Paneer Pasanda

Paneer pasanda is a savoury dish with paneer sandwiches and a tangy gravy. This recipe is super tasty but it takes a bit of time to prepare it.

Paneer needs to be stuffed with dryfruits and chutney to make a sandwich and carefully fried.  Gravy for the paneer pasanda is kept a bit tangy yet cream nd cashew paste is added to make the gravy rich. As i said its time taking.... but the end product is really worth it. Paneer pasanda... as the name says paneer to everybody's liking, I am sure everybody's gonna like it.

Ingredients:

For the sandwiches:

Paneer - 200 gms

Cashews - 6-7 nos.

Raisins  - 6-7 nos.

Green chutney- 2 tbsp

Cornflour - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying

For the gravy:

Onions - 1 big

Tomatoes - 2 big

Ginger - 1'' piece

Garlic - 6-7 nos.

Cashews - 5-6 nos.

Fresh  cream- 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp

Red chilly powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Cumin powder- 1 tsp

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Sugar- ¼ tsp

Procedure(Step by Step pictures)

1. Preparation for sandwiches: Cut the paneer into triangles of 1 inch thickness. Then carefully cut each triangle exactly half from centre making two slices of same thickness.

2. Crumble the leftover paneer and mix broken cashews, raisins, chutney and a bit of salt.

3. Make the slurry with Cornflour and 4 tbsp water.

4. Now take one piece paneer triangle and  fill in the paneer mixture in it. Press gently and cover with another piece of triangle paneer. Likewise make all the sandwiches and keep aside.

 5. Next heat the oil for shallow frying in a shallow non-stick pan. Now take one sandwich and  dip it in the slurry, coat it from all sides and fry it in medium hot oil. Carefully turn the paneer sandwich and fry from all sides. It should get a light golden colour. Fry all the paneer sandwiches and keep aside.

6.  To make gravy: In a non-stick pan heat 1 tbsp oil, add the roughly chopped onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, green chilly and 1 pinch of salt ( adding salt wil speed up the cooking process)  and cook on a medium flame. Keep stirring in intervals. The Veggies should get soft. Once the veggies get soft and mushy turn off the gas, let it cool slightly then grind it in a mixer with the cashews.

7. After grinding the mixture transfer it into the same pan for further cooking. Start cooking it again on medium flame. Now add the dry spice powders, coriander powder, cumin powder, Turmeric and chilly powder and some water to make gravy. Let it cook for another 2-3 mins. Then add sugar to balance the tartness of the tomatoes.

8. Once the spices get mixed and cooked in the gravy... add the fresh cream. Cook for 2 mins and turn off the gas.

9. To proceed- Set the paneer sandwiches in the serving dish and pour the gravy over it. Don't mix the  paneer sandwiches in the gravy pan as it may spoil the shape of the sandwiches.

10. Scrumptious Paneer pasanda is ready to be served with Phulkas or Naan.