Best 3 Basic Indian Curry With Paneer Recipes

PALAK PANEER - INDIAN SPINACH CURRY WITH HOMEMADE FRESH CHEESE

Steps:

• Saute onion & spices: Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, fenugreek, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes until onion is softened but not golden.
• Add garlic and ginger, cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato and chilli, cook for 3 minutes on a medium heat.
• Add spinach: Add about 1/3 of the spinach - or as much as you can handle in the pot (!) - and stir until wilted. Then add more spinach along with the water, cook again until wilted. Repeat until all the spinach is wilted.
• Cook 10 minutes: Cook, stirring every now and then, for 10 minutes still on a medium heat.
• Cream & lemon: Add the cream and lemon juice. Cook, stirring gently, for 3 minutes.
• Puree half spinach: Remove half the spinach into a tall container and blend it to a puree using a stick blender. Pour pureed spinach back into the pot, and stir to combine.
• Add Pan Fried Paneer: Gently stir in golden pan-fried paneer (see below). Stir gently to mix through.
• Serve over basmati rice with fluffy, chewy homemade naan on the side!

PANEER CURRY (INDIAN COTTAGE CHEESE CURRY)

Steps:

• First soak 12 to 15 cashews in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes.
• When the cashews are soaking, roughly chop 2 large tomatoes, 1 large onion, 1 inch ginger and 6 to 7 small to medium garlic cloves. Crush the ginger and garlic to a paste in mortar-pestle.
• In a blender jar or grinder jar, take the chopped onions. Without adding any water grind or blend to a smooth paste.
• Remove the onion paste in a bowl and keep aside.
• To the same grinder jar, add chopped tomatoes. Also add the soaked cashews.
• Again without adding any water, grind or blend both tomatoes and cashews to a smooth paste. Keep the jar aside.
• Heat tablespoons oil in a thick bottomed pan or kadai.
• Add the onion paste.
• On a low heat begin to sauté the onion paste. Keep on stirring often while sautéing the onion paste. Sauté till the onion paste becomes light golden or golden.
• Then add the crushed ginger-garlic paste. If using ready ginger-garlic paste, then add 1 teaspoon of it.
• Stir and saute for a few seconds or till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
• Now add the tomato+cashew paste. Be careful as the mixture can splutter.
• Mix everything very well and begin to saute the masala on a low flame.
• While the masala is getting sauteed, add 1.5 cups water in the grinder jar. Swirl the jar so that the tomato paste at the sides and at the bottom get mixed with the water. If you want you can even run the mixer once, so that everything gets mixed well. Keep aside.
• Saute the onion-tomato masala till you see some fat releasing from the sides. The masala will also become glossy.
• Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder.
• Stir and mix the spice powders very well.
• Add 1 or 2 slit green chilies.
• Add the water which was mixed with the leftover tomato+cashew paste in grinder jar.
• Season with salt as required. Also add 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves.
• On a low to medium heat, simmer the cottage cheese curry till it thickens a bit and you see oil specks on top.
• Then add paneer cubes.
• Add ½ teaspoon kasuri methi, which has been crushed. Mix well and switch off the heat.
• Then add 2 tablespoons low fat cream or light cream or 1 tablespoon of whipping cream.
• Mix the cream very well with the rest of the cottage cheese curry. Switch off the heat.
• Serve paneer curry garnished with some coriander leaves accompanied with chapati, paratha, naan or steamed rice or cumin rice or saffron rice.

BASIC INDIAN CURRY WITH PANEER

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking and stirring until onion is very tender and dark brown, about 20 minutes more. Stir in garlic and ginger, and continue cooking for 1 minute.
• Reduce heat to low, stir in chopped serrano chiles, and cook for an additional minute. Sprinkle in the red chile powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, and turmeric; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour in tomato puree and ketchup; thin with water to desired consistency. Stir in the paneer and peas; cook to soften peas, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cream, and increase heat to medium-high. Allow the curry to come to a rolling boil, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.