Paneer Masala

Ghee

1 lb organic unsalted butter

• Simmer a pound of organic unsalted butter on low to medium-low until the water in the butter stops popping and the solids on top start turning golden. You’ll know it’s done by its fragrant aroma and golden crust.
• Strain through a clean cheesecloth and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Ghee is butter clarified by removing water and milk solids.

Paneer

½ gal organic whole milk
⅓ c white vinegar
4 c frying oil
1 cheesecloth
immersion thermometer

• Don’t even think about substituting a different type of milk. If you bought something other than whole milk, now’s your chance to go back to the store. I sometimes even mix a little butter into the paneer after separating the curds out if my curds seem very dry.
• Pour all the milk into a large pot. Heat slowly, stirring occasionally. For best results, use a thermometer, and do not allow to boil/scald! The heating process should take 20–30 minutes. Position the immersion thermometer so that you can monitor the temperature of the milk.
• While the milk is heating up, fold the cheesecloth so that it drapes liberally over the edges of a colander or strainer. Place it in the sink.
• As milk is approaching 210 degrees, remove from heat and stir in vinegar smoothly and completely. Do not allow milk to boil!
• Milk curds will begin to separate from the whey. Stir until the whey (the liquid left behind) is a clearish-tan color and white curds collect at the top.
• Strain through the cheesecloth. Rinse with warm water. Squeeze and twist the curds in the cheesecloth until they form a solid ball. You want to squeeze most of the water out, without the curds drying out.
• Knead the curds on a plate or a flat, clean surface. They will start out crumbly and become more homogeneous and pull together. If they do not pull together a little, you can add a teaspoon of melted butter or heavy whipping cream. Keep kneading. But this shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.

The paneer has started to pull together.

• Press flat in the cheesecloth between two plates with something heavy on top, about ½ inch thick. Leave under pressure for about 20 minutes. Unwrap and cut into squares or rectangles. Alternatively, if you prefer not to press the paneer into a cutable shape, you can roll it into 1-2 teaspoon-sized balls about ½ inch in diameter. I’ve found the ball shape more readily absorbs the sauce.

• Heat frying oil to about 350 degrees. Fry pieces of paneer until tiny gold marks appear on the outside. Do not let them become totally golden, much less brown. Drain on a paper towel. The image below shows paneer that has been cooked too much. Fried paneer can be refrigerated or frozen.

Fry until just golden. These pieces are too dark.

Masala

2 tbsp ghee
1 onion
6 cloves garlic
⅓ c cashew butter — optional, but do NOT substitute
½ tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger or 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1–3 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp garam masala
14 ounces tomato sauce
1 c heavy cream
2 tsp paprika

• Heat half of the ghee in a saucepot. Add diced onion and cook until soft and browning, but not caramelized. Add garlic and ginger and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute until warm and thoroughly mixed into the ghee-onion mixture. Puree onion, tomato sauce, garlic, ginger mixture, cashew butter, and salt together using a blender or immersion bender and return this mixture to the pot. Mixture may turn greenish first, and may turn brownish later, or it may not. Don’t be intimidated by the color change. Simmer about 10 minutes.
• Heat the other half of the ghee in a small pan. Add cumin, cayenne, cinnamon (I use Ceylon cinnamon, so I double what is listed in this recipe), turmeric, garam masala. Heat until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Mixture may be very thick, this is OK. You want to warm the mixture up and mix it until smooth, evenly mixed, and very fragrant.
• Add spice mixture and cream to the tomato mixture. Simmer about another 10–30 minutes covered. Taste test and adjust before moving to the next step.
• Add paprika and paneer. Do not stir very much from this point forward, except to prevent the mixture from boiling. You’re just heating up the paneer now, and paprika should not be cooked a very long time.
• Serve as soon as the paneer is heated over basmati rice.

Paneer masala