Freezer Friendly Paneer Curry
The warm combination of spices found in Indian cuisine can’t be beat. But who has time to make a traditional Indian dinner from scratch on a busy weeknight? With the help of this make ahead paneer curry recipe, you can prep all the ingredients for your dinner ahead of time and freeze them until you’re ready to start cooking. That means you can enjoy a classic Indian dinner without all the extra work that comes along with preparing curry from scratch!
The flavors of Indian cuisine are perfect in freezer meals such as this Paneer Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, and Chana Masala.
Paneer Curry Recipe
Ingredients:
- 400 grams paneer
- 14 ounces diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons curry paste
- cilantro
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
For Day of Serving:
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- cilantro
Assembly Instructions:
- Cut paneer into one inch pieces. Warm a skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add butter to the pan and sauté the paneer, flipping to sear all sides, which should take around 6-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, as needed.
- Continue searing the paneer in batches until all the pieces have been cooked. Pat the cooked paneer with a paper towel to remove excess grease, then allow the pieces to cool completely.
- Place the seared pieces in a large resealable bag, along with the diced tomatoes, peas, chopped onion, ginger, minced garlic, curry paste, cilantro and Greek yogurt.
- Squeeze the bag to mix the ingredients together. Remove excess air from the bag, then seal and freeze until you’re ready to start cooking.
Cooking Instructions:
- Transfer the curry ingredients to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Pour the contents of the bag in to a large skillet and cook over medium heat. Before serving, stir in 1/2 cup more Greek yogurt and top with fresh cilantro.
What Is Paneer?
Paneer is a popular northern Indian ingredient. But if you’ve never had curry made with this delicious addition before, you may be wondering what it is. Paneer is a fresh cheese often found in Indian cuisine. The cheese is typically made by combining curdled milk with acidic fruit or vegetable juice, like lemon.
With its mild, milky flavor, paneer helps balance out the spices in a variety of classic Indian dishes, including curry and masala.
Do You Cook Paneer Before Putting It in Curry?
To bring out the flavor in the paneer, it’s a good idea to cook it for a few minutes before adding it to the rest of your curry ingredients. To cook the cheese, start by draining it from any excess liquid in the packaging. Then, sauté the peer in oil or butter until it’s golden on all sides. After that, it’s ready to add to your recipe!
What to Serve with Paneer Curry?
This delicious curry recipe has everything you need for a complete meal. But if you want to round out your dinner with a few sides, try serving it with one of these traditional ideas:
- Rice
- Naan
- Tandoori roti
- Flatbread
- Cucumber salad
- 400 grams paneer
- 14 oz diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup peas frozen
- 1/4 cup onion chopped
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp. curry paste
- cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- cilantro for garnish
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Cut paneer into one inch pieces. Warm a skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add butter to the pan and sauté the paneer, flipping to sear all sides, which should take around 6-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, as needed.
-
Continue searing the paneer in batches until all the pieces have been cooked. Pat the cooked paneer with a paper towel to remove excess grease, then allow the pieces to cool completely.
-
Place the seared pieces in a large resealable bag, along with the diced tomatoes, peas, chopped onion, ginger, minced garlic, curry paste, cilantro and Greek yogurt.
-
Squeeze the bag to mix the ingredients together. Remove excess air from the bag, seal, and freeze.
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Thaw.
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Pour the contents of the bag in to a large skillet and cook over medium heat. Before serving, stir in 1/2 cup more Greek yogurt and top with fresh cilantro.
