Pea and Paneer Curry

Paneer is a special kind of Indian cheese that can be fried without losing its shape. It comes in a brick shape and is available at Indian grocery stores. I served this tasty curry at the Gastronati's Indian night. The recipe's adapted from a British cookbook called Easy Indian by Das Sreedharan.

Pea and Paneer Curry

150 g (5 oz) paneer cheese
vegetable oil for deep-frying
3 small onions or 1 big one, sliced
2.5-cm piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp tomato paste
1 cup of peas
salt

Cut the paneer cheese into 1-centimetre cubes. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the cubes for one or two minutes per side, stirring until golden (about 10 minutes). Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Heat more oil in a large frypan. Add the onions and ginger and fry for about 10 minutes until golden. Add the spices and poppy seeds and cook for two minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another three minutes.

Pour in a cup of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for five minutes and add the peas, fried paneer and salt. Cook for another five minutes and you're done!

Serve hot with chapatis, naan bread or rice.