Lahsuni Paneer is a garlic flavored, creamy and rich paneer dish. It’s impressive for a special evening yet simple enough to make on a weeknight. I’ve uploaded a video for this recipe on my YouTube channel. Hope you get to watch it.
Paneer is a common ingredient used in northern Indian cooking so you’ll find a whole range of curries and dry dishes made out of it. I’m sure you are aware of Paneer, the milky, fresh Indian cottage cheese, that is mild in taste. At first glance, Lahsuni paneer looks like shahi paneer or paneer makhani however there are some notable differences. Shahi paneer has a sight sweet thinner gravy with less garlic and no yogurt. Where as a dollop of thick yogurt brings a nice tang to this dish, making it flavorful, with some garlic tempering added for an extra flavor punch at the end.
As is with all cooking, variations to this dish include different preparation methods. I chose the simple route of roasting the pantry staples and then grinding them smooth to make the gravy. The bulk of the flavor comes from the coriander powder, kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves), garam masala and GARLIC, of course. Cashews and the pantry staples create the creamiest texture and consistency when you blend them. And then the addition of yogurt thickens it more giving it the iconic rich taste. Since the paneer doesn’t need to be deep fried or pan fried for this dish it hardly takes 30 mins to prepare.
This delicious recipe is perfect to serve as a vegetarian main or as a side dish and is generally eaten with flatbreads (we prefer tandoori roti), but you can pair it with rice as well. Chances are you’ll lick the bowl clean without any roti or rice 🙂
I hope you give this recipe a try. And if you do, let me know how it tuned out. Snap a photo and share it with me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #simpleglutenfreekitchen
Ingredients
- 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
- 3-4 green cardamom
- 1 1/2 cup roughly diced onion
- 3-4, (350 g) roughly diced tomatoes
- 6 (20 g) cloves garlic
- 1" piece ginger
- 20 (20-22 g) raw cashews
- 1 tbsp oil
- 5 6 (2") dry red chili
- 1 tbsp Coriander powder
- 350-400 g Paneer
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 3/4 cup (+ -) water
- 1 1/2 tsp dry fenugreek leaves
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/3 cup thick yogurt (check here how to squeeze water from regular yogurt)
- 1 tbsp ketchup (optional) gives good color and a hint of sweetness
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tbsp desi ghee
- 8-12 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Set a wok or pan on medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and cumin seeds. Roast a bit.
- Then add onion, garlic, ginger, dry red chilies, cashews, green cardamom.
- Once they takes on the color add tomatoes. Cook until soft. Add some water, cover and further cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and cool the mixture for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a grinder jar and grind to a fine puree.
- Heat a tsp of oil in the pan on medium low heat. Add turmeric powder. Fry turmeric in oil for few seconds.
- Next add the smooth puree to it along with some water.
- Add coriander powder, kashmiri chili powder, dry fenugreek leaves, garam masala and salt. Mix and stir well.
- Further add whisked thick yogurt, and ketchup, mix well and cook for 5-7 minutes, you can continue to cook for more longer, if you feel the gravy is not cooked properly.
- Add more water if it feels too thick (It thickens more when cool).
- Add paneer pieces and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Heat desi ghee in a small pan. add sliced garlic.
- Cook until golden.
- Add the garlic tempering to the dish ONLY while serving.
- Enjoy with tandoori roti or naan.
angiesrecipes
Creamy, garlicky…definitely a great combo of texture and flavour! The flatbread looks great too.
Carol
I don’t believe I’ve ever tried a dish with paneer – thanks for the information!
rainbow evening
your food looks so appealing … yummy
2pots2cook
Love it! If I melt white butter instead of ghee, I guess it makes no difference?
sherry
this sounds great Balvinder. Lots of lovely flavours going on.
Judee
I am really a fan of paneer. When I eat in an Indian restaurant, I often get paneer with an orange sauce . Not sure if it’s the same dish. But your’s looks amazing.
Balvinder
Hi Judy, It is similar but this one has more garlic taste in it.