Paneer Butter Masala -- Paneer Makhani

Paneer Butter Masala -- Paneer in a rich creamy gravy

I really really love December. Though the month brings lots of housework, cooking, cleaning, re-cleaning, making umpteen trips to the grocery store on cold cold days, I still love it. I don't do too many Christmas presents so am saved running around in the madding crowd of department stores.

Though BS & LS don't really have a wish list for Santa, I still have to buy something for them, to keep with the spirits and put stuff under the tree.

LS said all she wanted from Santa was "Geefs" and Santa was going to give "geefs" to her and Didi only.
"Tomay Santa geef debe na. Ami debo, bujhecho?(Santa won't give you geefs. I will, understand ?)", she told me.
And then the not yet two-and-half got me an empty yellow polka dotted gift bag (from my stash), and said "Tomake lellow geef debo ar Baba ke red"(I will give you an yellow gift and Baba a red one);

BS initially wanted a pair of light up shoes, a simple pair which looks horrible and does nothing but light up. Her Dad had denied her that and got a pair of sensible sneakers instead so she said though Santa wasn't really real but only some saint, she wanted the light up pair from him. Last Friday though she said if she had a wish list she would put on it a Polly Pocket doll that changes hair color on getting wet.

Neither has been acquired.

For all I know she might forget about both by Christmas Day. December being her birthday month, she gets enough gifts to keep her happy anyway.

Now to the Paneer Butter Masala/Paneer Makhani which I made for a party this weekend.It was genuinely loved.

Honestly I am not a Butter Paneer kind of gal. Though you might not know it. You might see me and think, "Oh she sure eats Butter Paneer for all three meals a day". But that is not really true.

I hardly make butter paneer or butter chicken and don't crave for them even at the grand Indian buffet. Now buttered toast with some sprinkled sugar or salt & pepper is something I crave but we shall not digress.

The smooth, uniform taste of the makhani gravy does not excite me.But I have learned that people love Butter paneer or Butter Chicken or Butter Mutter or at least they think they love it. They will cross continents and open a shop and sell an orange gravy called Utter Butter and next day there will be a queue outside asking for more. It doesn't hurt that it is god dang easy to make. Much easier than shukto or bandhakopi ghonto or such stuff. Even if something goes wrong all you have to do is add more butter and cream and voila, there is praise all around.

I used to make a low fat version of Butter Chicken earlier and still do but when I have lots of people over I go overboard and do the whole butter, cream thing. People apparently love butter. So be it.

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Paneer Butter Masala/Paneer Makhani

Make your own Garam Masala

Dry roast

10 Cardamom
15 Clove
2"thin Cinnamon stick
3 Dry Red chili
two or three 1" bark of javetri/mace
in a skillet till fragrant. Alternately pop in toaster oven for 5 mins at 250F. Cool and grind to a fine powder. Store in a small air-tight jar. Use 1-2 tsp of this Garam masala in the gravy.

Make the Gravy

Heat 1 tbsp Oil + 1 tbsp Ghee/Butter in a deep heavy bottomed pan


Temper the Oil with 1/4 tsp of Fenugreek Seeds/Methi and 2 big black cardamom


To the oil add approx. 2 cups of red onion finely chopped and fry till onion starts browning. If you like your gravy very smooth with no onion pieces to bite into, you can do a paste of the onions or fry the onions and then make a paste too.Note: I have made this with just about 1 cup of chopped onion and that works very well too.


Add 3tsp of Ginger paste and 2 tsp of Garlic Paste. Fry for next 3-4 minutes at medium heat


Puree fresh or canned tomatoes to make about 2 cups of tomato puree. Add the Tomato Puree to above and fry for 8-10 minutes till water almost evaporates.


Make a paste of 2tbsp Cashew+ 3/4 tsp Poppy seeds(optional) with little water. Add this paste to above. Also add
1 tbsp of Kasoori methi crushed between your palms,
1 tsp of Kashmiri Mirch,
1/2 tsp of Red Chili Powder(adjust to taste, I skip for the kids) and
1 tsp of Garam Masala Powder.


Fry till the raw smell of tomato is gone and you see oil separating from the Masala. This will take some time but it is important that you achieve this step.

Add 1 cup can(14 oz) of Evaporated Milk and 1/2 cup of water. Add salt to taste. I will also add a little sugar at this point.Let the gravy come to a boil and then let it simmer at low heat till it thickens a little. You can cool and refrigerate this gravy and use it in a couple of days.
Note: Cham in one of her comments had suggested that if I am weary of cream I could use Evaporated Milk for the gravy. That is what I do and only add a little cream at the end.It tastes perfect.

Assemble Paneer in the Gravy

Cut a 14oz/400gm block of Paneer in small cubes. I use the Nanak Brand we get here which arguably is the best. If the Paneer is of the tough kind you need to soak in warm salted water after frying. I do not do that with nanak brand.Edited to Add: I do not use all the paneers from the block in this gravy, maybe 3/4th of the cubes is used. The other paneer cubes are refrigerated for future use.

When you are ready to make the paneer fry the paneer cubes to light golden. While frying, I sprinkle a little salt, sugar and kasoori methi on the cubes.Add the paneer pieces to the gravy. Add a little more water or milk to make the gravy right consistency.

Adjust for seasonings and add a little more Garam Masala if needed. Add 2-3tbsp of cream and let the gravy simmer for 10-15 minutes till done. It tastes good even without the cream but what is butter paneer without some heavy cream anyway.

Koraishutir Kochuri na Koraishutir Parota

Today I will not talk much and we will have a peas-ful time.

Koraishuti|Motorshuti| Sweet peas, whatever you call ya, has sweet, nostalgic ties to our Indian childhood. It was a coveted vegetable that made its appearance in our childhood sabji markets only during winter. Since it stayed around for only a couple of months, it was much adored and cherished, just like anything else that is not routine or regular in our life.

Almost all of us have fond memories of shelling sweet peas with the winter sun on our back, our feet stretched out on the colorful madur on the terrace. Grandmothers, aunts, mothers, cousins, all sitting together and shelling sweet peas, amidst gossips and tales of joys and sorrow. Sweet Pea was not just a vegetable, it was something that brought families together. And if all the shelling was toward Koraishutir Kochuri for dinner, our joys doubled and triple until it spilled over in the winter sun

But today there will be no nostalgia about shelling green peas by the mounds on winter evenings watching Chitrahar on DD1. No fond remembrance of the waxy pea pods and their sweet pea smell.Not a word about how the pea pods would taste in a jhol Ma would make. I could have lapsed into sweet memories of my Dida making koraishuti'r kochuri and us huddled in the pantry below the stairs, shelling peas, popping a couple of peas from each pod, laughing and the mound of peas growing much smaller than the mound of gathering pods.

But I will not speak thus because I did not shell a single this Friday night. I used my pack of frozen Birds Eye peas in the freezer. I lost out on the bonding over peas but on a Friday night when all I wanted to do is fix dinner and conk off, the shelled sweet peas worked more than fine.

And also let me clarify, I did not make Koraishuti'r kochuri. No, I made Koraishutir Parota. Not much difference except for a gallon of oil here and there. Not that a gallon more matters when it's the season to be merry. But I had just consumed pounds of butter a week back and did not think following up with a gallon of oil would be judicious.So Koraishuti'r Parota it was.

Updated on Dec 30th 2017: This post has been updated with the Koraishutir Kochuri recipe which I made again today. I have realized a gallon of oil does not a difference make when serious stuff like Kochuri is around. So if you scroll down you will get the Kochuri recipe!!!


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So towards this venture let's first make the Pur or the stuffing made with peas only. It is easy and quick if you have a freezer and peas in them.

The stuffing remains same if you make Kochuri or Parota.

This makes stuffing just enough for 8 Parotas or 12-14 Kochuris. Take into consideration that if you are like me, you will eat the stuffing just like that too.

Defrost 2 cup of frozen sweet peas. I usually prefer the Microwave for such purpose.

Put in a blender
the peas
1 tbsp of peeled and chopped ginger
2 green chili(optional)
very little water, a tsp to start with
Make a fine paste

Heat Vegetable Oil in a frying Pan

Add a pinch of Hing/Asafoetida. I will insist on this as it lends an awesome fragrance. Many Bengali homes will add a little whole cumin instead of Hing, but I will steadfastly stand by Hing. I sometimes do the tadka with cumin + Hing.

Add the pea paste that you just made. Sprinkle 1 tsp of Dry Roasted Cumin + Red Chilli Powder(Bhaja Moshla). Add salt to taste. If your peas are not sweet enough add a little sugar. If you like it hot add some Red Chili Powder. Improvise.

Now keep stirring till the water from the pea mix totally evaporates and the mixture becomes dry, thicker and congeals like in 4th picture anti-clockwise. This takes a good 15-20 minutes or more. Basically it should come to a stage where you can make a small ball for the stuffing.

The Koraishutir Parota

Now let us first work on the dough for the Parota. I am not really a flour girl and flour intimidates me. So though I have tried to bring it all down to numbers the merit of your dough is in your kneading

The following measure makes more Parathas than the stuffing I made. Since I make smaller sized Parathas this measure gave me about 14 small parotas.

AP Flour/Maida ~ 1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour ~ 1 cup
White Oil for shortening ~ 1&1/2 tbsp. many people use ghee as shortening too.
Salt ~ a pinch or say 1/4tsp
Warm Water ~ 1 cup(added gradually). Some people add warm milk to make a softer dough, I haven't, you can try.
Dry Flour ~ in a plate for rolling the Paratha.

In a wide mouthed bowl add the flour, the salt and the oil for shortening.
With your finger tips rub in the oil into the flour.
Now gradually add the warm water working the flour into a dough. If it becomes too watery don't panic and add a smattering of flour but it is smart to be cautious with the water.
Knead the dough till it does not stick to your fingers at all.
Keep on kneading till the dough becomes alabaster smooth, soft and pliable.

Cover with a damp cloth or damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Once again pummel/knead the dough and make small ping-pong sized balls from it.

Now start rolling as follows

Roll a small disc

Make a small ball out of the stuffing and put in the center of the disc

Bunch up all sides to make a purse

Now pinch the dough to cover up the opening and flatten it out on the palm of your hand.

Roll out sprinkling a little dry flour as you go

Heat a skillet/tawa. Place the rolled paratha on the heated tawa and cook on one side until bubbles starts to appear.

Flip the other side and pour oil in drops around the edges of the paratha.

After half a minute or so flip again and again add oil around the edges. Keep doing this, every side half a minute or so until the paratha is cooked on bot sides. There will be little brown spots on the surface and then you know you are done.

Koraishutir Kochuri

For making Kochuri we use more Maida/AP Flour and more shortening

AP Flour/Maida ~ 2&1/2 Cup
Whole Wheat Flour ~ 1/2 cup
VegetableOil for shortening ~ 3 tbsp

Make the Dough like dough for Luchi

In a wide mouthed bowl add the flour, the salt and the oil for shortening.
With your finger tips rub in the oil into the flour.
Now gradually add the warm water working the flour into a dough. If it becomes too watery don't panic and add a smattering of flour but it is smart to be cautious with the water.
Knead the dough till it does not stick to your fingers at all.
Keep on kneading till the dough becomes alabaster smooth, soft and pliable.

Cover with a damp cloth or damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Once again pummel/knead the dough and make small ping-pong sized balls from it. For Kochuri make smaller sized balls.

Roll Out

Now to roll out, follow same steps as the Parota.

Kachuri is deep fried and smaller in size so make smaller discs. Put stuffing and roll just like above only a bit thinner.

Fry

Now heat oil in a wok/kadhai and deep fry the kochuri till both sides puff up.

This process is more like making luchi which I have here and here.

Enjoy these with some Alur Dom or Cholar Dal or just by themselves.

Tomato diye Macher Patla Jhol

Come Winter, I start recollecting the exact way this light fish curry with tomatoes would taste. It is not that I make it only in Winter. No, it is an easy dish and I make it throughout the year whenever I have less time on hand which apparently translates to often.

But never do I think deeply about it as I do, when the mercury drops and I seek out a patch of sunlight sliding through the high windows of my family room.

Years ago winter meant sunshine on your back, a sunshine that warmed you unlike the folly outside my window. It also meant lots of fresh plump red tomatoes, their skin smooth and taut as a baby's bottom and green coriander leaves, dhone pata, with a smell that reminded you of green fields stretched out luxuriously in the winter sun.

Ok, I am not really sure if they reminded anyone of anything but food but that statement sounds pretty nice so that is how it will be written.

It also meant mid-terms or half-yearly as we called them.Coming home early, dusty and tired after half a day of writing about meaning less things on a sheaf of paper, right in time when Ma would be serving lunch. On such days, this light fish curry with the fresh tomatoes was what I most looked forward to. Made with Rui(Rohu) or some fresh Chara Pona, this halka jhol solely relied on the tomatoes and the fish to impart the right taste. With some fluffy white rice, this would be the only bright spot on a day that would be later spent ruthlessly memorizing the details of Panipat War.

Better days of December would soon follow and there would be rich fruit cakes, pastries from Flury's, juicy Darjeeling oranges made into kamola kheer, but this macher jhol would still hold its place and would whisper "home" while we made a pledge to survive on only rum balls the entire life.

Perfect to be described as "kalojiire ar alpo aadar ros, kNachalonkar kuchi diye ekta machher halka refreshing jhol ranna korlam, sathe seddho chaaler jhorjhore bhaat" -- Kuntala

In the US, if you have access to an Asian Market, I would insist you get fresh fish like Striped Bass or Buffalo Carp cut in steak sized pieces from there. They taste awesome in this gravy. Even Pomfret or Butterfish from there will work well. Rohu from your Bangladeshi Fish seller works very well too. If everything fails try with fillet of Tilapia or Rainbow Trout.

Never, ever make this dish with Mahi Mahi like I did this Sunday. It took away all the taste of the dish. Also no Salmon. Sweet water fish works best for this kind of light gravy.

I blogged about exactly this dish in October when I just started blogging way back. Things don't change that much foodwise.


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Tomato diye Macher Patla Jhol

Serves 3 adults. About 6-8 pieces of 2" x 3" fish pieces.

Wash the fish pieces in warm water, pat dry & and smear them with half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes

Heat Mustard Oil in a Kadai/Wok till you see smoke just coming out, indicating it's hot enough.
Fry the fish in hot oil till it turns light golden on both sides, kind of deep fry. The only draw back of this is most of the oil goes to waste as you discard most of the oil after frying. You can also save this oil for frying fish again next day as my Ma would do.

If you are using fillet of fish you can shallow fry them in much less oil.

Heat Mustard oil to smoking in Kadai/Wok.

Temper the hot oil with a little less than 1/2 tsp of Kalonji/ Kalo Jeera and 4-5 hot Indian green chillies slit through the center.

Puree or finely chop two medium tomatoes of good quality. I used about 1 cup of fresh tomato puree.

Saute till they become a fine pulp, kind of mushy and you see the oil seeping out on the edges. The raw tomato-ey smell should be totally gone.

Add 1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger and saute for a minute

Now add a pinch of turmeric powder and 1 cup of water. Add salt to taste.

Simmer till the gravy comes to a boil.When the gravy comes to a boil add the fish pieces.

Add a fistful of fresh chopped coriander leaves.

Cook for a few more minutes and you are done. The gravy is light and is best enjoyed with white rice.