Chaman kaliya (paneer in yellow gravy)

This beautiful, tasty bowl of yellow sunshine is so good that you will be going back for seconds. A simple yet delectable dish.

Credit: Murdoch Books / Matt Russell

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

When I was travelling in Kashmir, many restaurants, hotels and home cooks were using paneer and cooking it in ways I wasn’t used to. This particular recipe was inspired by my friends Amit and Prateek’s parents, whom I met when they were visiting Kashmir. I had never eaten paneer this way before.

Ingredients

• 2½ tbsp (45 ml) mustard oil
• 500 g paneer, cut into cubes
• 8 green cardamom pods
• 4 black cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp brown cumin seeds
• 2–3 dried bay leaves
• ½ tsp asafoetida powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1½ tsp ground fennel
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 whole green chillies, halved lengthways
• 300 ml (4 cups) hot water
• 300 ml (4 cups) full-fat (whole) milk
• 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
• steamed rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the paneer and fry until light brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Add all the whole spices and bay leaves to the pan and cook for 1 minute, then add the asafoetida, turmeric, ginger, fennel, salt and halved chillies. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then pour in the hot water. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Now reduce the heat back to medium, add the fried paneer and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the milk and cook for a further 5–6 minutes until the gravy thickens. Mix through the dried fenugreek leaves and remove from the heat.
3. Serve with rice.

 

Recipe and image from On the Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh by Romy Gill, photography by Poras Chaudhary and Matt Russel (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $55, available in-stores nationally).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

When I was travelling in Kashmir, many restaurants, hotels and home cooks were using paneer and cooking it in ways I wasn’t used to. This particular recipe was inspired by my friends Amit and Prateek’s parents, whom I met when they were visiting Kashmir. I had never eaten paneer this way before.