Paneer Angara (Restaurant Style Smoked Curry)
Soft seared paneer in an onion-tomato-cashew gravy, finished with a 3-minute charcoal dhungar. Restaurant-style, gluten-free, built for naan.
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed pan or kadai
- Blender
- Metal tongs
- Small steel bowl
- Tight-fitting lid
Ingredients
To soak (start first)
- 12 cashews
- 1/4 cup hot water for the cashews
- 300 g paneer cut into cubes, about 10 oz
- hot water to cover the paneer
For the masala paste
- 2 tablespoons oil or ghee
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick small
- 2 cloves
- 2 onions medium, roughly chopped, about 2 cups
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1-2 green chillies slit
- 2 ripe tomatoes medium, roughly chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
- 2-3 tablespoons water for blending
For the gravy
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or ghee
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 1/4 cups water plus more as needed
- 1 onion small, cut into petals
- 1 green capsicum small, cut into 1-inch squares
- 3 tablespoons fresh cream heavy cream or whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed between your palms
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar only if the gravy tastes sharp
- fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish
For the dhungar
- 1 small piece coconut-shell charcoal or untreated hardwood charcoal
- 1/2 teaspoon ghee for the coal
- 1 green cardamom pod cracked, optional, drop it on the coal
Instructions
Soak and blend
- Put the cashews in a small bowl with 1/4 cup hot water. Cut the paneer into cubes and cover with hot water in a separate bowl. Leave both for 10 minutes.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil or ghee in the pan over medium heat. Add cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. Let them smell fragrant, about 20 seconds.
- Add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt. Cook 6 to 8 minutes until soft and translucent, not dark brown.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and slit green chillies. Cook 1 minute until the raw smell goes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and the drained cashews. Cook 5 to 6 minutes until the tomatoes collapse. Cool 5 minutes.
- Blend with 2 to 3 tablespoons water to a thick, completely smooth paste. Set aside. Wipe the pan if needed.
Sear the paneer and peppers
- Drain the paneer and pat it dry.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in the same pan over medium-high. Add paneer cubes in a single layer. Sear 1 to 2 minutes a side until the edges are gold. Transfer to a plate.
- In the same fat, add onion petals and capsicum. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until the edges blister. Transfer to the paneer plate.
Cook the gravy
- Lower the heat to medium. Add cumin seeds and the bay leaf to the pan. Let the cumin crackle, about 20 seconds.
- Add the blended masala paste. Cook 6 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until it thickens and looks glossy. Cashew paste sticks. Keep it moving.
- Add turmeric, Kashmiri chilli, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, and salt. Cook 1 minute.
- Pour in 1 1/4 cups water and whisk until smooth. Simmer 5 to 6 minutes until the gravy coats a spoon. It should be a little looser than you want on the plate. It tightens as it sits.
- Return the paneer, onion petals, and capsicum. Stir in cream, crushed kasuri methi, and sugar only if the gravy tastes sharp. Cook 2 minutes on low. Do not boil hard after the cream goes in.
- Taste for salt. Turn off the heat. Garnish with cilantro.
Smoke (dhungar)
- Set a small steel bowl in the center of the curry. Heat the charcoal until it is red on all sides.
- Using tongs, set the charcoal in the bowl. Pour 1/2 teaspoon ghee over it. Add the cracked cardamom if you are using it. Cover immediately.
- Smoke 3 to 4 minutes. Lift the bowl out and discard the coal.
- Stir once, rest 2 minutes, and serve hot.
Notes
Soak packaged paneer. Dry cubes from the fridge go rubbery after a sear.
Stir the cashew paste constantly. Burnt bits at the bottom will follow you into the blender-smooth gravy.
I smoked this for 10 minutes once because a recipe said 15, and the gravy went bitter. Stop at 3 to 4 minutes.
No charcoal: skip the dhungar. Char the paneer and peppers well, then stir in 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika off the heat.
Almond swap: blanch 12 almonds, peel, and blend with the onion-tomato mix. The gravy will taste a little less sweet.
Jain: skip onion and garlic. Bloom a pinch of hing with the cumin, use 2 cups chopped tomato, and blend 16 to 18 cashews so the gravy still has body. Skip the onion petals. Keep the dhungar.
Vegan: extra-firm tofu, patted dry and seared, instead of paneer; oil only; cashew cream instead of dairy cream.
Make the gravy up to 2 days ahead without paneer and without smoke. Reheat, add soaked paneer and peppers, then do the dhungar right before serving.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat on low with a splash of water or milk. The smoky smell fades by day two. Do not freeze. Paneer turns rubbery and the cream can split.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!