Monday, August 1, 2011

Indian Curry with Paneer

Somehow, I missed it.  What, you may ask?  Only the first milestone in a blogger's online life: the 100th blog post.  If you can count (apparently I can't), you will see that this is the 103rd blog post on my site.  Which means that it has taken me weeks to even realize that I passed the 100th blog post.  So.  Happy 103rd post to me!

What does this have to do with my  Indian Curry with Paneer recipe?  Nothing.  I'm just venting.  So let's get back to the food.

I sort of stumbled across this recipe.  I had a block of paneer in the refrigerator that I needed to use.  After a web search for recipes, I came upon this one at allrecipes.com (the original recipe's link is below).  Since it sounded similar to other Indian dishes that I've made (and loved) in the past, I figured I'd give it a try.  Bonus points to this dish for allowing me to use those stray peas which were hanging around the freezer for a while.

Side note here: I love a showy blog, with pretty pictures and the like.  But if the food sucks, then it's no good.  All Recipes usually doesn't have picture-perfect photos.  You're lucky if you see a photo of the food at all.  But that doesn't matter in the long run because I've never made a bad dish from this website.  Seriously.

Indian Curry with Paneer
adapted from All Recipe's Basic Indian Curry with Paneer recipe

Print Recipe
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 3/4 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger powder
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 3/4 teaspoon garam masala
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 (~14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, pureed
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 14 oz paneer, cubed
  • 6 ounces frozen peas, thawed
  • 1/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup water

1) Cube the paneer and place in a bowl of boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Drain the cubes and set aside for later.

2) Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.

3) Add the onions and saute until lightly browned.

4) Add the garlic and ginger and saute for another minute.

5) Turn the heat down to low and add the jalapenos. Saute for another minute.


6) Mix in the spices (chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala and turmeric).  Allow the mixture to cook for another minute.

7) Stir in the pureed stewed tomatoes and ketchup.  Add about 1/4 cup water.


8) Add the paneer and peas.  Allow the curry to simmer for 2-3 minutes.


9) Stir in the greek yogurt.


10) Increase the heat and let the curry come to a boil.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.

11) Serve warm, over rice or with naan.



This was the best paneer dish I've made so far.  I'm especially grateful, considering how the recipe was a complete leap of faith for me.  Way to go All Recipes.  In adjectives, this curry was spicy, tangy, smooth and creamy.  Does this make sense?  You don't get all those flavors/textures at once, but rather over the course of eating the dish, which is a pretty pleasant experience.  And I can't forget the peas, which I love.  I definitely need more peas in my life.  This will pretty much be my go-to curry dish from now on.  That is all.

1 comment:

  1. wow you are already past 100 posts - congratulations! this looks delicious - i will have to try to make it too. i love your blog ellie - it's filled with so much inspiration!

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