Paneer Tikka Masala - Punjab Special

Punjab is a Northern state,the land of five rivers,bordered by Himachal Pradesh to East and Haryana to South.
Agriculture is is the largest in Punjab and its the largest produce of wheat in India.
Punjabi cuisine is so rich and delicious with ghee and butter and uses tandoor oven to cook naan and rotis and non-veg dishes.The cooking method varies from region to region.
Coming to the recipe paneer tikka masala is a rich and creamy preparation goes very well with roti and naan.Originally the marinated panner is cooked in tandoor oven and added to the gravy but I shallow fried in the pan.Off to the recipe.........................................

Basic Information

Preparation Time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking Time ~ 25 minutes
Serves ~ 2-3

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Paneer(cubed)	250 gms
Onion/ vengayam(finely chopped)	1 (medium size)
Tomato(chopped)	3-4 (medium size)
Ginger&Garlic paste	2 tsp
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	1/2 tsp
Coriander powder/dhaniya podi	1 tsp
Cashews/mundiri	4-5
Full fat milk/paal	1 cup
Kasoori methi	1/4 tsp
Salt	1 tsp
Oil	3-4 tbs

For the Marination

Ingredient	Quantity
Yogurt/thayir	1/4 cup
Red chilly powder	1/2tsp
Coriander powder	1/2 tsp
Kasoori methi	1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder	1/2 tsp
Orange food color(optional)	few drops
Salt	1/2 tsp

Method

In a bowl take the ingredients given in a bowl and mix it well.To this add the cubed panner and mix it well.Let it soak for 30-45 minutes.Grind the cashews with a tbs of milk to a fine paste,grind the tomatoes to a fine paste.
Heat a pan with 1 tbs of oil and shallow fry the paneer cubes and fry it till golden in a medium flame.Keep it aside.

Now heat the remaining oil in a pan and saute the onion with a pinch of salt till translucent.Add the ginger&garlic paste an fry it till the raw smell goes off.Once the ginger &garlic paste add in the tomato puree and cook it till the oil separates. Add in the chilly and coriander powder,garam masala powder,and cashew paste,give it a mix.Cook it until the raw smell disappears.

Now add the milk and let it boil in  medium flame for 2-3 minutes.Then add in the fried paneer and cook it for another couple of minutes.Finally sprinkle the kasoori methi and put off the flame.

Paneer Tikka Masala is ready.

Serve it with roti or naan.

Enjoy.....................................................................

• Here I used the whole milk as  I didn't add any cream.
• If you want you can use a tsp of butter along with the oil to get a nice flavor.

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