Paneer fry is a curry house favourite and there are many ways to prepare it. This is a simple paneer fry from my cookbook ‘The Curry Guy’ and it can be prepared in under 30 minutes. You can serve the paneer as is or add it to the curry sauce of your choice.
About this paneer fry recipe
As recipes go, they just don’t get easier than this. This paneer fry recipe is simple because it is meant to be served both as a starter or added to a curry.
Just like when you go to a curry house and have a selection of different proteins that can be added to your favourite sauce, you can do that at home with this paneer fry. Add the marinated paneer cubes to the sauce of your choice and it will be amazing.
We’re talking restaurant quality here!
Do you need to marinate the paneer before frying?
Not at all! The thing is, paneer is quite bland in flavour. So if you are serving this paneer fry as a starter without sauce, then it is best marinated. If, on the other hand you are adding the fried paneer to a curry, you could leave the marinating step out and just fry it.
Do you have to fry the paneer?
Absolutely not! The thing is, raw paneer has a tendency to fall apart when added to a sauce. By frying the cubed paneer, you create a crispy crust to the cheese which helps it retain its shape when cooked into a hot curry sauce.
How do you add paneer to a curry sauce?
Prepare the sauce and then add the fried paneer to the bubbling hot curry. Although fried until crisp, it is best to add the paneer fry to a sauce just before serving. It will then retain its shape and become soft and delicious in the center.
Although the paneer fry only needs to be marinated for about 20 minutes, you could make the marinade and add the paneer to it a few days in advance of cooking.
So if working ahead is more convenient for you, this is a good recipes for that.
What do you serve with paneer fry?
If you’d like to make you paneer fry into a feast, you’ve come to the right place. You could just go for a side of Basmati rice or mushroom fried rice.
If you’d like to make naans, why not try one of these? Hot paneer fry is so good wrapped up into a freshly made naan or chapatti. Instant naans, Peshwari naans, stove top naans, keema naans, garlic naans, tandoor naans (if you have a tandoor oven), or if you’re cooking outdoors, karahi naans. Oh, and really easy but just as delicious are homemade chapatis.
You might also like to serve this with a good and easy tarka dal or slowly simmered dal makhani.
If serving your paneer fry as a starter course, you might want to make some fried shop bought poppadoms or if you’re feeling ambitious, make your own poppadoms from scratch and serve them with coriander chutney, red onion chutney, and/or tamarind chutney.
Whisk the garlic and ginger paste, spices and yoghurt together in a bowl. Using a fork or toothpick, pierce the paneer cubes all over so that the marinade can penetrate.
Add the paneer and leave to marinate for about 30 minutes.
When ready to fry, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium- high heat. When it begins to bubble, remove the paneer from the marinade and add to the hot oil.
Fry until browned on one side, then flip the paneer over and fry on the other side. Only frying two opposite sides is enough to help keep the cheese together while cooking in a sauce, but if you like you can brown it on all sides, as I do (it just looks better).
Transfer the browned paneer cubes to a plate lined with kitchen paper, to absorb any excess oil, and set aside until ready to use.
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So it's not essential that you cook it prior to adding to curry. Some people like a golden brown colour on the outside. If you like, you can shallow fry, deep fry, or grill paneer before adding it to a curry. This will create a golden crust on the outside.
Top tip: If you find your paneer can get a bit dry or chewy when fried or cooked, you can soak it in water for 10 minutes so it retains more moisture while cooking.
Paneer can be made with buffalo milk, goat milk, sheep milk or cow's milk. Although it is similar to cottage cheese, paneer is usually made without rennet and therefore has a different texture. Paneer is made by curdling milk with a food acid, usually lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid.
One of the most popular and a favorite Indian paneer recipe is Paneer Butter Masala. A smooth, velvety, creamy tomato based gravy with soft and succulent paneer cubes. The dish is a vegetarian take on Butter Chicken but fairly easy to make than butter chicken.
This is because cooking extracts the paneer moisture making it hard or rubbery to eat. On the other hand, putting the paneer in water keeps it soft and gives the necessary moisture (if lost while cooking).
Paneer is an animal product which is prepared by curdling hot milk using lime juice, vinegar or citric acid. It can be eaten raw as well as to prepare a variety of dishes. There are various types of Paneer such as conventional Paneer, low fat Paneer, soy Paneer, filled Paneer and vegetable stuff Paneer[1][2].
Although many Indians translate "paneer" into "cottage cheese", cottage cheese is made using rennet extracted from the stomach of ruminants, and cow's skim milk. Queso blanco or queso fresco are often recommended as substitutes in the Americas and Spain as they are more commercially available in many American markets.
Most store bought paneer contains additives or at least citric acid that is not good for health. At home we can make paneer using curd or lemon juice and the quality is much better than the store bought one. The processing of the milk to turn it into cheese is expensive in terms of both labor and capital.
Even though they may look similar, paneer and tofu are different foods. Paneer is a cheese, while tofu is made from soy. However, they're both vegetarian sources of protein and calcium that have mild tastes and fairly soft textures. For these reasons, they may be used interchangeably in some recipes.
How Many Calories Are Present? Chicken is the best option for consuming fewer calories. 100g of chicken has 165 calories whereas 100g of paneer contains 265-320 calories.
Whether you are a fan of this delicious cottage cheese or not, the price of the world's most expensive paneer will literally leave you surprised. This paneer/ cottage cheese is also known as Serbian cheese, which is priced at £800 (approx Rs 70,000) for just one kilo.
Frying paneer: Usually paneer is added raw while making paneer butter masala. But you can also fry it first and then add it to the gravy. But if you are frying it inappropriately, then it will turn hard and chewy. Fry them on a medium heat in little oil until golden and drop them to a bowl of water.
Paneer has a mild, milky flavour and a dense crumbly texture that goes beautifully well with strong spicy flavours used in many classic Indian dishes. Because it won't melt like other cheeses, chunks of it can be stirred into soups or curries and remain intact.
Boil some water in a bowl.Once it comes to a boil, put a strainer over it and spread out the paneer cubes so that they absorb the steam.Put a lid on top so that the steam cannot escape. After 10-15 mins, you'll have super soft and spongy paneer cubes.
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