Paneer Curry Recipe (Tikka Masala)

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Easy paneer curry recipe in a spicy masala sauce, a super delicious vegetarian twist on the famous chicken tikka masala.

An amazing paneer curry recipe – soft Indian cheese pieces in an aromtic masala sauce.

Even if you are not familiar with Indian food you might have heard of chicken tikka masala. It is probably the best known and loved Indian dish in the West. 2001 it was even declared as a “true British national dish”.

Apparently, chicken tikka masala is not even an authentic Indian dish, it seems to have been first cooked by Bangladeshi migrant chefs during the 1960’s in Britain. Or by a Pakistani restaurant owner living in Glasgow in the 1970’s, nobody is quite certain about the origins.

I’ve had chicken tikka masala for the first time in Britain as well, it was a common dish to take away in an Indian restaurant close to our house. I have even cooked it myself a few times over the years and loved it every time.

This paneer tikka masala is the vegetarian version of that amazing chicken dish.

What is paneer?

Fresh unsalted cheese widely produced and consumed in the Indian subcontinent, mostly in North India, but also Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

It is made by curdling hot milk with the help of food acid, like lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt, or citric acid. It doesn’t contain rennet and that makes super for vegetarians as well. After curdling the milk, the solid parts and the whey are separated by giving the solids into a muslin cloth, draining them well, and then pressing them into a rather firm block of cheese.

It is not a fermented or aged kind of cheese, it can be eaten immediately after making. And that’s great news as well, paneer is very easy to make at home, and if you don’t have to leave it to ferment either, you can definitely decide on cooking a paneer dish on a whim, so to say.

What is tikka masala?

The word tikka means bits or pieces, so in cooking the word refers to small pieces of meat or cutlets. The marinade used to marinate these pieces is also called tikka. The marinated meat or cheese cubes are then baked, grilled, or cooked in the pan and are served in a spicy and comforting masala sauce.

Masala is a blend of spices. For this recipe, the masala sauce is made with tomatoes and a spice mix containing cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, chili powder, coriander, fenugreek, and paprika.

How to make?

Marinate the cheese:

• Make the marinade by mixing the Greek yogurt with ginger, garlic (or ginger garlic paste, if you happen to have any), and spices like garam masala, turmeric, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt, and lemon juice.
• Cut the cheese into rather large cubes, about 3 cm/ 1.2 inches, add them to the marinade. Add some large cubes of green or red bell pepper and onions cut into larger chunks as well. Cut the onion into chunks, but make sure to separate the onion layers.
• Cover the bowl with cling film, place it in the fridge and leave to marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Cook:

• You have several options. Traditionally, you will stick the cubes on skewers, that’s the proper way, so to say.
• However, as you have to remove the cubes from the skewers before adding them to the masala sauce, I don’t see the point in spending so much time with the “skewering” and “unskewering” of the meat or paneer.
• I prefer to bake the cubes, this way I make sure I don’t burn it (like I sometimes do under the preheated grill, if I don’t pay enough attention). I place the cheese and vegetable cubes on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Most of the marinade will remain attached to the cubes, leave it there.
• Do use aluminum foil, it will make your life easier when cleaning the baking tray, the baked marinade sticking to the pan won’t be easily removed without soaking and scrubbing.

Bake:

• Bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius/400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes or until browned at the edges.

Grill:

• If you want to use the grill, place the cubes on the baking tray lined with aluminum foil as well (baking paper would catch fire under the grill) and grill for about 15 minutes, checking often and turning the pieces on all sides in order to make sure nothing burns.

Cook in the pan:

• To cook the paneer tikka in the pan, pour a little oil into a non-stick pan and cook the cheese and vegetables, turning often on all sides, until nicely browned at the edges. Use tongs to flip the pieces.

I do recommend the oven method, it makes the least work.

How to make masala sauce?

• Heat 2 tablespoons ghee or 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a larger saucepan, large enough to hold the sauce and the cheese cubes as well.
• Roast the green cardamom, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds.
• Add 1 large chopped onion, ginger, and garlic and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the spices and cook them shortly.

• Add the tomatoes (canned are perfect), sugar, salt, and some water and simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes.
• You can puree the sauce to your liking at this point, I did blend it, but not perfectly so. The sauce is smoother, but you can still feel a few bits here and there. It is really up to you, how smooth you make it.
• Add the roasted paneer and vegetables to the sauce, stir very carefully to avoid breaking the cheese. Everything should be coated in sauce. Leave the pot on very low heat until the food is heated through, but don’t let the sauce come to a boil again.

How to serve?

• Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve immediately with naan bread, rotis or rice.
• If reheating this Indian paneer curry, do it on low heat and add a little more cream or water if the leftovers seem to dry.

And if you would like to get more curry inspiration, have a look at some of these recipes:

MOONG DAL TADKA RECIPE – INDIAN LENTIL DAL

VEGAN POTATO CURRY RECIPE WITH TOFU, TOMATOES AND PEAS

CHICKEN GREEN CURRY WITH RHUBARB, COCONUT MILK AND RAISINS

VEGAN APPLE AND CHICKPEA CURRY WITH COCONUT MILK

BALTI CHICKEN CURRY