Best Indian Dishes with Paneer: These Classic Paneer Recipes will Leave You Asking for More! (2020)

Ingredients

• 1-liter full cream milk
• Lemon juice
• Vinegar or yoghurt (you can use any one of them)

How to Make

• First, pour the milk in a pot with a heavy bottom and bring it to a boil on medium heat.
• Turn off the stove once the milk comes to a boil and add few drops of lemon juice or ¼ cup of curd or 2 tablespoons of vinegar.
• Stir for a minute and check if the milk begins to curdle. If the solid has yet not separated from the whey, then turn on the stove and boil for some more time until you can see the solid separating from the solution.
• If required, you may add a few more drops of lemon juice or vinegar.
• Once the colour of the whey is yellowish-green, turn off the stove as the whey is ready to be strained. Now take a large bowl, place a colander over it, and layer with a clean muslin cloth.
• Now transfer the curdled milk into the colander and pour cold water to get rid of the smell of vinegar or lemon.
• Rinse the paneer a few times under running water so that the smell of vinegar, etc., is completely cleaned.
• Squeeze off the water from the muslin cloth by tightly locking the paneer inside it, then make a knot and hang the paneer for 30 – 40 minutes so that any excess whey is drained off.
• Now place this pack on a flat surface and press with hands to form a round shape. Place another plate over this pack and keep a heavy object (of 2 – 3 kg) over it.
• Let the paneer set for 3 – 4 hours and you’ll get a nice block of paneer.

Ingredients

• 250 gm paneer
• 1 medium capsicum (finely chopped)
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• 3 medium tomatoes (chopped)
• 1-inch ginger (chopped)
• 4 – 5 medium-size garlic cloves (chopped)
• ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon ajwain
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ¼ teaspoon dry amchur powder
• ½ tablespoon kasoori methi (crushed)
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 green chilli (chopped)
• Few coriander leaves for garnish (chopped)
• Salt as required

How to Make

• To start the preparation, make a paste of the ginger and garlic in a mortar-pestle, make a puree of the chopped tomatoes in a blender and cut the paneer in ½ inch cubes.
• Now melt the butter on a pan, add ajwain and fry them for a few seconds, now add the onion in this pan and sauté till they turn translucent.
• Add the chopped green chilli, ginger-garlic paste, capsicum and sauté for another 3 minutes. The next step is the addition of spices; add garam masala, amchur powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder, stir and sauté for one more minute.
• After this, add the tomato puree and salt, stir again and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes or until the gravy thickens a bit, and the butter starts releasing from the sides.
• If the gravy looks dry, then you can add 1 – 2 tbsp of water and sauté to get the perfect texture.
• Finally, add the paneer cubes, stir well, and cook for two more minutes. Add the crushed kasuri methi, give a good stir, and turn off the flame.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapatis or naan.

Ingredients

• 250 gm paneer
• 3 tablespoon oil
• Ghee or butter
• ½ cup finely chopped onions
• 4 small garlic cloves
• 1-inch ginger
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 – 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
• 2 large tomatoes (finely chopped)
• ½ tablespoon red chilli powder
• ½ tablespoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon coriander powder
• ¼ teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoon coriander leaves (chopped) for garnishing and salt as per taste.

How to Make

• Firstly, crumble the paneer in a bowl and keep it aside. Then make a ginger-garlic paste using the piece of ginger and the garlic cloves in a mortar pestle and keep them aside as well.
• Next, heat the oil in a pan on medium flame, and once it’s hot, add the cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds turn brown, add onions and sauté till the onions turn translucent.
• Now add the ginger-garlic paste and the chopped green chillies. Sauté for few more seconds until the raw smell of ginger garlic fades away.
• Add tomatoes and sauté again on medium heat till they become soft. Add the dry spice powders – red chilli, turmeric, garam masala, and coriander, mix them well, and sauté for few seconds.
• Now add the crumbled paneer, mix thoroughly and cook for no more than a minute else the paneer will lose its softness.
• Finally, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with bread, paratha, or as a filling in a wrap.

Ingredients

• 300 gm paneer
• 1 medium-size capsicum (julienned)
• 2 medium-sized onions (finely chopped)
• 1.5-inch ginger
• 8 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 2 green chillies (chopped)
• 7 medium tomatoes (two, finely chopped and five, pureed using a blender)
• ½ tablespoon kasoori methi (crushed)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• ½ cup water
• 3 tablespoon oil or butter
• A handful of coriander leaves (chopped)
• Salt as required
• For the Kadai masala - Dry red Kashmiri chillies and 5 teaspoon coriander seeds

How to Make

• For making the Kadai Masala, roast the dry red Kashmiri chillies and coriander on low heat in a pan till they start releasing aroma. Let them cool down, then grind to a semi-fine powder and keep aside.
• Crush the ginger and garlic in a mortar pestle to make a smooth paste. Now heat oil in a pan, add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté until the raw aroma fades away.
• Add the chopped onions and sauté until they appear transparent. Now add the Kadai Masala prepared in the first step and also the green chillies, and mix well.
• Add the finely chopped tomatoes and sauté till they appear pulpy, and oil starts releasing from the sides of the masala.
• Now add tomato puree and sauté for about 10 minutes on low flame (or until you see oil leaving the sides of the pan).
• Add the julienned pepper, stir well and simmer for 3 minutes on medium flame. Next, add the water and the salt and let the gravy simmer for 7-8 minutes on medium flame.
• Now add garam masala and crushed fenugreek leaves and give a good stir. In the last step, add the paneer cubes, stir gently and cook for about 2 more minutes.
• Toward the end, you can also add 2 tablespoons of cream and stir gently in the gravy. Your spicy Kadai Paneer is ready, just garnish it with coriander leaves and serve with roti, naan, or jeera rice.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon butter
• 3 tomatoes (roughly chopped)
• 3 pods elaichi
• 1-inch cinnamon
• ½ tablespoon jeera
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 green chilli (slit)
• 1-inch ginger (finely chopped)
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp jeera
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup cashew paste (made by blending 10 cashews)
• ¼ tsp sugar
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp kasuri methi (crushed)
• 250 gm paneer (cut into cubes)

How to Make

• To start preparing the recipe, heat butter in a pan and sauté jeera, cinnamon, cardamom, and bay leaf till they get aromatic.
• Now add ginger and green chilli, sauté nicely, then add tomato puree and sauté again till oil starts releasing from the sides.
• In the next step, add chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric, sugar, and salt and sauté on low flame until all the spices get cooked properly.
• Keep the flame on low and add the milk and cashew paste while stirring continuously for 2 minutes.
• Now add the paneer cubes, cover the pan with a lid and let simmer for 5 minutes. Finally, add the garam masala and crushed kasuri methi and mix well before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 12 cashews
• 1.5 tablespoon melon seeds
• 3 medium tomatoes (chopped)
• 2 green chillies (chopped)
• 2 teaspoons red Kashmiri chilli powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kasoori methi
• 300 gm paneer (cut in cubes)
• Coriander leaves (chopped) for garnishing
• salt as per taste

How to Make

• Heat oil in a kadhai, add melon seeds and cashews and sauté for few minutes on medium flame.
• Then add tomatoes, chilli, and a pinch of salt and mix well. Let it cook for 4 – 5 minutes and then add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, and coriander powder and mix well.
• Add little water to adjust the thickness of gravy and let this mixture cook for few more minutes until the tomatoes become soft, and you can see oil separating from the sides. Now turn off the flame, let the mixture cool and then transfer in a blender.
• Add little water and blend the mixture into a smooth puree. Transfer back the puree into the same pan, turn on the flame and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
• Add the paneer cubes, salt as needed, and sugar as well and cook for two more minutes before adding crushed kasoori methi.
• Finally, mix the kasoori methi well, garnish the Paneer Lababdar with chopped coriander and serve with your favourite bread.

How to Make

• 250 gms paneer (cut in cubes)
• 1 tablespoon ginger-green chilli paste
• 4 medium Tomato (prepare puree)
• 1 badi elaichi
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 2 green cardamoms
• 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
• ½ tablespoon garam masala powder
• ½ tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon kasoori methi
• ½ tablespoon cumin seeds
• ½ tablespoon cashews
• ½ tablespoon melon seeds
• A pinch of heeng
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon cream
• Salt to taste

How to Make

• To begin the preparation, soak the cashews and melon seeds in hot water and let them get soft for half an hour.
• Then make a fine paste in a blender using little water. Now heat oil in a kadhai, add crushed badi elaichi, bay leaf, cumin seeds, green cardamom, and heeng.
• When the cumin seeds start to splutter, add the tomato puree and Kashmiri red chilli powder and sauté until oil is released from the sides.
• Now add the ginger paste, green chilli, and cashew nut paste and stir fry for 2 -3 minutes. Next, add all the dry masalas, including red chilli powder, salt, kasoori methi, and turmeric.
• Sauté this paste for 5 minutes, then add the cream and cook to mix everything nicely. Now add the paneer and mix gently to coat the paneer pieces evenly with the gravy.
• Finally, add ½ cup water and cook the gravy until oil releases from the sides. Transfer to a plate, garnish with kasoori methi and cream, and serve with parantha or naan.