By: Author Dan Toombs
Posted on Published:
Paneer balti is one of my favourite vegetarian baltis.
This paneer balti is very easy to make.
I like to cook balti curries on the barbecue but you could of course cook this paneer balti indoors.
What’s important is to get the balti pan really hot. That’s one of the things that will make this paneer balti a success for you.
Then you serve it in the same sizzling hot pan that it was cooked in.
Creamy and mildly spiced. The paneer is soft and cooked to perfection. Try this!
Paneer Balti is a great balti curry for beginners.
Cooking a good balti curry is easy but perhaps a bit daunting when you first give it a go.
Balti curries are made in stainless steel balti pans. You could use another pan such as a metal frying pan but it just won’t be the same.
The good thing about this paneer balti is that it is simple to put together.
The paneer is added raw and then simmered in the sauce until soft and delicious. It’s so good scooped up with a hot naan, like my karahi naans, a chapati or paratha.
No cutlery required! Just pick the delicious paneer and sauce up with the bread of your choice.
The essential base curry sauce…
As with all British curries, a base sauce is required to make them what they are.
The sauce is easy to make and is added to everything from the paneer balti right up to the spiciest balti phall.
I have a few recipes for this sauce on my blog. You might like to This small version or The larger version that I usually make. If you have the freezer space, I recommend making the larger batch as it does freeze well.
Make this paneer balti your own…
I have given a common recipe for paneer balti below.
You can make it exactly as it is or adjust to your own taste.
Add more chillies, for example or throw in some chickpeas.
The possibilities are a big as your imagination.
Step by step cooking photos…
Heat the oil in the pan and add the cumin seeds to infuse for 30 seconds. Then stir in the blended onion. Fry for a few minutes and then stir in the garlic and ginger paste.
Add the ground spices and stir well to combine.
Then add the chopped chillies.
The add about half of the heated base sauce and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the cherry tomatoes and top up with a little more base sauce to keep it bubbling.
Now add the paneer and push it right down into the sauce to cook. Add any remaining base sauce.
Stir in the cream. You can add more to taste.
Add the kasoori methi and salt to taste. Done!
If you like this paneer balti recipe, you might like to try some of these too…
Hot as Hell Chicken Phall Balti
Chicken and chickpea balti
Chicken Saag Balti
Chicken balti
Duck balti jalfrezi
Duck and mushroom balti
Keema balti
Rogan josh balti
Prawn balti
Get yourself a naan, chapati or paratha and dig in!
Yield: 1
Paneer Balti
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, blended until smooth in a little water
- 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 tsp basar curry powder OR
- 2 tsp mixed powder
- 2 green bird's eye chillies, finely chopped
- 70ml (1/4 cup) tomato puree
- 250ml (1 cup) base curry sauce
- 4 cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional)
- 250g (9 oz) paneer, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 tbsp single cream, plus more to taste
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- Juice of one lemon
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium high to high heat in a balti bowl. When hot, stir in the cumin seeds to infuse for about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the cumin! Then add the blended onion.
- Fry the onion for about 3 minutes and then stir in the garlic and ginger paste to fry for another 30 seconds or so.
- Stir in the ground spices and then add the green chillies, followed by the tomato puree. Bring to a simmer.
- Add about half of the base sauce and bring to a simmer.
- Stir in the tomatoes and push them down into the sauce. Add more base sauce as needed to keep it all bubbly and only stir if the sauce is sticking to the side of the pan.
- Add the paneer and stir well so that it cooks in the sauce. Paneer can fall apart if cooked too long so you're about finished with your paneer balti now.
- Stir in the cream and bring again to a simmer. Add the kasoori methi, the butter and lemon juice. Season with salt to taste to serve.
The Birmingham Balti Bowl Company manufactures authentic balti bowls here in the UK. That’s what I use. Perfect!
