Paneer Afghani

Even though the ingredients used are more or less the same, there are so many variations of paneer Afghani recipe. Today, let me present my version of paneer Afghani using the same basic ingredients. Let's proceed with the recipe.

Ingredients:

Paneer preparation

Paneer or cottage cheese - 200 gm, cut into large cubes

Black pepper - ¼ teaspoon, powdered

Salt - to taste 

Oil - 2 teaspoons

Paste I

Onion - 3 no, large, cut into cubes

Ginger - ½" piece*

Garlic - 4 pods*

Green chilies - 1-2, adjust to taste

Cashew nuts - 50 gms

Black pepper - ½ teaspoon

Oil - 2 tablespoons

Coriander leaves - chopped, ¼ cup

Bay leaf -2 no

Cardamom - 3 no

Cinnamon - 1" piece

Paste II

Curds - ½ cup

Kasuri methi - roasted, crushed, 1 tablespoon

Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon

Cumin powder - 1 teaspoon

Garam masala - ½ teaspoon

Gravy 

Fresh cream - 2 tablespoons (optional)

Salt - to taste

Method:

Paneer preparation

• Mix oil, pepper powder and salt in a bowl. Coat the paneer pieces with this mixture and marinate for 30 minutes.

Paste I

• Heat oil in a kadai, add in bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon; sauté for 2 minutes. Now add garlic and fry for a minute. Add in onion cubes and fry till they turn transparent. Remove from fire and allow it to cool. Remove bay leaves, and you can add them to the paste later.
• Once cooled to room temperature, grind the fried ingredients except bay leaves, along with coriander, black pepper, cashew nuts, ginger and green chilies into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Paste II

• Beat curds well. Add in coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Mix well and keep aside.

Gravy

• Fry marinated paneer pieces in a non-stick pan on medium heat for 3 minutes. Turn the pieces over and fry for another 3 minutes. Transfer the paneer pieces to a bowl.**
• Cook the "paste I" with bay leaves in a kadai on low flame till oil separates. Add in "paste II", required salt and 1 cup of water. Mix well and cook till the gravy boils.
• Add in the paneer pieces and simmer for 5 minutes. Finally add the fresh cream, mix well and simmer for a minute. 
• Serve paneer Afghani with roti, chapati or paratha.

Note: 

* Alternatively, you may use 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste.

** I add the marinated paneer directly to the gravy and it tastes good. If you desire, you may skip this step.

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