Indian restaurant paneer makhani is next level comfort food…creamy tomato sauce, mild spice in the background and pillowy cubes of chewy paneer. It’s not surprising that paneer makhani has become Surya’s go to Indian food.

Of course, this means that any paneer makhani that I make at home has very strong competition to measure up to restaurant paneer makhani. Like most 9 year olds (happy birthday to my newly minted 9 yo!), she’s not persuaded by  my rationale argument that my recipe doesn’t call for heavy cream and loads of butter.

But this version of paneer makhani has elicited a “restaurant worthy” response from the family. It uses a cashew sauce for creaminess. My original recipe calls for almond butter or cashew butter plus yogurt to get that creamy consistency. Both are winners but this version is tops in our house for right now.

Skip straight to the recipe

Removing the skins from the tomatoes is another key step to achieving a smooth, restaurant style sauce. It also helps to bring out the juices in tomatoes which is great if you have a few less than plump, red tomatoes on hand.

To skin tomatoes, you simply cut an “X” into the bottom of the tomato like shown above. You only need to go an inch or so deep, not all the way through. Drop the tomatoes into boiling water for a few minutes until the skins start to peel. Take them out and place in a colander then run cold water over them. When they are cool enough to handle, the skins slips right off.

You can easily substitute tofu, seitan or chicken for the paneer in this dish. Chickpeas would also work well.

Let’s talk about paneer for a minute because I get a lot of questions on this front.

Do I make my own paneer? I generally do not make my own paneer sheerly out of a lack of time and pre-planning. Also, it take a lot of milk to make not a lot of paneer.

Where can I buy paneer? You can find paneer at any Indian grocery store. I recommend buying it from the refrigerated section rather than frozen section if possible because it is softer when it has not been frozen.

What brand of paneer do you buy? I used to buy Nanak brand paneer, but more recently I have found that Swad brand paneer is softer and tastes fresher. It has a long shelf life so I buy a few packages and keep them in the refrigerator. If the paneer does not feel fresh and soft when I take it out of the package, I cut it then drop it into a pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes.

Do I have to fry the paneer? I often am asked if the paneer needs to be fried before putting it into the curry. While I do fry it for some curries, I find that it is not needed for this thick, rich tomato sauce. So I cube it up and drop it right into the sauce. See above for my note about putting it into boiling water to soften it up if needed.

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Not all Indian cooking takes forever. In fact, most Indian cooking doesn’t take forever. But this paneer bhurji is particularly fast and satisfying weeknight Indian main dish. It calls for ingredients you most likely have on hand – peas, a tomato, onions and a dash of milk – plus basic Indian spices of garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, chili powder and turmeric. And of course, paneer.

I must admit that I used fresh paneer which I made over the weekend prior. Don’t hate me for that. I’ve not gone Martha Stewart. It’s just that t’s actually super easy. But I’ve also made it with store bought Amul paneer and it’s really good with that too.

If you decide that you want to make your own paneer, here are the basic steps:  bring about a half gallon of whole milk to a high simmer around 200 degrees (the milk will look foamy although I use this infrared thermometer) then add 1/4 cup lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes so the curds separate. Then strain it through a cheese cloth collecting the liquid – or whey – in a pot. Squeeze the curds in the cheesecloth to remove any extra whey. Pat the curds into the shape of a block then wrap the cheesecloth around the block. Put it between two plates and place in fridge with a heavy object on top of it.

This is the curds separating after I added the lemon juice…

And this is the fresh paneer after the whey was strained out…

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Whey has a buttery, milky golden taste to it. Imagine drinking the remnants of a can of condensed milk, sneaking the last bit of heavy whipping cream, licking up the browned left behind bits of browning butter….all things I’ve never (ever) done but (imagine) would be delicious. I used all of my whey in this soup which means we enjoyed every last bit of paneer making quite a few times.

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I’m hosting a chef’s table in the New York Times Cafeteria today featuring a Paneer Makhani Burrito…unfortunately you have to work in the building to come up and enjoy a taste. If you do work in the building, please swing by and say hello!  And check back tomorrow for a very easy paneer makhani recipe and a how to video on rolling a burrito like a pro (people will think you spent a summer interning at Taco Bell!).

What happens when you put rectangles of paneer through your food processor with the shredder blade on? You end up with soft piles of stringy tendrils of paneer. What happens when you saute soft piles of stringy tendrils of paneer? It becomes soft and gooey creamy cheesy deliciousness. That then gets eaten quickly.

Update: I didn’t originally share a recipe for this…I thought I could get away without one like Jennifer from Last Night’s Dinner.  But a few people have asked, and I feel bad not sharing.  I’ve only made this once, and it was a bit on the fly but here’s the recipe from memory.

Shredded Paneer and Peas

(~6 Servings)

1 block paneer (let it come room temperature)
1 small yellow/white onion, coarsely diced
1 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (or 1 box)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup milk (optional)

Cut the paneer into small inch long sticks that will fit through the food processor.  Fit your food processor with the shredder blade and shred the paneer.  You can do this by hand with a grater but it will probably take forever.  If you don’t have a food processor, try letting the paneer come to room temperature then crumbling it by hand.

In a wide skillet, heat about a tablespoon of oil.  Add the onions and cook on medium heat until glassy, about 5-8 minutes.  Add the tomato and cook until the tomatoes melt, about another 5-8 minutes.  Add the peas and cook until softened.  Stir in the paneer and all of the spices.  Stir in the milk and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Variations: Try substituting mushrooms or crunchy corn for the peas then spreading the paneer mixture on crunchy triangles of toast with a hot cup of tea.

Tofu is a good “substitute” for paneer.  I use the word “substitute” lightly because, tofu doesn’t give you the same taste (obviously – what tastes like fried cheese but isn’t?! If you know, please tell me).  Biting into a piece of pan fried tofu is a nutty, savoury-sweet chewy and slightly crispy experience. So yes, not paneer but still quite yummy and satisfying.  And tofu soaks up Indian spices and sauces and takes on their taste.

So, here’s my riff on Kadai Paneer, a traditional Indian dish of paneer and bellpeppers, using tofu instead.  While I can’t say we don’t miss the paneer when eating Kadai Tofu even the slightest bit, I can say that we each have a huge second helping and don’t sit around feeling sorry for our paneer-less state.

I�EUR(TM)ve been craving the smooth taste of hearty chickpeas ever since reading about Mike�EUR(TM)s channa masala. So, not surprisingly, Sunday�EUR(TM)s lineup included chickpeas. As a healthier alternative to palak paneer, we decided to make palak channa. Soft, buttery chickpeas swimming in pureed fresh spinach made for a fulfilling end to a lazy weekend. You can also substitute paneer or aloo (potatoes) for the chickpeas.

This year we invited R’s North Indian family and my South Indian family, which isn’t so so South Indian since it now includes my Gujurati brother-in-law and sister-in-law, to Brooklyn.  Our menu ended up being a little North, a little South, a little Guju and a teeny bit Brooklyn.

People always wonder what a vegetarian, desi family eats for Thanksgiving.  I can’t fault their curiosity.  Truth be told, we’re not exactly sure WHAT we’re supposed to eat either.  Tofurkey gets no love in our house – it’s too bready, dry and bland.  Some years we’ve just had a normal dinner, which is slightly less than festive.  Without a real tradition and no official guidance about what should grace our dinner table, we tend to overload on our favorite desi foods.  Not such a bad alternative.

To start off the evening, R made bhel puri using Swad brand chaat in a box.  Chaat, (pronounced like “chaaat” rhymes with “rot”) an Indian “roadside” snack, is a mixture of crunchy and soft, sweet, tangy tamarind chutney, spicy green chili and garlic chutneys all coated with a variety of masalas – amchoor, lal mirch, coriander and cumin (the picture above is pre-chutney).  Swad’s chaat kit is surprisingly good and not just good as in “good for chaat out of a box” or “good for $2.99 a box.”  It’s good good.  The puffed rice, sev and puris are always crunchy and fresh tasting, you can add as little or much chutney as you want it spicy and you simply add chopped boiled potatoes, diced onions and fresh cilantro.  Plus, everything comes in these shiny gold and silver foil bags that look very Willy Wonka-ish.  R made this about an hour before family arrived and then added the chutneys right before we expected everyone. 

We also made stuffed mushrooms, which don’t fit into a north-south-guju-brooklyn menu but taste really good.  R’s aunty makes these for turkey day in Chatham, NJ and they’re always a hit.  So we went with it.  There were certain culprits in the kitchen sneaking mushrooms before it was officially time to dig in.

These are simple to make – remove and set aside the stems from large, white mushrooms.*  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Pour about 2 tbspn. olive oil into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle in ~1/2 tspn. sea salt and a 1/4 tspn. lal mirch.  Toss the mushroom caps into the mixing bowl and use your hands to toss them around until well coated.  You can cover the mixing bowl with a plate and shake it good too.  Spread the caps, cavity side down, on a cookie tray covered in aluminum foil and bake on the lower rack until liquid runs off from the caps and dries up and the caps are well browned (see picture where I turned the caps cavity side up after baking).  Meanwhile, saute half a diced onion until translucent along with 3 cloves diced garlic.  Dice half of the mushroom stems and add to the onion/garlic mixture cooking until browned.  Add 1 1/2 packages frozen, chopped spinach and cook covered on medium-heat for about 10-12 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and cook uncovered for about 5 more minutes.  After it cools, spoon the mix into the mushroom cavities.  Top each mushroom with a sprinkle of parmesan.  Bake again on 350 degrees on the lower rack until the cheese on top melts or for about 8-10 minutes.  Serve hot. *To destem the mushrooms, hold the cap in your left palm and gently twist the stem up and out with your right hand.  You can use a small teaspoon if the base of the stem gets stuck too. 

The North Indian half of our dinner included mattar paneer, shahi aloo gobi and dhal makhani (courtesy of R’s mom from NJ).  My brother made Gujurati style kadhi with stuffed patra, a real treat since patra (taro root leaves) is considered a delicacy that’s hard to find and harder to cook.  We also catered a few South Indian dishes from the canteen at the Ganesh Temple in Flushing.  The temple’s canteen is usually some of the best South Indian food available in NY.  Everything we’ve ever eaten there has been mouth watering, finger licking goodness.  I’m not sure if they had the B-team chefs cooking on Thanksgiving or what but the catered food wasn’t very impressive.

I make mattar paneer using the same recipe as mattar mushroom but since this was for a “fancy” dinner, I substitute the same amount of light cream (or heavy if you dare) for the yogurt.  It gives the curry a richer, creamier flavor that’s a little too unhealthy for everyday dinner but completely justified on Thanksgiving.  I used to pan fry paneer (some people, probably those same ones who use heavy cream, deep fry it), but now in effort to be healthier, I grill it on a Cuisinart Griddler using the flat top grill plates so there’s no grill lines.  Here’s how to grill paneer:

1.  Preheat the Griddler to high.  Quarter the block of paneer so you have four square pieces.

2. Spray each side of the griddle with olive oil cooking spray.  Place the paneer on the griddle, close and grill until the paneer is golden on both sides being careful not to let it burn.  Allow the paneer to cool, then cut it into bite size pieces.  You could try a hot skillet if you don’t own a Griddler.

3. Bring a pot of water with a 1/4-1/2 tspn. turmeric to a boil.  Drop in the paneer and let it boil for ~ 15 minutes.  This little secret softens the paneer and makes it chewy (MIL tip which R will probably hate that I gave away!).

For dessert, we treated ourselves to a fresh ginger pumpkin pie and a pecan pie from Sweet Melissa Patisserie on 7th Ave in Park Slope.  I’m not up to date on the price of pie nowadays, but I’m pretty sure Sweet Melissa’s is on the pricey side.  It’s locally owned though and was able to verify a few minutes shy of our allotted pickup time that they only used vegetable shortening (in all of the planning, I totally forgot to ask about animal shortening until the day of!) – not to mention the pies were delicios-o (pronounced “dee-lish-eee-ooo-soo” – my neices, M&M, word for delicious which I think they learned from Dora).

Keep an eye out for my shahi aloo gobi recipe and for my brother’s Gujurati kadhi with patra (who was so kind as to take some of the pictures above while I slaving away over the stove!).

The chilly, windy weather outside made me want to cozy up with a big bowl of spicy, saucy pasta.  So, I fired up the oven and roasted some tomatoes, onions and garlic.  The freshness of these three, simple ingredients roasted with a splash of olive oil and sea salt is a treat but a sprinkle of vindaloo powder gives it a zing that really heats you up. 

A few weeks ago, I picked up Vindaloo Curry Powder from Kalustyan’s, a speciality food store in Manhattan’s Curry Hill which carries fresh spices, herbs, teas and much more.  Kalustyan’s vindaloo powder is a blend of cumin powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, cardamom powder, ginger powder, nutmeg powder, turmeric powder and chili powder.  I also picked up Chicken Tikka Masala powder that I’m saving for Unchicken Tikka Masala.  I don’t usually buy spice blends but these are two basics that are handy to keep around.  Not to mention, if I tried to combine that many powders in my kitchen, I think it would explode!

Spread olive oil along a baking tray and line it with the tomatoes (skin side down), onions and garlic – rub a little olive oil onto the top of the onions and sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast in the oven on 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Once cooled, peel the garlic cloves and blend the tomatoes, onions and garlic along with 1/4 cup of water until pureed.  Add pesto sauce, vindaloo powder and salt and blend again until well mixed. 

I made the sauce a day ahead of time and heated it up when ready to serve.  I also added a few thin slices of pan fried paneer to the sauce before mixing it with the pasta.  Tofu or any other soy protein would be a good substitute for paneer.

We had our vindaloo sauce with wide macaroni noodles to allow for ultimate coating and chin dribbling goodness but any noodle would do.  Serve along with crusty garlic bread to sop up the sauce. 

*I found 2 tspn. of vindaloo spice to be spicy enough, but you can add more to taste.  A pre-made vindaloo sauce (usually sold in the dairy, refrigerated section or the “ethnic” aisle) may be a good substitute for vindaloo powder if you can’t find it in your market.