Week 30: Paneer Makhani

The book: My red recipe folder

The recipe: no. 3, "Paneer Makhani" (Madhur Jaffrey)

Spoiler alert: This recipe is pretty straightforward and turns out pretty well. I only say this because Sam is concerned that I'll have nothing to write about this week.

With that in mind, can we talk about paneer for a moment? Or "fresh Indian cheese", as the recipe also calls it. Paneer is a weird concept. I realise it's a good way of adding some variety and protein to a traditionally meat-free Indian diet, and I suppose the texture isn't all that far away from tofu and the like, but the idea of using a kind of unsalted squidgy halloumi crossbreed in a curry is definitely an odd one to this narrow western mind.

It probably doesn't help that my past encounters with it have been largely underwhelming. Nevertheless, when a football forum friend gave this recipe a glowing review, I felt obliged to print it out and file it away in my curry folder for whenever I felt ready to give paneer another chance. Thanks to Random Kitchen, that moment has arrived.

And look - it turns out to be from the pen of Madhur Jaffrey. From the vegetarian version of my trusted favourite Curry Easy, no less. That makes me more confident of a successful outcome (and entirely confident that fucking loads of salt will be involved).

You wouldn't argue with her, mind

The prep: The list of ingredients is long and potentially daunting, but most of the spices and similar are already safely nestled in the bosom of my corner cupboard. The core ingredients of the dish all need to be procured from Big Tesco, i.e. passata, double cream and the paneer, which I'm pleased (and relieved) to be able to pick up ready-cubed without it being too much of a rip-off.

I also need to get hold of some fenugreek. The recipe calls for dried leaves, which I'm fairly sure the local Sri Lankan shops would have, but I don't have a great deal of time or motivation today so I decide to go with the ground seed variety from the Tesco shelves instead. Should ultimately have a similar effect, I hope.

The making: I start by toasting some cumin seeds ahead of grinding them. This gives me a handy opportunity to use possibly the saddest kitchen utensil I own: a one-egg frying pan.

Serve garnished with salty singleton tears

Then I begin in earnest by taking a big bowl and stirring together (deep breath now) the passata, the cream, some grated ginger, garam masala, lemon juice, sugar, a chopped green chilli, some chilli powder, the ground cumin and the fenugreek. Oh, and a teaspoon of salt. There we go!

In another bowl, I toss together the cubed paneer, some freshly ground black pepper and another quarter-teaspoon of salt, because Madhur hates my arteries. Next, some more cumin seeds (left whole this time) are cooked briefly in butter and oil before the seasoned paneer cubes are added. The paneer is left on a medium heat, with occasional stirring, until lightly but nicely browned all over. And yep, it still smells like grilled halloumi. Paneer is weird.

The tomato, cream and spice mixture is then added to the pan and stirred through while being brought to a simmer. Five minutes or so of gentle heating and careful stirring later (presumably so as not to damage the structural integrity of the cheese), it's ready to be served up. A garnish of chopped coriander as per the final instruction, and we are all set for some (not-so-)hot curry action. 

The eating: I was warned by the aforementioned forum friend that I might need a lie-down after consuming this. And, indeed, it is a very rich eat. Makes sense - we're talking about a dish that's mainly cheese, cream and butter, after all.

In many respects it's not a particularly sophisticated recipe, and that's reflected in the preparation time and the ingredients - no slow-cooked onion base or similar to provide a bit of contrast and depth, just vivid flavours and a sheer overload of decadent dairy.

Partial eclipse of the plate

Sam really, really likes it. Though I'm also partial to occasional decadence, I'm a bit less enthusiastic - I haven't really been one for creamy curries since I was a kid, although I can't deny this is far more interesting than your average korma, with the earthiness of the fenugreek and the tang of the tomatoes helping to counteract the ludicrous richness of the cream/cheese combo. Pairing it with some brown basmati rice and soft roti certainly helps; it's a dish that absolutely needs to be teamed up with unglamorous assistants to prevent it from overshadowing proceedings.

I'm even happy enough with the paneer element; the frying means the cheese cubes are slightly tougher on the outside and a very tiny bit soft on the inside, making for a more pleasant mouthfeel than I'd remembered. Like last week's Nigella "tagine", though, it is a bit too "chunks of stuff floating in lots of liquid" for my liking - a substantial vegetable, or even some green lentils or spinach, would have fleshed this out nicely without representing too much of a compromise on the luxuriousness front.

Still, I think I'd make this again if I was putting on a spread of several curries, since it serves a purpose and it is nice. I'd even go so far as to say it's pretty close to restaurant quality - it's just not the kind of thing I'd actually order at a restaurant, at least as a standalone dinner dish, since it's really quite a challenge to eat in significant quantities.

One-word verdict: Rich.