Paneer Tikka Masala

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 liters of whole milk
• 1 large lemon(s)
• 1 tsp, heaped salt
• 5 cm ginger
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 400 g natural yogurt
• 2 bell peppers, green and red
• 14 cashew nuts
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• oil
• 2 tbsp, heaped paprika powder
• 1 tbsp, heaped Tandoori Masala
• 1 tbsp, sautéed cumin
• 1 tbsp, heaped fenugreek
• 1 tsp, leveled cumin powder
• ½ tsp, leveled turmeric powder
• 1 tsp, heaped coriander powder
• 1 tsp, heaped salt
• some rapeseed oil
• 1 tsp, heaped garam masala
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• 400 ml tomato(s), pureed
• 200 ml cream
• 1 tsp, leveled cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp, heaped garam masala
• ½ tsp, heaped cumin powder
• 2 tsp, heaped paprika powder
• ½ tsp, leveled turmeric
• 1 tbsp, heaped Tandoori Masala
• 1 bunch of coriander

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 4 hours

Fermi’s style – with homemade Indian cream cheese

For the paneer or cream cheese, prepare a large colander in the sink and line it with a clean cheesecloth, cheesecloth, or tea towel. Bring the whole milk to a boil in a large saucepan with the heaped teaspoon of salt and add the lemon juice. Stir gently and simmer for 2 minutes, until the cheese has settled. Pour through the prepared colander. Once the water has drained, fold the cloth over the cheese, place a large bowl on top, and fill it with water to weigh it down. After about 2 hours or more, it’s ready to slice. It’s best to cut it into cubes about 2 x 2 cm. Drain the yogurt. To create a kind of spiced coating around the cheese and not a sauce, the yogurt should be more solid than runny. If it isn’t, hang a cloth in a colander and let the yogurt drain for about 2 hours. Like the cheese, it will fall out of the tea towel without sticking to it. For the garlic and ginger paste, peel the garlic and ginger and roughly chop. Process in a blender or mortar until a paste or finely chopped. Divide into two portions. One portion is for the sauce and one for the marinade. For the cashew paste, soak the cashews in about 100 ml of water for about 10 minutes. Blend with half the water in a blender or with a hand blender until puree. Add the yogurt, roughly diced bell pepper and onion, and the spices for the marinade and mix well. Carefully stir in the paneer and marinate for about 30 minutes. Heat a non-stick pan in 2-4 pan loads with about 3 tablespoons of oil and add the marinated pieces one at a time over 3/4 heat. Be patient and only turn one side over a golden brown, otherwise the marinade will fall off. Then scoop it out. Put salted water on the boil for the rice. If desired, add some cumin seeds, turmeric, or saffron. Cook according to the package instructions. For the sauce, briefly fry the chopped onion in a little oil in the same pan. Add the garlic, ginger, and cashew paste and fry for 1 minute. Stir well. Add the spices and seeds for the sauce and fry for 2 minutes. Stir in the passata and cream and simmer for about 5 minutes. It can be thick. Either mix it with the fried paneer and vegetables and reheat briefly, or serve both separately with rice. This keeps the paneer crispier. Pick the leaves from the coriander and add them to the sauce. Naan, poppadums, and mango lassi go wonderfully with it.