One of the dishes that drawn me to Indian food is the curry. Rich and creamy curry, full of spices and little sweet that is cooked with paneer cheese or chicken – this dish is definitely high on my most loved foods list. However, for years I tried over and over to recreate those restaurant style curry dishes and failed miserably. Something in the texture and spice balance just didn’t work.

Lately something clicked and I suddenly got it right! The curry magic started happening in my very own kitchen 🙂 Apparently the amount of cashews plays a big role, the quality of the blander is also critical and surprisingly the curry is better with bought tomato puree instead of fresh tomatoes.

This recipe is for a curry dish called “Panir Makhani” or “Paneer Butter Masala” and it is practically a reach, buttery, spicy and sweet sauce to which you add paneer cubes or chicken pieces (or even tofu – details below). It is served with white rice or Indian bread like Nan or Roti. In the original version you’ll find much more butter but after some trial and error I arrived at the conclusion that it is completely unnecessary and it is tastier when you just add more cashew nuts (or almonds).

I admit, the ingredients is pretty grandiose. A crucial element in Indian cooking is the large amount of spices which are balanced correctly. There are easier curry dishes out there with a shorter ingredients list and I’ll definitely post some of those soon.

Prep + cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients (3 servings)

• 200 gr paneer or 250 gr chicken breast
• 20 gr butter (~1 tbs)
• 1 large onion
• 1 tbs grated ginger (about 3 cm ginger, lengthwise)
• 2 garlic cloves
• small piece of a cinnamon stick (2 cm)
• 2 cloves sticks
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 cardamon pod
• 1/2 cup raw cashews / raw white almonds / ground almonds
• 2 tbs yogurt
• 4-5 tbs tomato puree
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 1 tbs kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves, details below) – optional
• 1/2-1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste
• cilantro for garnish

Directions

In case you use store bough Paneer I recommend cutting it into cubes and quickly fry them in a pan with a little oil until it browns. Take out the cubes to a plate and set aside.

Chop the onion and peel the garlic cloves. Heat 1 tbs of oil and half of the butter in a pan. Add cinnamon, cloves and the seeds of one cardamon pod and fry for half a minute. Add the cumin and fennel seeds and fry for another minute or until the cumin seeds start to brown. Add the chopped onion, grated ginger, crushed garlic and a little salt. Mix and fry until the onion becomes translucent.

Place the pan content in a good quality blender, add the cashew nuts, yogurt and two tablespoons of tomato puree. Add one or two tablespoons of water and grind well until you get a smooth and creamy mixture.

Heat another 1 tbs oil and the rest of the butter to the same pan. Place the grounder mixture in the pan and add another two tablespoons of tomato puree, the chili powder, turmeric, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix well and add some water. The amount of water you add here will determine the final consistency so adjust it to your liking – I add about 1.5-2 cups of water. By the way, if you’re cooking the chicken version of this curry now is the time to add the chicken pieces.

Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. During that time don’t forget to check that the curry doesn’t burn at the bottom and sticks to the pan, so mix a little and add some more water if necessary. After ten minutes take off the lid, add garam masala, sugar and kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves) and mix well. Add more water if necessary. If you’re doing the paneer or tofu version of this recipe now will be the time to add the paneer/tofu cubes. Cook for another 2 minutes non-covered.

The curry is ready! Garnish with few fresh cilantro leaves and serve hot together with white rice or some Indian bread like Nan or Roti. The curry can be kept for two days in the fridge and should be heated before serving.

Comments and suggestions

Tomato puree. The better quality the tomato puree you’ll use the less sour curry you’ll get. As you see in the picture above I use the cheapest puree and the outcome is great anyway.

Kasoori Methi?! Kasoori Methi are actually dried fenugreek leaves. Yep, the well known fenugreek seed can easily grow to a cute little sprout with two leaves, those leaves are picked and dried and this spice is called Kasoori Methi. It is commonly used in north India and it adds a special and whole flavor to many curry dishes. You can get it in Indian grocery shops and sometimes even in regular spice shops. It is optional in this recipe but if you did get your hands on a bunch of Kasoori Methi do add it to the dish.

How to make it vegan? First, the yogurt can be replaced with coconut cream or any other vegan cream or completely skipped. The butter can be replaced with coconut oil or be omitted. And now for the tofu part, here you can find a detailed explanation about how to prepare the tofu in a way that will give it a taste that resembles paneer. In short – wrap the tofu cube with paper towel and squeeze it a little with something heavy on top for a few minutes. Mix 1 tbs white miso, 2 tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs lemon zest, 1 tbs oil, salt and pepper. Add the tofu cubes, mix and let it sit for a few minutes. Place in a baking tray with a baking sheet and bake in a 190 degrees oven for 20 minutes until it browns.

In short

If you chose to prepare with paneer fry 200 gr paneer cubes until it browns and set aside. Heat 1 tbs oil and 10 gr butter in a pan. Add 2 cm cinnamon stick, 2 cloves sticks and seeds of 1 cardamon pod and fry for half a minute or until it starts to spread an aroma. Add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and 1/4 tsp fennel seeds and fry for another minute until the cumin seeds brown. Add 1 large chopped onion, 1 tbs grated ginger, 2 crushed garlic cloves and salt to taste. Fry until the onion is translucent. Move all the pan content to a good quality blender and blend together with 2 tbs yogurt, 1/2 cup raw cashew or raw white almonds or ground almonds and 2 tbs tomato puree. The mixture should be very smooth and creamy. In the same pan heat 1 tbs oil and 10 gr butter, add the onion mixture together with 1/2 to 1 tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and another 2 tbs tomato puree. If you prepare the chicken version add 250 gr chicken breast pieces. Add 1.5 to 2 cups of water, mix, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lead, add 1 tsp garam masala, 1.5 tsp sugar and 1 tbs kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves). Add water if necessary, mix and cook for another 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and serve hot with white rice or Indian bread.