smooth paste.

4.       Heat oil/ghee in the same wok. Cut the paneer in small cubes, rub salt and fry gently until golden. Keep aside on a kitchen towel.

5.       In the same oil/ghee, add the onion-tomato paste. Add salt and a pinch of sugar. Fry on medium heat until it leaves oil on sides.

6.       Add the milk and 1/2cup of water. Bring to boil.

7.       Add the fried paneer and bring the curry to boil again.

8.       Garnish with kasoori methi leaves and garam masala.