Chaman Kaliya: Paneer in yellow gravy

Serves: 4

When I was travelling in Kashmir, many restaurants, hotels and home cooks were using paneer and cooking it in ways I wasn’t used to. This particular recipe was inspired by my friends Amit and Prateek’s parents, whom I met when they were visiting Kashmir. I had never eaten paneer this way before. This beautiful, tasty bowl of yellow sunshine is so good that you will be going back for seconds. A simple yet delectable dish.

You’ll need:

● 3 tbsp mustard oil

● 500g (1lb 2oz) paneer, cut into cubes

● 8 green cardamom pods

● 4 black cardamom pods

● 4 cloves

● 1 tsp brown cumin seeds

● 2–3 dried bay leaves

● ½ tsp asafoetida powder

● 1 tsp ground turmeric

● 1 tsp ground ginger

● 1½ tsp ground fennel

● 1 tsp salt

● 2 whole green chillies, halved lengthways

● 300 ml (10fl oz) hot water

● 300 ml (10fl oz) full-fat (whole) milk

● 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

● Steamed rice, to serve

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the paneer and fry until light brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Add all the whole spices and bay leaves to the pan and cook for one minute, then add the asafoetida, turmeric, ginger, fennel, salt and halved chillies. Cook, stirring, for one minute, then pour in the hot water. Increase the heat and bring to the boil.

3. Now reduce the heat back to medium, add the fried paneer and cook for three minutes.

4. Pour in the milk and cook for a further five to six minutes until the gravy thickens. Mix through the dried fenugreek leaves and remove from the heat.

5. Serve with rice.