Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer. Butter. Masala. Each noun makes one salivate. Put them all together, and it’s easily one of the most popular Indian dishes you can come across. I have not met anybody who’d pass on this dish, especially in a good Indian restaurant. I have tried a couple of my own versions of this classic dish, but not surprisingly, my recipes have never come close to the awesome taste of the gravy whipped up in a good restaurant. Then one evening, a friend made this dish at her place and it blew my “socks” off. Anand couldn’t stop licking his plate and lavishing rare compliments ;). I asked her for the recipe and she sent me this link:
www.cookingandme.com/2009/10/paneer-butter-masala-restaurant-style.html

I tried out the recipe and I have to say - it magnificently, incredibly, lives up to its claim - even if I prepare it! It tastes just like the awesome dish you indulge in at your favorite restaurant. And the author/cook has to be applauded for directing us novices through every single step. I also learned a few precious lessons/tips with regards to preparing North-Indian gravies:
  1. Add minced garlic after the onions are sauteed/caramelized. I used to add garlic, wait for it to slightly brown and then add onions. This makes the garlic turn brown/burn faster and hence they lose much of their flavor. Add them after the onions, and they make such a discernible difference!
  2. Use tomato ketchup/maggie ketchup to get a tangy, sweet, spicy, flavorful tomato gravy as the base for the cream.
  3. Kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves add that special, unique flavor that I had never been able to figure out in restaurant dishes.
  4. If it’s a cream based gravy, add cream/milk/half and half at two different points, giving the cream time to cook and seep through all the spices. I used to add the cream at the very end, hence depriving it from simmering longer.
  5. Don’t go overboard with masala powders/spices in your obsession to get all that complex flavors. The right quantities of just a few spices will bring out the best, without overwhelming and confusing the palate.

The only changes I made to the recipe - I used 2% milk and low-fat half-and-half instead of gleefully emptying a carton of rich whipping cream. But the dish tasted sooo good, nonetheless. Since Anand loves golden raisins and cashews, I added lots of them (especially the raisins). I also tried this recipe with tofu instead of paneer, and you couldn't really sense much of a difference. And, I added cumin seeds at the beginning.


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