This rich and creamy paneer masala uses an Indian cottage cheese which doesn’t melt when heated making it the perfect addition to curries. It’s my absolute favourite and I advise everyone to give it a try.
Despite being a meat eater, whenever I go out for Indian food I always order from the vegetarian menu. More specifically, I’ll hunt out any dish containing paneer and order that. If you haven’t tried it, I advise you to do so, quickly. Much like halloumi (which I also love) paneer doesn’t melt when heated which makes it the perfect meat substitute.
Whenever you think of a masala the first thing that comes to mind is ‘calorific’. All that cream and butter sure is tasty but it’s not so great on the waistline. This paneer masala uses almond milk in place of the traditional cream making it a lot lighter and easier on the diet. Win for my tastebuds and double win for my muffin top!
If you’d like to make this dish vegan, no problemo! Just skip the paneer and replace with a bunch of your favourite vegetables. I love using broccoli, chickpeas and sweet potato but anything you have hanging around will do the trick.
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Paneer Masala
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
Description
This rich and creamy paneer masala uses an Indian cheese which doesn’t melt when heated making it the perfect addition to curries. It’s my absolute favourite and I advise everyone to give it a try.
Ingredients
- 250g paneer, cubed
- 250ml almond milk
- 1 stock pot
- 1 400g tin of tomatoes with chili
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
- 2tbsp tomato puree
- 25g flaked almonds
- 4tbsp garam masala
- 1/4tsp ground cardomom
- 1tsp tumeric
- 1/2tsp ground coriander
- 1/2tsp salt
- fresh coriander, rice, mango chutney and naan breads to serve
Instructions
- First of all heat a dry frying pan and empty in the flaked almonds. Toast over a medium heat for a few minutes, shaking the pan from time to time, until the nuts are fragrant and lightly golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add 1tbsp olive oil to the pan and add the cubed paneer, fry until nice and crispy. You can skip this step and just add the paneer to the sauce in step 5 but I think it adds a great texture to the finished dish.
- Add 2tbsp olive oil to the same pan and fry the chopped onion, garlic and chilli over a medium heat taking care not to brown them. Once everything is soft and translucent add the ginger, garam masala turmeric, ground coriander and cardamom. Fry for a minute longer before adding the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and the stock pot.
- Simmer for 10 minutes before adding the flaked almonds and blending the sauce with a hand blender, or transfer to a tabletop blender and blend until smooth. Stir through the oat milk and turn the heat down to low.
- Add the paneer to the sauce and serve up with rice and any other accompaniments you fancy.
Notes
Replace the paneer with mixed veg or tofu and you’ve got yourself a vegan dish.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Vegetarian
- Cuisine: Curry
Keywords: Paneer, Curry, Masala, Vegetarian, Main Meal,
I actually love paneer, I had so much of it during my three weeks trip in India when I decided to go vegetarian, to avoid getting sick – which happened during my first trip there. Your recipe sounds lovely and I am intrigued by the fact that you used almond flakes. It must be delicious.
I adore Paneer cheese! It tastes amazing in a homemade curry. I’ll have to try out your recipe.
As a veggie myself, I love paneer and so this is ideal for me. deffo going to give this a whirl x
This looks like a tasty rich dish. I tend to have this dish but with chicken. I never thought to try the paneer one before.
This looks absolutely devine. I love paneer but have never cooked with it myself, perhaps I will give this a try.1
We have actually ordered Indian for tonight. I often wondered what Paneer was on the menu, now I know 🙂
Being part Indian I love a good copurry. Yours sounds like it has a subtle balance of spicing and the paneer makes it indulgent. Looks divine.
What a great idea to use almond milk in place of traditional cream to reduce calories! We’ll certainly give it a try x
This looks very tasty. I actually had this same meal onboard a plane once. Was the nicest meal on a plane i have ever had
This looks delicious. Such a rich colour. I’ve actually never tried paneer. My kids love curry though so perhaps I should have a go at making it for all of us
Oh this looks so tasty. I love a Tikka Masala but it is soooo rich. I am definitely going to try this. Kaz
I don’t think I have ever tried paneer but it sounds delicious
I adore Indian food, the flavours and spices are so delicious and I love the creamy dishes. Especially dipping all the sides into the sauce! This looks really tasty and I’ve never tried paneer so will have to give this an attempt at some point
★★★★★
I love paneer, only discovered it a few years back when my friend ordered it at a restaurant. Great tip to use almond milk, always looking for ways to make things a bit healthier!
Masala is one of my favourite curry dishes, particularly chicken tikka. Will certainly have to give the paneer masala a go! x
This looks stunning! I’d love to try and make this myself. x