A Guide to Ordering Indian Food: Indian Menu Terms & Dishes (Part-II)
A Guide to Ordering Indian Food: Indian Menu Terms & Dishes (Part-II)

Continued fromA Guide to Ordering Indian Food: Indian Menu Terms & Dishes (Part-I)

India's Crunchy Appetizer- The Papad (Papadums)
India's Crunchy Appetizer- The Papad (Papadums)

The Indian Papad or Papadum as it's also known can best be described as a type of tortilla, wafer...

Most common Paneer (Tofu) Recipes from India

by: Trushti | last updated: November 06, 2009
Category: Food & Drink | Tags: Food, indian food, food of india, indian cuisine, indian delicacies, Indian food recipe, indian recipe, paneer dishes, Paneer Recipe, paneer butter masala recipe, palak paneer recipe, matar paneer recipe, paneer tikka recipe, paneer bhurji recipe
  • Guide Rating:
Most common Paneer (Tofu) Recipes from India

Paneer / Cottage cheese / Tofu is the most popular ingredient used in vegan cooking in India. It is the most common food item that you’ll find on the restaurant menu regardless of state or region. And there are some common paneer dishes which are famous all across India and every restaurant makes sure to have these dishes on their menu card. These dishes are not only delicious but simple to cook.

Let us have a look at some of the most common Paneer Dishes in India

Paneer butter masala:
The Paneer Butter Masala is a Punjabi curry prepared using cottage cheese, tomato, onion, cream and butter. It’s a little sweet gravy based dish which is mostly eaten with Naan or Chapati or tandoori roti.
Ingredients:
  • 125 grams paneer
  • 1 tomato (grind to a fine paste)
  • 1 Tsp tomato puree
  • 2 onions (grind to fine paste)
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder
  • 1 tsp Dhania Powder (coriander powder)
  • 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 tsp cashews
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
  • 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • 3 Tsp Yogurt
  • coriander leaves
  • 4-5 Tsp butter
  • Salt

Method:
  • Grind cloves, cinnamon to fine powder
  • Heat oil, fry few paneer cubes on medium heat until golden brown. Set the paneer pieces aside.
  • Grate remaining paneer and keep it aside
  • Heat oil or butter, fry onions, ginger garlic paste, for 3 minutes.
  • Add tomato paste and puree and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add cashews, Dhania powder, Cumin powder, garam masala powder, salt,chilli powder, extra butter and masala powder from step 1.
  • Add yogurt and stir until gravy becomes thick. Add fried paneer cubes, grated paneer add 1/2 -1 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes, until all the flavour is absorbed into paneer.
  • Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Image credit: http://www.golden-recipes.com/show-image-big-ID-336.jpg

Palak Paneer:
It is another very famous Cottage cheese based dish which is loved all over India. The main ingredients of this dish are Palak (spinach), cream and Paneer (tofu). Palak Paneer is actually a Dhaba dish which is found in all the road side restaurants in Northern India. The dish is basically spinach gravy with diced tofu pieces. Some people fry the pieces first and then add them to the gravy and some add the tofu at an initial stage of the gravy preparation and cook it with the gravy.
Ingredients:
  • Spinach - 500 gms
  • Onions - 5 medium sized
  • Garlic - 2-3 flakes
  • Cooking oil - 6-7 tbsps
  • Cummin seeds - 1 tbsp
  • Paneer - 150-200 gms
  • Salt to taste
  • Garam Masala
  • Geera Powder
  • Chilli Powder

Method:
  • Cook the spinach in water.
  • Drain the water and then make puree of the spinach leaves.
  • Cut 4 of the onions finely and saute them till transparent.
  • Grind the other onion and the garlic flakes to a fine paste.
  • Add this paste to the sauted onions. Also add the puree and the spice powders. Add some water if necessary.
  • Let boil for a minute or two.
  • Cut the paneer to cubes of desired size (preferably not too small). Fry this in oil till golden brown
  • Add this paneer to the prepared palak.
  • Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Image credit: http://ashwita.com/recipes/images/Palak-Paneer.jpg

Mutter(green peas) paneer :
This is a very common dish often made in Indian households. One of the easiest curry based dish is probably the tastiest Paneer dish. The main ingredients of the dish are green peas, Paneer, onion and tomato. It is cooked like any other day to day curry.
Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups of green peas
  • 1 cup of paneer cubed
  • 2 medium onions chopped
  • 1 tomato chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • pinch of asafetida (hing)
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp poppy seeds
  • 5 cashewnuts
  • salt per taste
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • coriander to garnish

Method:
  • Boil the green peas and keep aside.
  • Heat the oil in a pan.Put the onions, asafoetida, ginger garlic paste and fry till the onions are slightly browned.
  • Put the tomatoes, turmeric powder and fry for another 5 minutes on low flame.
  • Add red chilli powder, garam masala and saute for few minutes.
  • Add the peas with little amount of water and bring it to a boil.
  • Meanwhile grind the cashews and poppy seeds to a fine paste.
  • Now add the cashew-poppy paste .Stir gently and let the gravy thicken.
  • Finally add the paneer cubes.Cook for a minute and remove from fire.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot

Image credit: http://img.foodnetwork.com/FOOD/2006/12/12/nl0111_mut_paneer1_lg.jpg

Paneer Tikka :
The most preferred vegetarian starter and undoubtedly the delicious one is the Paneer Tikka. The big chunks of marinated cottage cheese are simply mouth watering. The dish hails from the North Indian state Punjab. It is the best barbecued paneer one can ever have.
Ingredients:
  • 250 gms Paneer
  • Pinch tandoori color
  • 1/2 cup Curd (tied in cloth for 2 hours)
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 tsp red Chilli Powder
  • 1/2 tsp tandoori Masala
  • 1/2 tsp Chaat Masala
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds, crushed
  • 1 tbsp each Capsicum, Onion, Tomato, Carrots, sliced in long stripes
  • Coriander leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp Butter

Method:
  • Add red chili powder, garam masala powder, ginger garlic paste, tandoori color, tandoori masala, coriander leaves, salt to curd and mix well.
  • Add chopped paneer pieces. Keep it aside for about an hour.
  • Heat oil and some butter in a pan. Fry the paneer masala till paneer turns golden brown. The tikka is ready.
  • Add remaining butter to pan, heat.
  • Add sliced vegetables, chaat masala and salt to taste.
  • Pour over the paneer tikka.
  • Serve hot with sauce or green coriander chutney or mint chutney.

Image credit: http://foodpages.ca/itemimmgs/21141_3_11_PaneerTikka_1230215182.jpg

Paneer Bhurji :
The paner bhurji looks like scrambled eggs cooked with onion and tomato. The bhurji is a side dish but some people have it as a main course as well. The recipe is simple but the taste is exotic.
Ingredients:
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 4 tsp chopped garlic
  • 1 tbsp chopped ginger
  • 1-2 chopped green chillies
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 diced onions
  • 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tomatoes diced
  • 400 gm crumbled paneer
  • 1 diced capsicum
  • 1 tbsp chopped coriander
  • 1/2 tsp chat masala
  • salt

Method:
  • Heat oil in large pan. Add ginger, garlic and chillies.
  • After 20 seconds stir in cumin and onions. Cook onions until soft, stir in turmeric and chilli powder over a fast flame.
  • Add tomatoes and allow juices to evaporate. Lower heat, add paneer and heat through.
  • Season well. Add capsicum and coriander.
  • Sprinkle with chat masala before serving.

Image credit: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UTFhjZBO5ac/SqNFIdhcBNI/AAAAAAAAEhE/Gq8w3QZPJxY/s400/fried-paneer-2.jpg

Related Guides

Goan Cuisine : The Best of Goan Sweets and Desserts
Goan Cuisine : The Best of Goan Sweets and Desserts

Goan cuisine is a wonderful mix of various cultures and is a blend of varied influences. The cooking techniques, style and recipes is a perfect mixture of Ch...

Kheers and Payasams
Kheers and Payasams

Kheers are like Puddings. It's rice pudding typically made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. It is often flavored with cardamoms, saffron, pistachios or a...

Chicken Curry Recipes from India
Chicken Curry Recipes from India

Chicken in the most preferred non-vegetarian food item all across India. Non-veg lovers love chicken in all forms like Starters, soups and main course. The p...

Delicious Indian Paneer Recipes - A Vegetarian's Delight
Delicious Indian Paneer Recipes - A Vegetarian's Delight

Paneer / Cottage cheese / often compared to Tofu because of its texture and usage in cooking. Both i.e. tofu and paneer can substitute for one another. In In...

5 Most Common Paratha Recipes from India
5 Most Common Paratha Recipes from India

Talk about North India and first thing that runs through my mind is delicious and yummy cuisine. The dishes are simple and exquisite. North India has given u...

More Categories

TV & Radio
Shopping
Restaurants & Clubs
Others
Politics

More »

Guide Discussion & Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus
WeightWatchers(R)
Small_image92 Hi there,
I am Trushti
I hope you like this guide and benefit from it. Add me as a friend to track changes to this guide as well as my new guides.

Like this guide?

Bookmark on delicious
Email to a friend
Subscribe to feed
Add as a favorite Add as a favorite
Digg this guide
Share Adsense Revenue

Stats

5838 views 5838 views
star rating 5.0 star rating
1 1

Other guides by Trushti


Other guides you may like