Paneer Kaliya

Paneer Kaliya


I have noticed that for paneer dishes and potato dishes, I get a lot more likes than for other dishes. I think it is quite understandable with potatoes but with paneer it sometimes surprises me. I think what lends so much credit to paneer is its ability to blend well and absorb the flavours from what it is added to despite being bland on its own. I had mentioned in my previous post on a paneer dish (shahi paneer) that I will try semi skimmed paneer. This dish used paneer made from semi skimmed milk and because it was home made, it was a bit more crumbly than store bought. I did not shy from adding the crumbs to the dish because it is still paneer! The basic recipe is based on Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipe but I chose to add dry red chillies because I like the heat. It is optional and am sure you can appreciate the almond sauce without the chillies as well. It did turn out to be a nice dish and different from more common paneer dishes.

1cup cubed paneer
1/3 cup blanched almonds, ground to smooth paste
1 onion, chopped
2-3 dry red chillies
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
4 cloves
10 black peppercorns
1 small cinnamon stick
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder
Cooking oil

Powder the cloves, black pepper and cinnamon together

Heat some oil, add the powdered spices and fry the onions until it begins to change colour

Add the red chillies and coriander powder and fry until it is aromatic. Cool the onion mixture and grind to fine paste

Heat little oil, add the onion paste and turmeric powder, some water if needed and give a quick stir

Add the almond paste and required salt and mix well and allow to boil

Add the paneer cubes, add water if needed and simmer for few minutes and serve!