Restaurant Style Paneer Pasanda | Stuffed Cottage Cheese in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Paneer Pasanda is a rich and creamy delicacy from Mughlai Cuisine wherein stuffed fried cottage cheese cubes/triangles are dunked in a luscious tomato & cashew based gravy. This is a perfect recipe for parties, get-togethers and festive occasions.

Well, paneer or cottage cheese is one ingredient that is so so versatile. There are literally an endless number of recipes that can be cooked with it; palak paneer, shahi paneer, paneer butter masala, paneer tikka, kadhai paneer, matar paneer, paneer kofta and paneer bhurji are some of the common ones that are cooked most often at homes.

Coming to Paneer Pasanda, making it is slightly complex and time consuming when compared to other paneer dishes. But, just in case you want to add a variety to your usual paneer accompaniments, it makes for a perfect dish to go on your menu. It is one recipe that was long-due on my to-do list and fortunately I got the opportunity to make it last Saturday for a small get-together at our place. Shallow fried cottage cheese cubes with a spicy stuffing of green chutney, raisins and few nuts complemented so well with the luscious, creamy and mildly sweet gravy. Believe me, this dish turned out to be the showstopper and got vanished from the dinner table in no time.   

There are two stages that are involved in making Paneer Pasanda; first, the gravy and second, stuffed and fried paneer pieces. To ease the process, I made the gravy a day earlier and continued with the second stage the following day. Normally you would see paneer in the shape of triangles in Paneer Pasanda, but that is all upto you how you want to shape them. I have kept them plain and simple by cutting them into squares. Also, I have not used any khoya or mawa in the stuffing just to cut down on the calorie factor. You are free to add the same to your stuffing if you wish to.

Onto the recipe now......

Paneer Pasanda

Ingredients

• Large onion (roughly chopped) - 1
• Cashews - 10 to 12
• Garlic cloves - 3 to 4
• Poppy seeds - 1 tbsp
• Ginger (roughly chopped) - 2 inch
• Paneer - 250 gms
• Tomatoes (roughly chopped) - 6 to 7
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
• Green cardamom - 3 to 4
• Cinnamon stick - 2 inch
• Bay leaf - 1
• Pepper corns - 6 to 8
• Cloves - 3 to 4
• Mace - 2 thin strands
• Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
• Honey - 1 tbsp (can be adjusted as per own preference)
• Salt - as per taste
• Red chili powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
• Crushed kasoori methi - 1 to 2 tsp
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Fresh cream (optional) - 2 tbsp
• Oil or Butter - 2 tbsp + for shallow frying
• Cornflour - 1/2 cup

For stuffing

• Grated paneer - 2 tbsp
• Coriander-mint chutney - 2 tbsp
• Chopped cashews - 1/2 tbsp
• Chopped raisins - 1/2 tbsp
• Finely chopped carrot (optional) - 1 tbsp
• Finely chopped french beans (optional) - 1 tbsp
• Finely chopped green chilies - 1
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Paneer Pasanda

Method

1. In a saucepan, add chopped onions, cashews, garlic cloves, ginger and poppy seeds along with a glass of water. Bring all to a boil till the cashews are softened. This would take about 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Let it cool down; strain and grind to a smooth puree. Keep aside.
3. Next, blend tomatoes to a fine puree and keep aside.
4. In a wok or a pan, heat some oil. Add all the whole spices. As they change color, throw in the onion paste.
5. Keep stirring till the paste turns golden brown. Because of cashews and poppy seeds, paste may stick to the pan, therefore, stirring it in between is important.
6. Season with salt and all the spice powders except kasoori methi. Saute for few seconds.
7. Add the tomato puree. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes you will see oil separating. Turn off the flame and let the masala cool down to room temperature.
8. Discard the bay leaf and grind the remaining masala to a fine paste.
9. Strain it through a fine mesh to get a smooth gravy.
10. Pour the gravy into the pan. Add milk and bring to boil on medium heat.
11. After one boil, lower the flame, add tomato ketchup, some cream and kasoori methi powder. Give a nice stir and switch off the flame.
12. Let's begin with making the pasanda stuffing.
13. In a pan, heat the oil. Add chopped raisins and nuts. Dish them out once they turn golden. Keep aside.
14. In the same pan, add chopped green chilies, carrots and green beans. Also add salt and saute for 5 minutes or until the veggies just turn a little soft. Add the grated paneer and mix well.
15. Pulse it in a grinder along with green chutney to a coarse paste. Make sure it is of spreadable consistency and not runny.
16. Mix in the browned nuts and raisins. Stuffing is ready.
17. Slice the paneer into about 3"x4" strips.
18. Spread the stuffing on a slice. Cover with another slice to make a sandwich.
19. Mix cornflour with 3 to 4 tbsp of water to make a thick paste/slurry. Simultaneously heat some oil a pan.
20. Divide the paneer sandwich into half. You can also cut into triangles.
21. Gently dip the paneer sandwich into the cornflour slurry and drop into medium hot oil to shallow fry. Repeat the same for all remaining sandwiches.
22. Let the sandwich turn golden from the bottom. Then gently flip over. Do this very gently as the stuffing may come out.
23. Drain them out on an absorbent paper.
24. Add these mini paneer sandwiches in the gravy and serve hot. They go really well with some parantha or naan on the side.

Paneer Pasanda

Recipe Notes

1. You may skip adding cream and milk altogether for a low-cal gravy.
2. For vegan option, paneer can be replaced with tofu.

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If you happen to make this recipe, kindly leave me a comment or a feedback. You can also share your recipe pics with me on Facebook; I would love to see your creations!!