Paneer Do Pyaza Recipe
Paneer do pyaza is a restaurant style dish made with Indian cottage cheese in onion gravy. It is served with rice, flavored rice or roti, paratha.
Paneer do pyaza is a restaurant style dish made with Indian cottage cheese in onion gravy. It is served with rice, flavored rice or roti, paratha.
- 2 tbsps oil
- â¾ tsp garam masala
- 200 grams paneer
- â¾ cup finely chopped onions
- 1/3 cup chopped tomatoes (1 large or replace with curd)
- 1/3 cup cubed capsicum (any color)
- 7 to 8 cashews
- â½ tsp cumin / jeera
- 2 green cardamoms / elaichi
- 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- â¾ tsp coriander powder/ daniya powder
- â½ tsp salt (use as needed)
- â¾ cup water (use as needed)
- â½ tsp kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 tbsp oil or ghee
- 10 small onions or â¼ heaped cup cubed layers separated
- Carbohydrate 0.227749999345403 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 4.73649999979929 g
- Fiber 0.142500002769342 g
- Protein 0.05108333318651 g
- Saturated Fat 0.316150833297969 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (5g)
- Sodium 4.20833332123778 mg
- Sugar 0.0852499965760607 g
- Trans Fat 0.2168958333001 g
- Calories 43 calories
Step-by-step
- Make a fine puree of capsicum, tomatoes and cashews. Set this aside.
- Add oil to a pan and heat it.
- Add jeera and cardamoms.
- When they splutter, add chopped onions.
- Fry until they turn golden.
- Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
- Pour the tomato puree and saute on a low to medium flame.
- Within minutes the mixture begins to leave the pan.
- Add salt, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala and coriander powder.
- Saute till oil separates. After frying the mixture for few minutes, oil begins to ooze out.
- Pour water and mix well.
- Cook covered until the gravy thickens. Traces of oil would be seen on the gravy.
- Lower the flame completely. Add paneer and sprinkle crushed kasuri methi.
- Cook covered just for 2 to 3 mins. Turn off the stove. Do not overcook the paneer.
- Meanwhile add 1 to 1.5 tbsp oil or ghee to a hot pan. Fry onions and green chiles on a high flame just for 2 to 3 mins. The onions must be partially cooked but must retain the crunch.
- Pour this over the paneer gravy and sprinkle some corainder leaves. You can set aside few onions for garnish.
- Paneer do pyaza is ready to serve.
A list of ingredients never reveals the thermal dynamics required to build a stable emulsion. Whole cashews blended with raw tomatoes and capsicum form the lipid-protein network that thickens this gravy without requiring dairy cream. When you introduce this purée to hot fat, the water content must evaporate completely until the oil separates and glistens on the surface. That visual cue signals that the raw vegetable starches have gelatinized and the acids have mellowed.
Wide heavy-bottomed stainless steel or enameled cast-iron skillets work best for this preparation. Thin aluminum pans create hot spots that burn the ground spices before the aromatics soften. You need enough surface area to spread the chopped onions into a single layer so they brown evenly rather than steam in a crowded pool of moisture. Frying the ginger-garlic paste requires constant movement for approximately sixty seconds until the pungent sulfur compounds dissipate.
The defining characteristic of this dish is dual-texted onions, referenced by the name meaning two onions. Base onions dissolve into the background gravy, while separate chunks or small whole bulbs are flashed in a separate pan on high heat for two to three minutes. Keeping these finishing onions crisp preserves a sharp, pungent bite and a crunchy resistance that contrasts against the tender, heat-sensitive cheese.
Paneer demands precise temperature management during its final addition. Lower the burner completely before introducing the cheese blocks, and cook covered for no longer than 120 seconds. Extended heat exposure tightens the protein matrix in Indian cottage cheese, forcing out internal moisture and converting a soft, yielding texture into rubbery curds.
