DIY Cooking Lesson Part 4 - Chicken / Paneer Masala

Chicken / Paneer Masala

Instructions in blue are to make Chicken Masala only, those in red are for Paneer Masala only.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1 Onion

200g Chicken in 1 inch cubes

200g Paneer in 1 inch cubes

Pinch chili powder

¼ tsp cumin powder

¼ tsp coriander powder

Pinch turmeric powder

1 green cardamom seed

2 black peppercorns

1 dried bay leaf

1 clove

Small section of cinnamon stick (around 1.5cm)

1 tomato

Small amount dried tamarind

50g dried coconut

100g coconut milk powder

4 curry leaves

Few stalks of fresh coriander

1 clove of garlic

A little grated ginger (less than ¼ tsp)

Salt

Vegetable oil

Method

1. Fry sliced onion in 1 tbsp oil

2. Add cardamom, peppercorns, bay leaf, cinnamon and clove to pan

3. Add curry leaves, if you have them, to the pan

4. Add 50g dried coconut

5. Slice and dice tomato and add to pan

6. Add all of the other spices, garlic and ginger

7. Put the contents of the pan into a blender, add around ½ cup of water and blend until very smooth and relatively thin.

8. Add the chicken to another pan and fry in a small amount of oil

9. Add 100g of coconut milk powder and a glug more of water into the blender and mix again.

10. Once the chicken is white all over and nearly cooked add the sauce from the blender and continue to simmer for around 10 minutes until the chicken is tender.

11. Shallow fry the cubed paneer in 1 tsp oil until browned lightly then add to the sauce which has already been heated for a while. There is no need for the mixture to simmer in this case.

12. Add more water to the sauce to thin it (around ½ cup) and ½ tsp salt (before simmering) (before heating the sauce)

13. Add a few stalks of fresh coriander, finely chopped, to the pan, cooking them lightly before serving.

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