Lehsuni Paneer Recipe – Paneer lover never gets fed up of paneer. Do they? What names in your head when you think of paneer? Kadai Paneer, chilli paneer, paneer masala? I decided to innovate something this time. I decided to make lehsuni aka garlic paneer. If you look around, you may find dry versions of garlic chilli paneer. My daughter can not stand chilli and I need to make food for her which is less spicy.
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What is Lehsuni Paneer
Garlic = Lehsun in hindi, and cottage cheese = paneer. When you make curry with garlic and paneer it is called Lehsuni Paneer or Garlic Paneer.
Paneer is as good as chicken for non-vegetarians. You can make numerous food items with paneer, in fact more than compared to chicken.
I love garlic and if I could I will add garlic in every curry I eat. I do eat food with out onion and garlic too, such as this no onion garlic potato curry. Apart from garlic, I use fenugreek in lots of my cooking. I shared methi paneer recently, and will recommend you to try that out.
Benefits of Garlic
I love garlic for its taste and aroma. But this is not enough, garlic offers immense benefits too. Garlic is from the family of onion and documents suggests that garlic was used for its medicinal value by Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, Greeks, Chinese.
Garlic is extremely nutritious but barely any calories. This also contains Manganese, Vitamin-B6, Vitamin-C, Selenium and fibre. Garlic is warm and can combat cold. It also known to reduce cholesterol and reduce blood pressure in people who have high BP.
Method to make Lehsuni or Garlic Paneer Tadka
My recipe here consists of making a creamy gravy, then adding sautéed paneer. Lastly, I have added tadka / tempering of garlic and cumin seeds for added flavour.
- First of all, blanch chopped onions, garlic and cashews in 1/2 cup of boiling water for 5-7 minutes. After that, switch off the heat and let them cool. Once cooled, grind it to a smooth paste.
- Beat the yogurt and keep aside. Cut paneer into cubes or triangles.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and shallow fry paneer pieces until little golden on both sides. Take them out on a kitchen towel.
- To the same pan, add onion-garlic paste and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add ginger paste now and sauté till raw smell fades away. Now add coriander powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper powder and turmeric powder and sauté.
- Add beaten yogurt now and sauté till it starts boiling. Now add cream and sauté again. Add salt and garam masala and mix well. Let it boil for few minutes. Add rest black pepper powder now and mix again.
- Add paneer cubes and mix. Switch off the heat. Now for tempering, heat oil in a small pan. Add cumin seeds and garlic and let them fry till they become golden in colour. Switch off the heat and pour this tempering over paneer gravy.
Pro Tips
- Always use fresh paneer if you can. If using store bought paneer, I will recommend that you put the paneer in hot water for few minutes to soften the paneer.
- This recipe includes tempering with garlic. You may skip that if you think the garlic taste is too much for your palate.
- When shallow frying paneer, make sure heat is not too high, else paneer will get over cooked on surface giving a chewy texture.
- Peeling garlic can be challenge. You can peel garlic easily by pressing the garlic clove under a chef knife facing away from you. You should hear a click sound of garlic cracking. It should be easy to peel now. You can also keep garlic bulb in microwave for 20 seconds, cool it down and then should be easy to peel.
- Give the tadka to the curry only before serving.
- Cutting paneer in bigger triangular shape makes the curry looks good (though you can choose the shape as you like). Only thing to keep in mind is that the paneer piece should not be too big, else the flavour won’t seep into the inner part paneer and it may taste raw.
This garlic paneer is
- Gluten-free.
- Has mild flavours and is loved by kids too.
- Does not require massive cooking expertise.
- Is a winner, especially if you love garlic.
Storage
You can freeze the gravy and re-use by simply heating the gravy and adding sautéed paneer pieces. Once cooked, you can keep this garlic paneer for 2 days in refrigerator.
Serving Suggestion for Lehsuni Paneer
Give temper of garlic and cumin seeds, just before serving. You can use ghee / clarified butter for tempering for better taste. Serve this lehsuni aka garlic paneer hot with rice or any Indian bread.
Recipe Card
Lehsuni Paneer Tadka – Garlic Paneer
Ingredients
- 250 Grams Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese
- 2 Onion Medium Size, Chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 12 Cashews
- 1 tbsp Ginger Paste
- 1/2 Cup Yogurt Beaten
- 1/2 Cup Fresh Cream
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1.5 tsp Black pepper powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/3 tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 3 tbsp Oil
For Tempering
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 3 Garlic Cloves Chopped
- 1 tbsp Oil
Instructions
- First of all, blanch chopped onions, garlic and cashews in 1/2 cup of boiling water for 5-7 minutes. After that, switch off the heat and let them cool. Once cooled, grind it to a smooth paste.
- Beat the yogurt and keep aside. Cut paneer into cubes or triangles.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and shallow fry paneer pieces until little golden on both sides. Take them out on a kitchen towel.
- To the same pan, add onion-garlic paste and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add ginger paste now and sauté till raw smell fades away. Add coriander powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper powder and turmeric powder and sauté.
- Add beaten yogurt now and sauté till it starts boiling. Now add cream and sauté again. Add salt and garam masala and mix well. Let it boil for few minutes. Add rest black pepper powder now and mix again.
- Add paneer cubes and mix. Switch off the heat. Now for tempering, heat oil in a small pan. Add cumin seeds and garlic and let them fry till they become golden in colour. Switch off the heat and pour this tempering over paneer gravy.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot with rice or bread of your choice.
Video
Notes
- This recipe gives moderate flavour of garlic with the mentioned quantity above. You can adjust the amount according to your desired level of flavour.
- Keep Paneer pieces in warm water for sometime for their extra softness. After that take them out and dry a little on kitchen towel and then shallow fry.
Hey Meenu tried your amazing recipe and it tasted so yum. Everyone loved it..thank you. Keep posting xx
Proof is in the pudding. I do appreciate that you tried it out and found it worthy. I equally appreciate that you reverted and shared your firsthand views. Thanks a bunch!