Paneer Butter Masala

Growing up, I've never liked paneer. I thought it was chalky and didn't care for it much. I revisited it recently when I bought it on an impulse. I let it sit in the fridge for a few days until it came to the point where I had to cook it or throw it away. So came about the Paneer butter masala. While I religiously avoided all kinds of paneer dishes at Indian restaurants, from Palak Paneer to Paneer Tikka Masala, I found to my surprise, that I actually liked it when I cooked it. But G still doesn't care for it much and I rarely cook anything for myself, so I don't know if I'll be using paneer that often. I made paneer burji with the remaining paneer, which I ate all by myself as G wouldn't touch it. I can't decide if that's a good thing or not.


Ingredients:

Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) - 1 and 1/2 cups
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1 cup + 1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Onions, fine choppped - 1
Oil - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Cut the paneer into cubes. Heat oil in a skillet and saute the paneer cubes until they are lightly browned. Drain and keep aside.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add chopped onions and saute until tender. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few more minutes.
3. Add tomato paste, cumin powder, coriander powder. Add milk, stir to mix thoroughly and simmer until the gravy thickens.
4. Add the paneer cubes, salt and red chili powder. Add more milk to adjust the consistency of the gravy. Simmer for additional 5-7 minutes. Can add cream instead of milk.
5. Garnish with cilantro and serve warm with roti.