Kashmiri Paneer

I saw this tomato based Kashmiri paneer recipe on TV a few months back. After two trials I made some improvisation in terms of ingredients to bring out my own version. The original recipe calls for the use of ghee. My first trial was with complete ghee and the second trial was with complete oil. Learnt that the use of ghee is essential for a nice texture to the gravy. For calorie reasons I used a combination of ghee and vegetable oil. Can be had with roti’s or rice.

the recipe

paneer – 200 gms
tomato – 4
curd – 3-4 tbsp
chilly powder – ¾ tsp
salt – to taste
black cardamom – 2 or green cardamom – 3
bay leaf – 2 small
ghee - 2 tbsp

ingredients not in the original recipe

Pepper powder – ½ tsp
Sugar – ½ - ¾ tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Onion – 1
Garlic – 3 cloves

the method

Cut the paneer into 4 cm long x 2-3 cm wide slabs.

Chop the tomatoes, onion and garlic and puree it with the curd.

Heat oil in a frying pan and add the ghee and vegetable oil. Deep fry the paneer pieces till light to golden brown (may be fried in batches). In the original recipe, the paneer was fried till it turned almost black. Drain the fried paneer pieces and place it in ¼ cup water or milk.

To the remaining ghee + oil add the bay leaf and cardamom and fry till the aroma comes out. Add the pureed tomato and curd mix. Add the chilly powder and salt and let the puree boil for five minutes. Add pepper powder and sugar. Check taste and add more sugar and pepper if needed. Half cup water may be added if the gravy is too thick. Add the fried paneer pieces and simmer for ten minutes.