Paneer Masala

Paneer recipes are favorite for many. We can prepare paneer in different styles. Here I am going to make a simple paneer masala which don't require much effort and can be prepared in 20 minutes if you have the paneer cubes readily available. To make fresh paneer at home follow the recipe "Home made fresh Paneer - Indian cottage cheese"

The ingredients required for making paneer masala are as below.

Paneer cubes- 250gm
Onion chopped - 1 big
Tomato choped - 1
Garlic pod - 3
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chilli - 2
Milk Cream or Malai - 2 tbsp (Optional)
Salt - As required
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 2tsp
Coriander Powder - 1tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp or as required
Coriander leaves

Grind chopped onion garlic and ginger together in a blender. Make a smooth paste and keep it aside.

Heat the kadai and pour oil into it. Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste and green chilli into it and saute. Saute till the paste turn color to light brownish and add chopped tomatoes. Stir till the tomatoes are soft.

Add  turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt into it and stir for a minute. Pour little water into this mix and cover the kadai and cook for sometime. Stir it in between. Once you see that the oil is getting separated then add the paneer cubes. If the gravy is too thick then you can add little more water. Add garam masala. Cover the kadai and cook in low flame for about five minutes. Switch of the flame and add the milk cream or malai into this gravy. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

The milk cream is optional. If you like a little bit creamy taste then do this else just garnish with coriander leaves.

Tips:

Fry the paneer cubes in little ghee before mixing with the gravy. This gives a golden color to the paneer and little crispiness also.

For the cream just take the malai from the milk. Boil milk and keep it covered for an hour. Now you can see the malai formed on top of that.