Malai-Makhan Paneer

 Hi all, this recipe came out so well that I had to share it with you. Although the ingredients were pretty much the same that we used to make any gravy. The making was a bit different. This recipe uses a lot of rich ingredients be it cashew, butter/ghee or Malai hence came with this name for the dish. So, without much delay, let's get started

INGREDIENTS

GENERAL

Paneer: chopped into small cubes

Onion: 1 medium finely chopped

Tomatoes: 1 medium chopped

Ginger: Jullian cuts 1 tsp

Garlic: 2-3 finely chopped

Green chillies: 1-2 finely chopped

Kasoori Methi: 1 Tsp crushed

Garam Masala: 1 Tsp

Malai or whole cream: 1 Tbsp

Ghee: 1 Tbsp

Cashew Nuts: 10-12 ground into a nice paste with water

Salt as required

Butter cubes 2

Coriander leaves finely chopped for garnish

Red Chilli powder: 1 Tsp (1/2+1/2)

Turmeric: 1/2 Tsp

Jeera-Dhania Powder: 1 Tsp

FOR GRAVY

Onion: 2 sliced 

Tomatoes: 1 chopped

Green chillies: 3-4 finely chopped

Ginger: 1Tbsp finely chopped 

Garlic: 1 Tbsp finely chopped

Jeera: 1 Tsp

MALAI-MAKHAN PANEER

                                               

MAKING

This is a 3 step process. We will go one step at a time as every ingredient is used in more than 1 step.

FIRST STEP

Saute about 1 Tbsp sliced onions until completely caramelized and set aside.

Use the same deep Kadai or wok, add oil mixed with ghee or just ghee about 1 Tbsp. Add in the jeera, the chopped ginger-garlic, Green chillies, the sliced onions. Saute it for a few minutes until the onions turn golden brown. Now add in the chopped tomatoes and saute it again for a few minutes with a pinch of turmeric and 1/2 Tsp Red chilli powder until the tomatoes are blended in and turns soft. Also, add in the caramelized onions before switching off the gas.

Once this mixture has cooled down, grind it into a nice paste with a little salt and set it aside.

STEP 2

In the same pan, add 1 tsp ghee, add a tsp of jeera. Once it starts spluttering, add in the ground cashew paste. saute for 1-2 minutes until the paste gets thicker, now add in step 1 gravy to the mix and saute it again for a few minutes on low flame. Switch off the gas and transfer the contents to a bowl.

STEP 3 (Bringing it all together)

Use the same Kadai, add in the ghee. Once hot, add Jeera, remaining chopped Green chillies, Garlic, chopped Onions. Saute it for a few minutes until golden brown. Now add the chopped tomatoes. Once the tomaoes are soft and well cooked. Add the above cashew-masala gravy to it. put in 1-2 cubes of unsalted butter into it. Now add in the spices, 1/2 Tsp Red chilli powder, Turmeric, Jeera-Dhania powder. Again saute it for a couple of minutes before adding in the cubed paneer. Mix it up and cook for a minute or two before adding the 1 Tbsp cream/malai or whole milk. Also, add the crushed Kasuri

Methi, Garam masala and the required salt. Mix it up and saute for a couple of minutes until the entire dish is well blended and mixed.

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander/cilantro. Delicious Cashew-Makhan-Malai Paneer is ready to eat. Serve it hot with Rotis, Naan, Paratha or Rice.

TIPS/VARIATIONS

You could add chopped capsicum in step 3 right before adding the chopped tomatoes.

I used whole milk as I did not have malai or fresh cream. I think fresh cream will elevate the dish and take out the bite from the masala and give a nice texture.

I used Kashmiri Red chilli as it's not spicy.

Adding Garam Masala is optional