serves
4
prep
10 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
When I was travelling in Kashmir, many restaurants, hotels and home cooks were using paneer and cooking it in ways I wasn’t used to. This particular recipe was inspired by my friends Amit and Prateek’s parents, whom I met when they were visiting Kashmir. I had never eaten paneer this way before.
Ingredients
- 2½ tbsp (45 ml) mustard oil
- 500 g paneer, cut into cubes
- 8 green cardamom pods
- 4 black cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 1 tsp brown cumin seeds
- 2–3 dried bay leaves
- ½ tsp asafoetida powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp ground fennel
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 whole green chillies, halved lengthways
- 300 ml (4 cups) hot water
- 300 ml (4 cups) full-fat (whole) milk
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
- steamed rice, to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the paneer and fry until light brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add all the whole spices and bay leaves to the pan and cook for 1 minute, then add the asafoetida, turmeric, ginger, fennel, salt and halved chillies. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then pour in the hot water. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Now reduce the heat back to medium, add the fried paneer and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the milk and cook for a further 5–6 minutes until the gravy thickens. Mix through the dried fenugreek leaves and remove from the heat.
- Serve with rice.
Recipe and image from On the Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh by Romy Gill, photography by Poras Chaudhary and Matt Russel (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $55, available in-stores nationally).
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
When I was travelling in Kashmir, many restaurants, hotels and home cooks were using paneer and cooking it in ways I wasn’t used to. This particular recipe was inspired by my friends Amit and Prateek’s parents, whom I met when they were visiting Kashmir. I had never eaten paneer this way before.
