Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: Butter Paneer Masala

I remember, when I was a child, a neighbour used to make butter on her family’s farm. It was magical, seeing her pound away at a barrel of milk until she got lumps of rich, creamy butter. Making butter, and even cheese is very simple. I do not recall, when I was a child, anyone making their own cheese, but in many food cultures, homemade cheese is a staple ingredient.

Two keys to sustainable food consumption are locally produced food and a more plant-based diet. This week’s recipe achieves both. I mean, what could be more locally produced than cheese you make in your own kitchen? Paneer is a fresh, non-aged, non-melting soft cheese, made by curdling milk by using acid. I use vinegar in this recipe, but you could also use lemon juice.

This is fun to do, and if you want to get the children cooking, this is great. They will love the magic of turning a few litres of milk into a cheese that you can fry and then add to a delicious, sweet, rich curry. You can use the same technique to make a flavoured cheese. I sometimes add some smoked chilli flakes, and a little salt and honey, to my curds, before setting the cheese. This will give you a lovely, fresh cheese that is perfect as a snack, with a few slices of apple and some crackers.

Paneer is a great ingredient and is fabulous in curries. This butter paneer masala is a favourite in our house. You may not be able to find all the spices you need in every local supermarket, but most small health-food shops will stock them, as will any good Asian supermarket.

Butter paneer masala

recipe by:Colm O’Gorman

This favourite dish is creamy, nutty and bursting with a delicate balance of spices - enjoy for supper

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 4 hours 0 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 4 hours 25 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Indian

Ingredients

• For the cheese:

• 2 litres full fat milk

• 2 tbsp white vinegar

• For the curry:

• 500g plum tomatoes

• 150g cashew nuts

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp coconut oil

• 150ml water

• 2 cardamom pods

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 sticks of cinnamon

• 4 whole cloves

• 2 star anise

• 4 tsp fenugreek seeds

• ½ tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp garam masala

• 1 tbsp fenugreek leaves

• A handful of fresh coriander

• 2 tbsp finely grated ginger

• 2 tbsp minced garlic 80g of butter

• 80 ml fresh cream, or coconut milk (optional)

Method

1. First, make your paneer. Bring the milk to a soft boil, add the vinegar and stir it slowly for a few seconds.

2. Turn off the heat and let it stand for 10 minutess to allow the curds to form. Drain into a colander lined with muslin or a clean kitchen cloth.

3. Rinse it with cold water on low pressure to get rid of any vinegar residue. If using muslin, tie up the corners to form a ball and squeeze out any remaining liquid. I use a pop sock for this, as I ran out of muslin a few months back and, with lockdown, I have not been able to get hold of any. A pack of new pop socks form the local supermarket solved that problem for me though and works brilliantly.

4. After rinsing the curds, I put the pop sock inside a tall drinks shaker and spooned in the cheese. After squeezing out some more liquid, I then hung the pop sock from the tap and let it drain a little more for an hour. If you use muslin, you can just do this in a sieve placed over a bowl.

5. Once it has drained, place the cheese in its cloth on a plate, placing another on top and weigh that with a few cans of food. Use about 1.5kg in weight and you will get a lovely solid round of cheese.

6. Let it sit in the fridge with the weight on top for three to four hours. When it is ready, remove from the cloth. Slice the paneer into cubes of about 2-3cm.

7. Add oil to a hot pan, turn the heat down to medium/low and fry the paneer all over to a nice golden-brown colour. Use a non-stick pan and be gentle with it as you do not want to break the cheese up as it fries. When it is cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside while you make your sauce.

8. Slice the tomatoes as thinly as possible. Add a tablespoon of coconut oil to a pan over a high heat. Put the tomatoes and the cashew nuts into the pan and add the sugar and salt. Reduce to a medium heat and cook for five to six minutes. ‪

9. Let the tomatoes cool for a few minutes. Put them into a food processor or blender with 300ml of water and blitz to a very smooth gravy. This is the base for your sauce. Get it as smooth as possible, as you do not want the sauce to be at all grainy.

10. Grate the ginger and garlic. Add the dry spices and bay leaves to a dry pan and roast for a few minutes. When they have gotten lovely and fragrant, add the butter, garlic, and ginger. Next, add the fenugreek leaf and cook until the garlic and ginger browns a little. This will only take a few minutes.

11. Finally add tomato and cashew gravy, chopped coriander, cooked paneer and the cream or coconut milk, if you are using that.

12. Simmer on a low heat for three to four minutes, until you can see butter separate slightly from the sauce. Serve with fluffy boiled basmati rice, some homemade naan, or another side dish.