Indian Red Curry with Homemade Paneer (Indian Cheese)

I have talked about my husbands grocery store adventures on here before and many of my recipes come about because I sent him shopping. He likes to go grocery shopping, but he doesn’t like to follow a long list. So while, I always send a list with him, I can always count on him coming home with something unexpected. Sometimes its four bags of sweet potatoes when I only needed one. Sometimes its two of every kind of winter squash imaginable. Sometimes it’s a four pound bag of red lentils right after I just bought some. Most recently I had a list of groceries and he set out to the store with my two year old. It was a pretty long list and cumin was something I needed on the list. When he got home he set a GIANT bag of whole cumin seeds down on the table. I was expecting a small jar of ground cumin, but instead I had a huge bag of whole cumin seeds. He had not only gotten all the things from my list at the store, but had made an extra trip to the Indian store to get whole cumin. I just laughed in awe at the unexpected, but the smell won me over. I knew I needed Indian food as soon as possible. So I made this recipe! I guess you could say that my husband is my muse.

This recipe is a creamy tomato based curry full of Indian spices, cauliflower, mushrooms, and homemade Paneer. Oh…..Paneer. I think I am in love with you… Paneer is a soft cheese found in many dishes from India. It is mild and soft and milky. And it is actually very easy to make at home. Homemade Paneer is a little softer than the kind you would buy at the store or get at an Indian restaurant, but it tastes out of this world in a hearty Indian curry. Its actually very similar to ricotta cheese. You could also buy Paneer from an Indian store and use it instead. I highly recommend making your own, though. It works even better after letting it rest in the fridge, so you can make it up to two days ahead of time to make dinner prep easier.

I have a little confession to make, though. We eat food with Indian flavors at my house a lot, but we just kind of make it up as we go. I don’t actually know much about authentic Indian cooking. So don’t look at this recipe and judge. I admit that I am a little bit ignorant in the art of Indian cooking. I don’t have any idea what kind of name this curry would have. However I do know that it tastes really good and reminds me of my very favorite dish at my favorite Indian restaurant. And actually my husbands whole cumin buying spree isn’t all that unusual, because we often buy whole spices and grind some with a coffee grinder and use some whole. Whole spices stay fresh so much longer and freshly ground spices are so much more flavorful and fragrant. And so much cheaper! This particular recipe calls for whole mustard, coriander, and cumin. I know that makes it a little less accessible because not every one keeps whole spices on hand, but I just couldn’t help myself. It really deepens the flavors of the curry. That being said, I think you could probably skip the whole spices and just stick with the curry powder and Garam Masala, adding a little bit more to taste, and it would still be yummy. I have never tried it without the whole spices though, so tweak at your own risk. If you are having trouble finding whole spices, check the bulk bins, Import stores, or Ethnic sections of your grocery store. I have found many spices that I need for Indian food in the Hispanic section of the grocery store. Or if you live close to me, just come borrow some of mine. I have enough to supply twenty kitchens for years.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

PANEER

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon whole milk (Just don’t use ultra-high temperature pasteurized milk. Most normal full fat grocery store milk works just fine.)
• 1/4 C. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Cheese cloth or nut bag

Directions

1. Place the milk in a pot and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent from burning.

Bring the milk to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a thermometer, bring the milk to the point right before it starts to boil. It will start to steam and get all frothy. Don’t be tempted to raise the heat to speed things up and make sure you stir frequently. The last thing you want is cheese with flecks of burned milk.

2. Take the milk off the heat and add the lemon juice. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. It will start to separate into curds and whey. The curds will be white and…well…curdley and the whey will be a pale yellow liquid.

3. Line a strainer with cheese cloth and set the whole thing over a large bowl. Pour the curds and whey over the cheese cloth. You could also use a nut bag or a thin tea towel. The curds should be in the strainer and the whey in the bowl beneath.

4.  Once the curds are cool enough to handle, gather up the cheese cloth and squeeze with your hands to ring out any extra whey.  Open the cloth and sprinkle on the salt and mix it all in. Add more salt to taste.

5. Squish the curds together to form a rectangle brick and wrap the cheese cloth around the cheese again.

 

Place on a plate with another plate on top. Weigh down the top plate with something heavy. I used my huge BonApetit Dessert Cookbook. Leave it like this for at least fifteen minutes, but preferably longer. You shouldn’t need to press it for more than 1 hour.

6. Store in the fridge for a few days or slice and use immediately. If you let it sit in the fridge for awhile it will hold together better in the curry. Either way is delicious, though.

NOTE: There are actually many uses for left over Whey. Click HERE to read about using up whey on The Prairie Homestead.

CURRY

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP. olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp. whole mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. whole coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• 5 tsp. curry powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala (An Indian spice blend. Can be found in most grocery stores in the spice section)
• 1/4 C. water, plus more as needed.
• 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 8 oz. mushrooms, roughly chopped or sliced
• 1 (28oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 C. cream (or whole milk, cashew cream, or anything creamy)
• salt to taste
• 1 brick paneer, chopped into cubes (Recipe Above. You can use store bought Paneer, too.)
• Brown rice for serving (I like the brown basmati rice from Trader Joe’s)
• Naan bread for serving (HERE is my recipe. You can also use store bought Naan.)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan or skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic, ginger, and whole spices and let them cook for 1 minute. Add the curry powder and Garam Masala and stir around for about 30 seconds.

2. Add the water to deglaze the pan. Add the cauliflower and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes to begin softening them up. Use water as needed to deglaze the pan and to prevent burning. Add the tomato sauce and let the whole mixture cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

3. Stir in the cream. Taste and add salt as needed. Gently fold in the cubes of Paneer and serve over warm brown rice with warm Naan bread.

By Edible Experiments