Paneer Makhani
Cubes of paneer in makhani sauce, finished with honey, crème fraîche and dried fenugreek. With the sauce ready, this is on the table in fifteen minutes.
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Paneer is Indian fresh cheese: firm, mild and it does not melt. You buy it at an Indian grocer and these days in many supermarkets too, by the cheese or the vegetarian products.
This recipe starts from the makhani sauce in its own recipe. The paneer is marinated and grilled first, which gives a light smoky flavour. To keep it simpler, skip steps 3 to 5.
This dish starts with Makhani Sauce .
Spiciness. This is the amount of chilli as it is used in India. For a milder dish, use half the Kashmiri chili powder. There are no green chillies in it. The rest of the recipe stays the same.
Tip. Mustard oil gives the most authentic flavour, olive oil works too. Heat mustard oil until it just smokes and let it cool first, which makes the flavour milder.
Method
- 1
Cut 300 g paneer into cubes of about 2 cm.
- 2
Want to keep it quick and simple? Skip steps 3 to 5 and go straight to step 6.
- 3
Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil until it just starts to smoke, then let it cool. This softens the sharp flavour of mustard oil. If you use olive oil, you can skip the heating.
- 4
Put the oil in a bowl and stir in 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, ½ tsp turmeric, 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt and 1 tsp amchur.
- 5
Turn the paneer through the marinade until every cube is coated and leave it a few minutes. Heat a grill pan, add a little oil and grill the paneer until it has brown, lightly charred edges here and there.
- 6
Put a deep pan on medium heat, melt a few knobs of butter and pour in the makhani sauce. As soon as it starts to bubble, lower the heat and stir it through.
- 7
Add the paneer to the sauce along with 2 tsp honey, 1 tbsp crème fraîche, a pinch of garam masala, 1 tsp kasuri methi and the chopped coriander. Crush the kasuri methi between your hands over the pan, it releases far more aroma that way.
- 8
Stir everything through, taste and adjust the salt if needed. Good with chapati, naan or basmati rice.
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