I recently received so many requests for some Indian entrees, and I actually realised it had been some time since I had shared an Indian recipe on the website. So here I have one of my favourite creations for a delicious paneer entree – it’s smokey, a little bit crispy and ultra soft on the inside.
This is the sort of paneer recipe that you will make when you want to make something totally different and unexpected, and a bonus is that the result is not overly spicy. My Saunfwala Paneer, which literally translates to fennel paneer, is an interesting blend of spices, a few sweet elements and something a little creamy to bring a really flavourful entree. My little secret ingredient is Kasturi Methi, or dried fenugreek leaves. Just a hint of this and the recipe just brightens up even more (and that’s not just for this delicious paneer recipe, but for most Indian curries).
So let’s talk about the paneer first.
What is paneer?
Paneer is an Indian-style cottage cheese made from Cow or Buffalo milk and is acid-set. This means that this cheese is not aged and does not use ingredients like rennet to make the cheese. Rather, the paneer is usually made with a fruit or vegetable acid to cause milk to curdle, which is then pressed and drained of moisture.
The origins of paneer itself is a little bit unknown with literature showing some type of paneer-like cheese existing in Vedic scriptures and ancient Indian ayurvedic texts, while also appearing in Persian and Portuguese texts.
Where can I buy paneer?
Nowadays paneer is relatively easy to obtain in local grocery stores and supermarkets. For the best price and range I recommend seeking a local Indian/South Asian grocer! My top tip with paneer is to buy it as fresh as possible, so when you do shop for it try and find the one with the earliest production date. In some stores you can find fresh paneer, as well as frozen depending on where you live and demands of the area. If you can only find frozen paneer, that’s okay too – just remember to thaw the paneer completely and drain the excess water before using it.
How to cook Paneer
This is really critical – especially when using store purchased paneer.
During the packaging process there is always some preservative used to coat the paneer. It is a little bit sticky and I always find package paneer to be a little chewy and tough.
The same goes for frozen paneer.
My top , ultra-important tip with using pre-made paneer is to soak the paneer after cutting in salted warm water for at least 10 minutes. The salt helps to clean the paneer and rid it off the sticky preservatives, while the warm water softens the paneer and actually prevents that chewy and tough consistency after cooking. If you are using frozen paneer, you have to do this step AFTER the paneer is completely thawed and is at room temperature!
Trust me when I say that this method is an absolute game changer when making any paneer recipe.
The ingredients
The spice mix to marinate the paneer is incredibly unique. The fennel is the stand out ingredient of course and there is plenty of it. But to build up the flavours we also combine some yogurt, saffron, cardamom, chilli, and chickpea flour. Interestingly, most of these ingredients also make up the base for my Malpua recipe (click here to check it out!) – but this is not a sweet recipe, I should be clear about that.
The fennel flavour is brightened with sweet and delicate saffron and cardamom, which are made very intense with tangy and creamy yogurt. You could use cream in this recipe if you wanted to intensify the richness, but personally I find that yogurt is just the perfect addition and doesn’t overtake that natural richness of paneer. These sweet ingredients are balanced out with a few spices – the benefit of this recipe is that it really isn’t spicy, so you can adjust the amount of chilli as you see fit.
The key binding ingredient of the marinade for the paneer is Chickpea flour (or Besan!) and there is one really important step to make this recipe go from good to really great. Cook the chickpea flour in a small non-stick fry pan without any oil until the raw flour smells is gone and the colour just starts to turn. What this does is develop a really rich depth of flavour that is almost a bit caramel-like and it balances the whole dish beautifully. Cooking the chickpea flour off early also prevents the chance of a raw tasting coating after the paneer cooks – this can happen if the heat of your pan is too high while cooking the paneer so the entire coating doesn’t get cooked through.
Okay now you know the basics of what is going on. Trust me when I say this recipe couldn’t be more simple.
Just combine your ingredients for the marinade and set aside. Squeeze out the salt water from the paneer and add the paneer pieces to the bowl with the marinade. Toss everything through and let this sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour. When you are ready to cook simply remove the bowl and set it outside to reach room temperature for at least 10-15 minutes – this will ensure even cooking of the paneer and prevent any pieces from flash cooking with a cooler centre.
Here is the recipe card to follow:
Saunfwala Paneer
Equipment
- Fry pan
- bowl
Ingredients
- 400-500 g paneer available at South Asian grocers and most supermarkets
- ½ cup full fat Greek yogurt
- 1½ tsp whole fennel seeds
- ½ inch stick of fresh ginger, minced
- 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced add more or less depending on your taste
- ½ tsp ghee or butter
- 2 tbsp. chickpea flour
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp. lime juice
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ to ½ tsp chopped chilli
- ¼ tsp dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri Methi) Available at South Asian grocers alternatively substitute with mint if you cannot source it.
- a pinch of saffron
- 2 tsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
- ¼ to ½ cup warm water to soak the paneer
- 1 tbsp. lime juice to garnish
- a sprinkle of chaat masala Optional. Available at South Asian grocers
Instructions
- Start by chopping the paneer into bite sized pieces and place all of these into a bowl with warm water and salt. Let this soak for at least 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a small non-stick fry pan, cook the chickpea flour. Use a spatula to fold the flour through the pan and cook until the raw smell of the flour is gone and the color of the flour just starts to turn. It should sell nice and toasted. At this point remove immediately from the heat and transfer into a larger bowl to make the marinade
- Grab a mortar and pestle and grind the fennel seeds till you get a coarse powder. I like doing this by hand to release the natural oils and maintain some of the seeds as whole
- Add the fennel to the chickpea flour along with the ginger, garlic, ghee, turmeric, lime juice, cardamom, chilli, fenugreek leaves, saffron, chopped coriander and yogurt. Mix this up really well until smooth. Add some more yogurt if you think there isn't enough marinade
- Season the marinade with salt and pepper
- Squeeze out the water from the paneer and add them straight to the marinade. Coat the paneer well with the mixture and then set aside in the fridge for at least an hour
- Remove the paneer from the fridge roughly 10 minutes before cooking to help the paneer return to room temperature
- Heat up a griddle pan, or non-stick fry pan and brush with vegetable oil, butter or ghee. If you use butter, be sure to add some vegetable oil to prevent the butter from burning
- Add the paneer pieces to the pan being careful to space them out evenly. Cook on each side until golden brown and sizzling
- Once cooked, set these on a serving plate and garnish with chaat masala, lime and some more coriander
I hope you all feel inspired by my super simple but flavourful paneer recipe. It’s one of my hubby’s favourite entrees and it’s definitely up there in top creations by me.
Share your recipes and you turns with me on Instagram @theminiaturelife and be sure to DM me also.
Happy Cooking!
