Healthy Paneer Butter Masala

Tonight I made Paneer butter masala with Naan and Pulav and it turned out to be quite a delightful dinner! The paneer butter masala was especially for Deb.. Frankly speaking i don't even know why i call this dish paneer butter masala as it had nothing called 'butter' in it..well..i think i call it so just because it becomes easy to relate to this dish which is found in almost every restaurant possible in India. If you happen to be an Indian you will truely understand what i mean by this.. coz when in confusion as to what to eat.. there is 85% chance that one might pick this dish..! Well coming to the point..why i call it healthy is because traditionally this dish has some considerable amount of Butter,Cashewnuts,Poppy seeds and yes ofcourse Cream which i have tried not to use. However i must say the taste is good enough to stay away from those sinful indulgances..

Recipe:
The ingredients can be easily classified into 2 Sets. Let me call them Set1 & Set2
Set1:
Paneer - 1/4 kg
Curd - 1-1/2 cup
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Salt
Chilly Powder- 1 tsp
Kashmiri Mirch Powder - 1 tsp (incase you dont have u can still continue ;-0 )
Coriander Powder - 1-1/2 tsp
Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1-1/2 tsp
Oil- 1 spoon
Soak all the above in curd for 1 hour.

Set 2:
Onions - 3( make paste and keep it ready)
Tomato pulp of 3 tomatoes (you can also use tomato puree incase you want to avoid the hassle of getting the tomato pulp without skin)
Sugar -1 tsp
Cloves- 2
Cardamom- 1
Cinnamon - 1
Bay Leaves- 1
Kasuri methi(can be substituted for fresh mint leaves)1/2 tsp
Chilly Powder1 tsp
Coriander Powder1 tsp
Jeera Powder1/2 tsp
Garam Masala1/4 tsp
Turmeric
Coriander Leaves

How to cook:
Transfer Set 1 in a heavy bottom pan and boil till paneer is soft and cookded. The raw taste of garam masala and coriander is gone. This should take 6-7 min and you can let this boil while you make the gravy from ingredients of Set 2.

1.For the gravy take a little oil in a wok & add sugar, when the sugar turns brown in colour
add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves & cardamom to it.
2.When they start spluttering, add the onion paste to it & fry for few minutes.
3.Then add the tomato paste & fry till they are done.
4.Add chill powder, turmeric, salt, coriander powder, jeera powder as needed for the gravy.
5.Allow it to boil for sometime.
6.Add kasoori methi or fresh mint leaves to it.
7.Take the paneer mix that is Set 1 & pour it in the gravy & mix gently.
You can add 1/2 cup of water according to the consistency you want.
Take it off the stove & garnish with coriander leaves.

You can also make the same dish with Button Mushrooms instead of Paneer.

By the way..this seems a little complicated..but when u actually start doing it....you will feel you will not have to refer to this recipe again to reproduce this dish . And yes..for all those who want to make it on special occasions to impress your guests..you can add butter instead of oil while cooking and after step 6 add paste of 1 Tbsp poppy seeds and cashewnuts(both roasted). And some cream towards the end..!! And a knob of butter before serving... But yeah..disclaimer attached...an extra workout of 30 min for next 3 days will do justice to this indulgance...just kidding..it's only food afterall... Smile while you eat..and your tummy smiles with you..!!!

*To make tomato pulp, gently make a cross on the tomato using a sharp knife. The cross should be just like they way you would cut to get four lenth-wise quarters. Don't make a deep cut, it should be just enough to cut the outer skin. Now in boiling water add these tomatoes and boil for a 1 -2 min, till you see the skin peeling off. Remove from water and take off the peel. Cut the tomato length-wise and scoop out the seeds. Now blend the flesh you are left with.