Erivum Puliyum: Afghani Paneer

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Afghani Paneer | Paneer Afghani

Paneer Afghani is a delightful recipe famous in restaurants and is very simple to prepare unlike other restaurant style paneer recipes, this is quick. How about making this at home with some basic ingredients with the same tastes in no time. The subtle flavours of the gravy elevate your taste buds to a next level and is perfect to serve with naan, kulcha or even phulkas. The lighter shades of green gravy make this paneer recipe stand out with the lightly fried paneer pieces floating on top. A must-try for a kitty party pot lucks or get together for vegetarians, am sure everyone will love this. Check this out.

Preparation time ~ 10 minutes

Cooking time ~ 20 minutes

Serves ~ 4

Author ~ Julie

Ingredients

for marination

paneer 200 gms

ginger garlic paste 1/2 tsp

pepper powder 1/2 tsp

hing (kayam podi) a pinch

salt 1/2 tsp

oil 2 tbsp (shallow fry)

for grinding

onion 1 large, cubed

coriander leaves a small bunch

ginger 1' piece

garlic 4–5 cloves

green chillies 3

yogurt / curd 3/4 cup

coriander powder 2 tsp

garam masala 1/2 tsp

roasted cumin powder 1/4 tsp

turmeric powder 1/4-1/2 tsp

salt to taste

for gravy

cinnamon 1' piece

bay leaf 2

oil 2 tbsp

for garnish

kasoori methi 1 tsp

coriander leaves 1 tbsp

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Method

Cut the paneer in long slender pieces. Add the ginger garlic paste, pepper powder, salt and hing. Mix this well in the paneer pieces and leave for marination-30 minutes.
Then heat a pan and add the paneer pieces as a single layer. Shallow fry until lightly brown both sides. Drain from oil and place on a plate, keep aside.
In the same oil, add the ginger, garlic, green chillies, coriander leaves. Add the cubed onions and sauté on high for a minute, don't wait for the onions to change colour. Cool lightly and add the yogurt. Blend to a smooth paste.
To this paste, add the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Mix well without lumps and keep aside.
In the same pan, add 2tbsp oil. Add bay leaves and cinnamon. Then add the ground paste, add water (1/4 cup) to the residue in the jar. Add to the pan, bring to a boil and add salt.
Cook covered for 3–4 minutes till the gravy is nicely cooked reduced and oil floats. Finally, add 1/2 cup water and simmer covered for 2–3 minutes until the desired consistency is achieved.
Switch off the flame, serve the gravy warm with the fried paneer pieces and garnish the crushed kasoori methi and coriander leaves. Enjoy !!

NOTES

* The only spice is green chillies & pepper powder in this recipe, so add as per tolerance. This is a mildly spiced version as I used only 3 green chillies. Modify numbers as per tastes.

* You can add 2 tbsp of fresh cream to make it richer, I haven't added as the gravy is tasty without that too.

* You can fry the paneer pieces at the end too after making gray but in that case the fried oil from paneer is wasted, so I opted to do this way.

* You can use ghee instead of oil when making gravy for richness and flavour.

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