TURMERIC PANEER
HOW TO COOK DELICIOUS PANEER AT HOME.
This gobi sabji recipe has to be one of my all-time favourite dishes. Deep fried, twice cooked and beautifully spiced cauliflower that is rich in taste, molten in texture, and deeply satisfying. The two keys to this dish are deep frying the cauliflower for extra flavour, and then cooking the gobi in the masala on low and slow heat for around 45 minutes. It will seem ready before this. But really it just gets better the longer you cook.
Find out the best tips to cooking paneer >
RECIPE DETAILS
Serves: 4
Cooking time: 90 minutes (including making the raw paneer) plus 12 hours hanging time.
Dietary Style: Gluten Free. Vegetarian. See tips to veganise our turmeric paneer recipe in the ingredient list
INGREDIENTS
THE PREP
- Diced fresh paneer
FOR THE FRYING
- 1 cup vegetable oil
FOR THE MAIN COOK
- 1 cup water
- 1 to 1.5 tsp fine white salt
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 2 tsp aniseed powder
- a pinch of asafoetida powder
- 2 black cardamom pods, split open
ADDING THE MILK AND YOGURT
- 3 tbsp yogurt
- 3 tbsp milk (whisk both together)
THE FINAL TADKA
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 3 or 4 green cardamom
- 3 or 4 clove buds
- Veganise the dish by replacing the chaaman with tofu, and the ghee with the same quantity of coconut oil, and the milk and yogurt with coconut milk and coconut yogurt.
METHOD
How to make our turmeric paneer recipe.
STEP 1
If you don’t have fresh paneer on hand and you don’t want to buy it from a store—homemade paneer is always more delicious—then take the time to make it using this recipe here.
Once you have the paneer, dice it into cubes at least one-inch by one-inch in size.
STEP 2
Once you have your paneer, heat the vegetable oil in a kadai, heavy bottomed wok, or heavy bottomed pot. Prepare a bowl of cold water while the oil is heating and keep next to the stove. This is where you’ll put your fried chaaman. Fry the paneer cubes gently in batches until just browned before moving from the oil to the bowl of water.
STEP 3
Strain the water from the fried chaaman. Place in a large frying pan and add the cup of water—you made need a little more or a little less water. Suffice to say the paneer should be mostly but not completely covered. Turn the frying pan to a medium-high to high heat and wait until the water begins to boil gently. Keep it at a gentle boil until the water level is reduced by half. You shouldn’t need to stir the paneer really at this point—just check to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom.
STEP 4
Once the water level is in the chaaman or paneer has reduced by half, then add in all of the spices at once. Stir through gently and turn the heat down to a medium heat, or a slow-dish simmer. You made start at a medium heat and then after five or seven minutes turn it down to a medium-low. The idea is that the heat is tempered to match the evaporation intensity of the water. This means you won’t have to stir the pan, and so avoid breaking up the delicate chunks of chaaman.
STEP 5
After a few minutes of cooking the masala into the chaaman, add the whisked milk and yogurt and gently stir through. Continue to simmer until the chaaman is soft and rich, and most of the liquid has been absorbed or cooked down.
STEP 6
The final step is to heat the ghee and temper the green cardamom and clove in the ghee. Pour over the turmeric chaaman. Sit through very gently so as not to break up the chaaman pieces. Serve.
LEARN MORE ABOUT
HOW TO COOK PANEER
How do I make raw paneer at home?
By splitting hot milk with lemon juice. I have a recipe for homemade raw paneer here that is essentially fail safe.
What is paneer?
Paneer is a soft cheese made in much the same way as ricotta. It is not aged, and there is no rennet added.
Can I make paneer from alternative milks?
Yes. Essentially you can work a similar process with soy milk to arrive at a tofu product that can pass for paneer. I have tried making paneer with nut milks with no success—they have a different structure.
Can I use tofu instead of paneer?
Yes. Tofu will react differently with the spices in terms of end taste, but it will still be delicious. I would still follow the same process, frying the tofu before cooking. In this case it may be better to not use a soft tofu, as it is likely this will break apart when frying.
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