Paneer Handi | Handi Paneer Recipe
This recipe makes a tasty and creamy dish called Paneer Handi. It’s cooked in a special pot called a handi, commonly used in Indian cooking. A handi is like a wide and shallow pot. If you don’t have a handi, you can still make Paneer Handi using a regular pan or wok.
Ingredients
For cashew paste
- 3 tbsp cashews
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 tbsp water for grinding cashews
Other ingredients
- 2 tbsp Ghee or any neutral flavored oil
- 1 tej patta
- 1 inch cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 2 cloves (laung)
- 2 green cardamoms (hari elaichi)
- 2 single strands of mace (javitri)
- ⅓ cup chopped onions or 1 medium sized finely chopped onion
- 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste or 1 inch ginger + 3 to 4 medium sized garlic, crushed in a mortar or pestle to a paste.
- 1 green chilli slit
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- ½ cup finely chopped tomatoes or 1 medium sized finely chopped tomato
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp milk powder optional, can replace with heavy cream
- 1 cup water
- salt as required
- 200 gms paneer
- ½ tsp kasuri methi crushed (dried fenugeek leaves)
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves cilantro leaves
Instructions
Preparation
- Soak 3 tablespoons cashews in ⅓ cup hot water for 20 to 30 minutes.
- After 20 to 30 minutes, drain all the water and add cashews to a small grinder or blender jar. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of water. Grind or blend cashews to a smooth and fine paste. Keep cashew paste aside.
Making Paneer Handi
- Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a handi, pan, or kadai. Keep the heat low.
- Add 1 small bay leaf, 1-inch piece of cinnamon, 2 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, and 2 individual strands of mace.
- Fry the spices on low heat for some seconds till they become aromatic.
- Add ⅓ cup chopped onions.
- Mix and begin to saute onions on a low to medium heat stirring often. First, the onions will become translucent.
- Sprinkle a little salt.
- Saute till the onions turn golden stirring often
- Add1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste, 1 slit green chili, and 1 tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves.
- Cook for a few seconds until the strong smell of ginger and garlic disappears.
- Add ½ cup of finely chopped tomatoes.
- Mix the tomatoes and saute them on a low to medium heat.
- Sauté until the tomatoes become soft and mushy. Make sure they’re cooked thoroughly, and you can see oil separating from the mixture of sautéed onions and tomatoes.
- Reduce the temperature.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder
- Add ¼ teaspoon of Kashmiri red chili powder
- Add ½ teaspoon of garam masala powder
- Add the prepared cashew paste.
- Stir and mix well.
- Stir frequently and cook them until you notice oil separating from the sides.
- Add 2 teaspoons of milk powder. If you are using cream, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of it after the gravy is ready.
- Stir and mix very well.
- Add 1 cup of water.
- Season with salt as per taste and mix.
- Simmer the gravy gently for about 6 to 7 minutes over medium-low heat.
- Add 200 grams paneer cubes and stir to mix.
- Turn off the heat.
- Sprinkle in ½ teaspoon of crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves).
- You can also add a small amount, about 1 to 2 pinches, of nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg.
- Stir and mix gently.
- Serve the Paneer Handi while it’s hot or warm, along with naan, chapati, plain paratha, butter naan, cumin rice, or saffron rice. Enjoy it with your favorite bread or rice!
Notes
- This recipe can be scaled as per your requirements.
- Use fresh paneer.
- You can also use any neutral flavored oil instead of ghee.