Hi this is Smita Deo, and welcome to Get Curried.
When I was little, my family and I had taken a trip up North.
And I remember driving for a long distance,
And it was quite late in the night and we were all starving.
Till we found this quaint little Dhaba...
...that served us the best Paneer Masala.
And after a few trial and error methods,
I managed to get something similar to taste...
...like one that I had eaten when I was young.
So I thought I'll share this recipe with you.
First, let's make the marinade for the Paneer.
I'm going to take 2 to 3 tbsp of Yogurt.
To this, let's add 1/2 a tsp of Garlic paste.
1/2 a tsp of Ginger paste.
Here I am using Kashmiri Chilli Powder,
Because I want the dish to get a beautiful red colour.
1/2 a tsp of Turmeric Powder.
1/2 tsp of Garam Masala Powder.
Some salt to taste.
And I'm just going to squeeze lemon juice, about 1/2 a lime.
And I'm going to mix this well.
I generally avoid using food colour,
And so I've used Kashmiri Chilli Powder here.
Our marinade is ready.
Let's marinate the Paneer,
Here I have 500 gms of Paneer that I've cut into cubes.
Let's coat the cubes of Paneer evenly.
This marinate can also be used to marinate meats...
...and different vegetables which you like to barbecue.
So while the Paneer is getting marinated,
Let's begin with the gravy.
For that, I'm going to heat 2 tbsp of Oil.
And I'm going to add a tbsp of Butter to this.
The butter has melted and the oil is hot,
I'm going to add 1 Bay Leaf to this.
And a tsp of Cumin Seeds.
Once the cumin seeds have crackled,
I'm going to add 4 roughly chopped Green Chillies,
And 4 Red Chillies that I have broken.
And just saute this for a few seconds.
Now let's add 3 medium Onions that I have finely chopped.
You've to saute these Onions to a beautiful golden brown colour.
Now if you're in a hurry and you want the onions to brown really fast,
Here I'm going to add a tsp of Salt.
The onions have browned really well.
They are slightly crisp as well.
I'm going to add now a tsp of Garlic paste.
A tsp of Ginger paste.
Saute this till the raw smell goes off.
It's time to add the Tomato Puree.
Here I have boiled 3 Tomatoes,
And simply ground them to a nice fine paste.
Let's add this.
And I'm going to saute this...
...till the gravy leaves a little bit of oil.
As you can see the fat is separated from the gravy.
Now let's add our spices.
I'm going to add a tsp of Chilli Powder.
1/2 a tsp of Turmeric Powder.
A tsp of Garam Masala powder.
A tsp of Coriander Seed Powder.
1/2 a tsp of Cumin Seeds Powder.
And a 1/4 tsp Pepper Powder.
Just going to mix this quickly.
So when we make a Paneer Masala at home,
We usually add Cashew Nut paste to give it a rich creamy texture.
But at the Dhabas it's little difficult...
...for the pockets to add Cashew Nut paste.
So they usually add Gram Flour or Chane Ka Atta,
Which I'm going to add about a tbsp.
This also gives the gravy a little thickness.
Now let's add 1/2 a litre, approximately 1/2 a litre of water,
To make a lovely gravy.
Usually a Paneer Masala is slightly sweetish to taste as well.
So we're going to add a tsp of Sugar to this.
This will also balance off the acidity that is given by the tomatoes.
As you can see the Gravy is thickened as well.
Now let's give this gravy aside and let's grill the Paneer.
I'm going to show you a quick and an easy way to grill this paneer.
I've heated a grill pan here,
And I'm going to add a tbsp of Oil.
A tbsp of Butter.
Just smother the pan with the oil and the butter.
And now simply place the marinated pieces on the pan.
The flame is on a medium.
And now we're just going to cook the Paneer...
...on both sides for at least 2 minutes each.
Let's flip the Paneer now.
We've grilled the cottage cheese on both sides for 2 minutes each.
Let's put these pieces in the gravy now.
Now I want to give this dish a beautiful smoky flavour,
And for that, I've kept a coal to burn over here.
Now this live coal, I'm going to just place it in a Katori.
Place the Katori in this Kadhai.
And I'm going to drizzle a tsp of Ghee on this.
And immaculately cover this,
And keep it for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
We smoked this dish for almost half an hour,
And our Paneer Masala is ready to served.
Let's remove this Katori with the live coal.
And remove the Paneer Masala in a serving bowl.
Be gentle with the Paneer.
Now I'm going to garnish this dish with some fresh cream.
Sprinkle some Kasuri Methi powder on this.
Just throw in some Coriander Leaves.
And our Paneer Masala is ready to be served.
I usually like to have it with Paratha,
But you can have it with Rice as well.
Do try this recipe and let me know.
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