SPICY PANEER MASALA

Paneer Masala Balti Curry


INGREDIENTS

500g Paneer cheese cut into 1cm sized cubes
Vegetable oil for deep frying
2 tablespoons garlic and ginger paste
4 green chillies - finely chopped
1½ tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon tomato paste
600ml curry sauce - heated
1 small bunch of fresh coriander - finely chopped
50g unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by frying your paneer.
Heat about an inch of vegetable oil in a large frying pan.
The oil is hot enough when you add one cube of the paneer and it immediately begins to sizzle in the pan.
Add more of the cubes and fry until the cubes are toasted and nicely browned. You may need to do this in batches.
Remove the cubes to a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
Retain the remaining oil for future uses but leave about two tablespoons of the oil in the pan.
Over medium high heat, add the garlic and ginger paste to the remaining oil and fry for about 30 seconds while stirring continuously.
Now add the chopped green chillies and fry for a further 20 second or so.
Pour in the ground spices and the tomato paste.
Again, stir to combine all the ingredients and then pour in the curry sauce. It is best to add the curry sauce hot rather than cold.
Bring the curry up to a simmer and then add the butter and half of the chopped coriander leaves and stir until the butter is melted.
Throw in your fried paneer cubes and season to taste with salt and pepper.
You can eat the curry immediately but it will taste even better if you allow it to sit for about 30 minutes and then reheat just before serving.