Paneer Do pyaza recipe / How to make Paneer do pyaza

Another popular restaurant recipe which is very easy and doesn’t require any grinding. Quick recipe to go with chapathi, naan, phulkas or any flat bread of your choice.  The name alone says “Do – pyaza” it means twice the amount of onions which we use in our regular gravies. We use two differently chopped onions in this recipe. We use finely chopped onions in the first step and second set has diced onions which remain crunchy in the dish. In this recipe, we first saute finely chopped onions and tomatoes with butter and then add all the Indian spices to flavour the sauce and add the second batch of diced onions and mix well.Finally adding the cubes paneer completes the dish with all the flavours we are looking for. You can also add diced tomatoes and capsicum just to give a nice colourful look. I have used diced and de-seeded tomatoes and capsicums. If you do not wish to, you can opt it out.

This creamy gravy is very simple to make. Like other panner masalas, you do not need grinding or anything. The fresh cream gives a nice creamy texture and I bet you would not is a flavour 🙂

Ingredients :

Paneer – 200 gms

Onion – 2 large

Tomatoes – 2 medium (Chopped fine) + 1 small (de-seeded and diced)

Green Capsicum/Bell pepper – 1 (diced)

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Fennel seeds – 1/4 tsp(optional)

Red chilli powder- 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 1/2 tsp

Roasted cumin powder – 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp

Fresh cream – 3 tbsp

Butter – 1 tbsp

Kasuri methi – few

Oil – 1 tbsp

Deep fried onion – For garnish (optional)

Coriander leaves – finely chopped (for garnish)

Method:

     Part 1 : Chopping the vegetables

     Part 2 : Onion- tomato base gravy

     Part 3 : Tossing vegetables and paneer

     Part 4 : Garnishing

Part 1 : Chopping vegetables

1. Peel and chop 1 large onion into fine pieces. Set aside
2. Peel and dice the other large onion and separate them in layers
3. Similarly, dice 1 small tomato and also a capsicum. Set aside.
4. Best is, keep all three in same bowl.
5. Cut the paneer in cubes and soak them in hot water till we use them next. This helps in retaining the soft texture in paneer.

Part 2 : Onion-tomato gravy

1. In a pan, add 1 tbsp oil and allow it to heat
2. Add cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Allow it to crackle
3. Add finely chopped onions and saute
4. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw smell disappears
5. Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute
6. Add a pinch of salt to speed up the cooking process.
7. Wait till oil starts separating from the tomatoes
8. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, roasted cumin powder and garam masala.
9. Mix well. Add little water if the sauce is too dry.
10. Add 1 tbsp butter and mix well
11. Adjust salt

Part 3 : Tossing the veggies and paneer

1. Add the diced vegetables to this sauce and mix well.
2. Keep the flame on medium and cook for few minutes.
3. Do not over cook. It only makes it mushy. Retain the crunch in the vegetables
4. This wont take more than 5 minutes.
5. Add Paneer cubes and mix everything thoroughly
6. Add fresh cream and mix
7. Add kasuri methi and gently mix so you do not break the paneer pieces.
8. Close the pan with a lid and let it stay for few minutes till paneer pieces absorb all the flavours.

Part 4 : Garnishing

1. Finally garnish your prepared dish with deep-fried onions and chopped coriander leaves and serve hot along with your choice of Indian flat-breads

Tips:

• Using fennel seeds is optional, you can skip adding them. I use them because they give a nice aroma
• Its your choice to add capsicum and tomatoes or no. Gravy tastes good without them too 🙂