Paneer pasanda is one of the gravies I wanted to make for a long time. This recipe takes lot of time, so it is not the ideal dish for everday cooking. But yes!!! you can make this for a party and it’ll be loved by everyone. I had this gravy in two different restaurants and they had their own versions.In one restaurant they had stuffed the filling and made it like a kofta, deep fried and mixed with the gravy. In another restaurant, they made the paneer sandwich with the filling , shallow fried and mixed with the gravy. I loved the second version more. Serve this rich, creamy paneer dish with roti, naan, kulcha, jeera rice.
INGREDIENTS
Paneer Sandwich
Paneer – 200 gms
Crumbled paneer- 3 tbsp
Cashews – 6 finely chopped
Raisins – 1 tsp, chopped
Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Green Chillies – 2, finely chopped
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Cumin seed powder – 1 tsp
Salt – To taste
Corn flour paste
Corn starch- 4 tbsp
Water – As req to make paste
Oil – To fry
For Gravy
Onion paste
Onion – 2 big size
Water – To grind
Tomato paste
Tomatoes – 4 medium size
Cashews – 12
Cinnamon – 1 inch
Cardamom – 2
Cloves – 3
Gravy base
Butter – 1 tbsp
Shahi jeera – 1 tsp
Bay leaf – 1
Ginger-Garlic paste – 1 tsp
kashmiri red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp
Kasuri methi – 1/2 tsp
Fresh Cream – 2 tbsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Coriander leaves- few to garnish
Salt – As required
Paneer Sandwich
- Soak the paneer in a bowl of water for 20 minutes. This will make the paneer soft and easy to cut.
- Cut them into big cubes of equal size and keep aside.
- Then dice it cross sectionally into two parts.
- In another bowl, add the crumbled paneer, Cashews,Raisins, chopped Coriander leaves, Green Chillies, Red chilli powder, Cumin seed powder ,salt. Mix them well. Check the taste and add more salt and spices if needed. You can also add mango powder/ Amchur powder.
- Now take the filling and place it in one square and cover it with its top portion paneer.
- Repeat the same with all the paneer squares. Now the paneer sandwiches are ready for shallow frying.
Corn flour paste
- Mix the corn flour with the water and make it to a fine paste. The consistency of the paste is medium.
Method
- Dip the paneer sandwiches in the corn flour paste . Coat the sandwiches with the corn flour paste on all the sides.
- Shallow fry it in the medium hot oil. Fry the paneer until you get the golden brown spots on the base and cook on the other side.
- Stir the corn flour paste everytime before dipping the sandwiches. Repeat the same procedure with all the paneer sandwiches.
- Now the paneer sandwich is ready.
Gravy
Onion paste
- Chop the onions, fry them till light golden brown and grind them to a fine paste with little water. Onion paste is ready. Keep them aside.
Tomato paste
- In a pan, add chopped tomatoes, cashews, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and enough quantity of water.
- Allow it to boil in medium flame until the tomatoes , cashews are soft. The stock that is left after boiling can be used while grinding.
- Allow the tomato mixture to cool and grind it to a fine paste.
- keep it aside.
Method
- In the same pan/kadai, add butter, bay leaf and shahi jeera. saute until the shahi jeera crackles.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and saute until the aroma goes away.
- Now add the onion paste and saute for two minutes. then the tomato-cashew paste and cook them for five minutes.
- Add turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala. Add water, close the lid and cook until the oil separates from the gravy.
- Now add the salt, sugar, fresh cream, kasuri methi and mix well. Turn off the flame.Either add the paneer sandwiches to the gravy or place them on a serving plate and pour the gravy over it.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with Roti, kulcha, Naan.
Mouthwatering recipe!
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