Butter Paneer

Ive been a little uninspired in the kitchen for a few weeks, and quite frankly the couple of new things I tried came out a bit crap and were definitely not blog-worthy.

This recipe looked like it had potential, though, and I was very pleased that I gave it a try. I found it on another of my favorite foodie websites - Serious Eats - and I wholeheartedly recommend that you check them out and sign up to their mailing list as the newsletter is full of wonderful dinner and cocktail ideas.

This was my first time cooking with paneer, an Indian cheese, and I had actually only tried it once before in a curry which I really enjoyed so I was quite excited about trying this recipe out.

So, I shall confess now that this was supposed to be a Butter Paneer with Spinach, but as I was blanching the spinach I turned my back for about 30 seconds too long and was left with a soggy pile of green awfulness that promptly went straight in the bin! I didn't have enough spinach left to do a second batch, but I did have some peas lurking in the freezer and they went perfectly with the dish, and I think I enjoyed it a lot more with the peas than I would have the spinach.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Butter Paneer

Please pretend the bag of spinach is in fact a bag of peas!

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 3-inch knob of ginger, chopped - approx 3 tbsp
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
• salt
• 1 28oz can tomatoes, preferably fire roasted (the original recipe called for whole tomatoes but I used diced and it came out fine)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy cream, to taste
• a couple of handfuls of peas (they all fell out of the bag straight in the sauce when I was pouring them in, but I estimate it was a couple of handfuls!)
• 1 lb paneer, diced into small cubes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. In a medium pot, melt the butter then stir in onion, ginger and jalapeno. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft.
2. Add tomatoes, cinnamon and salt. If you are using whole tomatoes, use the spoon to squish them and break them up a bit. Cook uncovered for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and there is only a little liquid left.
3. Transfer sauce to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Wipe the pot clean and pour the sauce back into the pot through a fine mesh sieve. Add salt and cream to taste - I went for the full 1/2 cup of cream as I LOVE creamy sauces.
4. Add peas and paneer to sauce and stir gently. Cook for about another 5 minutes - enough time to warm the paneer and peas. Add half the cilantro, and use the other half as garnish.

I chose to serve it with brown rice which was perfect for soaking up that lovely creamy sauce, but it would also be delicious with a naan or some other kind of flat bread. 

I won't lie, between the butter, cream and copious amounts of cheese this was not a healthy dish! It was thoroughly enjoyable, though, and I loved the texture of the paneer - kinda creamy but still with some bite - which paired wonderfully with the peas.

 

This was a super easy recipe to make, even though it took a bit longer than the suggested half hour. I only have one criticism, and that was that it was a little too sweet. I will definitely be making it again, but next time I think I will put less honey in, and maybe a little less ginger. I'll probably also throw an extra jalapeno in to give it a bit of a kick.

I'll let you know how that goes ....