Paneer Makhani For Today's Lunch

Who all are paneer (Cottage Cheese) lovers here ??

I am sure if you have ever loved paneer, you must be aware of its silky smooth & rich buttery curry ie; Paneer Makhani.

The onset of festive times call for some scrumptious food & for me that means making paneer dishes, dal makhani, chole bhature & off course something sweet as well !!

Will post the recipe in comments & will pin it as well so that you do not have to scroll down through all the comments to find it ❤. Do give it a try whenever you feel like, I'm all ears to share your experience

This shot hardly needed any editing ... yes thats the magic of "golden hour" which is also called "magic hour"

The beautiful softer, redder light of setting sun ... lit up this whole frame with orange hues & helped me in capturing the warmth of this dinner scene. I have a north west facing large window wall, & due to direct setting sun, I used double diffusion to get even softer evening light. Will share the BTS soon.

Do you feel colors going into a frame, are of pivotal significance in determining the final image outcome. Are you the one who restrict themselves to 2 or 3 colors while composing an image or you keep the option open always ? Would love to hear your views !!

Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 250 gms paneer
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-3 green cardamom
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 medium size onion diced
• 5 - 6 tomatoes chopped (preferably roma )
• 1-2 green chillies
• 4 -5 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 10-12 cashewnuts
• 2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
• 3-4 tbsp fresh cream
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander for garnish
  
  

Method:

• In a wok at low flame, add in 1 tbsp oil & 1 tbsp butter, bay leaves, black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon stick & cloves. Sautee them for about a minute & then add in diced onion. Saute till slightly translucent, add in garlic, ginger, green chillies, tomatoes, cashewnut & 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder, salt to taste. Saute for 2 - 3 min on low heat. Add in 1 cup water & simmer on low heat for 20-25 mins.

• Once done , let it cool down, remove whole spices (black cardamom & bay leaves, it might turn the gravy dark) & then finely blend in a high speed blender or using hand blender. Strain it using strainer to make it silky smooth & keep the concoction aside.

• In a wok on low heat, add 1 tbsp oil & 1 tbsp butter, & paneer cubes, little salt, slightly saute paneer cubes till they turn light golden. Do not over fry paneer cubes, it might turn them chewy. Now turn off the heat, add 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder & salt. Pour pureed makhani concoction into this. Let everything mix properly, add 3-4 tbsp fresh cream, kasoori methi & 1 tsp garam masala. Cook for another 2- 3 mins.

• Garnish with fresh cream & coriander. Relish with naan or lachha paratha ❤️

Have an amazing day Hivers !! Cheers 💞