Maksa

Paneer Butter Masala Recipie*
*
Ingredients:
70 - 100g of paneer
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
A 2cm piece of peeled root ginger
2 or 3 tomatoes
1 tsp. of coriander seeds
A few black peppercorns
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
A small piece of cinnamon stick Half a tsp. of red chilli powder
1 dessertspoon of desiccated coconut
2 dessertspoons of yoghurt
1 tsp. of vinegar
A pinch of dried methi
Salt
Vegetable oil
A blob of butter or margarine
Half a tsp. of garam masala
Method:
Chop the onions finely and put them to one side. Do the same with the tomatoes. Heat a frying pan but don’t put oil in it just yet. When its hot, roast the coriander, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon for a few seconds then grind them with a pestle and mortar. Put some oil into the pan now, add the onion and stir. Chop the ginger and garlic, throw them into the mortar and smash them up well with the spices. Add the cardamom pods and chilli powder and give the mixture a light bash. The onions should be soft by now so throw the spice mixture into the pan and stir it around. After a minute or so, add the tomato and the vinegar, stir and leave it to cook until the oil starts to separate out from the sauce.
Thin the sauce with a little water and add the coconut, yoghurt, salt and methi. While the sauce is returning to the boil, grate about a third of the paneer and cut the remainder into cubes. Thin the sauce again if you think it needs it then add the paneer. Simmer gently until the paneer cubes are heated right through.
To serve, pour the mixture into a shallow bowl and dot a few pieces of butter on top. Sprinkle with garam masala and it will look lovely. This is quite a rich dish and can be served with plain boiled rice or bread. Like most Indian dishes, however, it’s best served thali style with maybe some spicy potatoes, dhal, spinach or whatever and everyone gets a little bit of everything on their plate.

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