Mughlai Paneer Makhani

 

THE RECIPE

Category: Main Course

Style: Mughlai / Indian

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients: 

- 100 grams paneer or cottage cheese

- 2 onions, medium sized

- 3 tomatoes, medium sized

- 3 green chilies

- 12-15 cashews

- 1 teaspoon anardana or dried pomegranate seeds

- 1 bay leaf

- 1 black cardamom

- 1 star anise

- ½ inch cinnamon

- 4 cloves

- 1.5 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste (ratio?)

- 100 grams butter

- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

- 1.5 teaspoons red chili powder

- 3 teaspoons coriander powder

- Fistful of fresh coriander leaves

- 2 teaspoons kasuri methi

- salt to taste

- 2-3 cups water

Instructions:

1. Peel and chop onions roughly. Add anardana and grind it into a very smooth puree in a blender.
2. Wash and chop tomatoes roughly. Add cashews and destalked green chilies. Grind it into a very smooth puree in a blender.
3. In a large cooking pot, heat butter along with oil (to prevent the butter from burning). As it heats up, add bay leaf, cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and cloves and stir for two minutes.
4. To this, add ginger and garlic paste and stir for 1 minute until the paste turns golden brown and the raw smell goes off.
5. Immediately, add the onion paste and mix well. Add in turmeric powder and cook with lid closed for about 5-7 minutes. Stir in intervals to avoid burning. The onions have to be fully reduced to a thick brown paste and oozing butter. That is when it’s done.
6. Now add in the tomato-cashew-chili puree and stir continuously. Reduce heat if necessary (the gravy splatters crazily).
7. Add in the spices– red chili powder and coriander powder, along with a bit of salt. Mix well, cover and cook in high flame for at least 15 minutes.  Again, the secret it to cook the paste and spices until they reduce to the minimal possible portion and ooze out all the butter and oil. Keep checking and stirring in between.
8. When it is cooked (as mentioned), add in kasuri methi and the fresh coriander leaves. Mix and let cook uncovered for a minute.
9. Add 2 cups of water stir and cook covered for another 5 – 10 minutes until the gravy is thick enough and the butter starts to float on top. Adjust water quantity if required.
10. Finally, cut paneer into small cubes, add in the gravy and mix. Add salt , cover the pot and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes.
11. Remove from heat, garnish with fresh coriander leaves and eat hot with Naan bread or Rotis!