Tiscali Lifestyle Food and Drink

Ingredients

Serves 6

4 pints full fat milk
4 tbsp lemon juice
200 g garden peas
2½ onion
2 in ginger
5 cloves garlic
3-4 green chillies
3 tsp turmeric
3 tsp paprika
2 tsp whole cumin seeds
3 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 whole brown cardamoms
4 chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp garam masala
1½ tsp salt
6 tbsp vegetable oil (for shallow frying)
1 litre vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Method

Paneer:

Bring the milk to boil in a pan. Watch it carefully. As it begins to boil, add four tablespoons of lemon juice. The milk will separate into curds and water. Turn off the heat.

Line a strainer with muslin or cheese cloth and ladle the curds into the strainer. Let the liquid drip through. Tie a knot in the cloth and hang it outside - on your clothes line is ideal. Leave for three or four hours.

Take the paneer out of the cloth and cut it into ¾-inch cubes. Heat the oil in a wok or chip pan. Test to see if it is hot enough by dropping in a small piece of paneer. If it cooks and floats to the surface after about a minute then it is ready.

Cook the paneer in two or three batches. Fry until the pieces become golden brown, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon to make sure they do not stick to each other. Using the slotted spoon, lift the fried paneer out of the oil and drain on a plate lined with kitchen roll.

Boil two pints of water and take the saucepan off the cooker. Add the fried paneer. The idea is to remove the oil from the paneer. Put aside.

Sauce:

Peel and chop the ginger, garlic and chillies into tiny pieces, cut the onions into small pieces, and the tomatoes into medium-sized pieces. In a pestle and mortar, crush the cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, then set aside.

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan and add the ginger first, then the onions, fry the mixture for ten minutes or so until the onions have caramelised and are golden brown in colour.

Add the crushed cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, turmeric, paprika and cardamom pods. Fry for a minute or two, then add a mug of water. Bring the mixture to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for ten to 15 minutes. Halfway through this process add the garlic, green chillies, tomatoes and salt. Stir regularly to stop the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

The sauce should grow thicker in consistency. As the water in the mixture boils off the mixture will start to fry again, so you'll need to keep stirring. If it begins to stick or burn add a little water. Continue for five to seven minutes. This technique forms the basis for making all curry sauces.

Add the peas and stir for a further two minutes.

With both hands, scoop the paneer pieces out of the saucepan (the water should have cooled) and squeeze gently to expel any excess water. Then, one by one, drop the paneer pieces into the curry sauce. Stir and add enough water to give the sauce the consistency of thick soup. Taste and add salt if necessary. Let the mixture simmer for seven minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with garam masala.

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