Dhaba Style Paneer Masala Amritsari is an authentic recipe of a popular Amritsari Dhaba. Being Amritsar my in-laws place, this recipe is a must for me to share on my blog;). This recipe follows a simple yet authentic and little time taking process. Adding no exceptional ingredients still we get a mouth-licking paneer gravy. Dhaba Style Paneer gravy has a special craze across India, especially in North India.
Dhaba way of preparing the gravy is popular because of its rich, creamy and authentic flavor. However, it does not include any fancy ingredients. It has a thick creamy and spicy gravy with the authenticity of Amritsar and love for food. 😉
Dhaba Style Paneer Masala Amritsari
Here I am sharing the rich creamy and authentic Dhaba style Paneer masala amritsari recipe from one of the most popular Dhaba in Amritsar. The gravy includes no fancy ingredients rather the key is only the authentic process to be followed.
Equipment
- flat bottom pan
- Deep bowl
Ingredients
- 250 gms Paneer Cut into big cubes
For gravy tadka
- 3 Onion/ Pyaz finely chopped
- 3 Tomatoes/ tamatar finely chopped/ grated
- 1/2 inch ginger/ adrak finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic/ lehsun finely chopped
- 1 green chilli/ hari mirch finely chopped
- 1/2 cup curd/ dahi whisked/ fenta hua
Khade Masale
- 1 Dried chilli/ sookhi lal mirch
- 3-4 Cloves/ Laung
- 4-5 Black pepper/ Kali mirch
- 1 Badi elaichi
- 3-4 Cardamom/ Choti elaichi
- 1 inch cinnamon/ dalchini
- 1 tej patta
- 1 tsp cumin seeds/ jeera
Sookhe Masale
- 2 tbsp Coriander Powder/ Dhania Powder
- 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder/ lal mirch powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Lal Mirch
- 1 tsp Roasted Jeera Powder
- 2 tbsp Besan
- 1 tsp Haldi Powder
Instructions
Shallow fry Paneer cubes
- Heat some oil in a flat base pan. Shallow fry the paneer cubes till golden brown. Flip the sides when required.
- Take water in a deep bottom pan, add some salt in it. Dip the shallow fried paneer cubes in this salty water.
For gravy
- Take a Pan on medium heat, dry roast all the Khada masalas till a nice aroma starts coming.
- Add some desi ghee in this pan and also, the leftover oil. Let the khada masalas crackle.
- Add finely chopped onion, roast them on medium heat. When they are 60% done, add finely chopped garlic, ginger and green chilies, along with haldi powder. Again, roast it till it is golden brown.
- Now, it is the turn to add grated tomatoes, along with the salt. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or till the oil comes out of the masala gravy.
- Add sookhe masale other than haldi (because we have added it earlier) and cook for 2-3 minutes so that the besan gets cooked and the raw taste and smell of besan goes away.
- Add beaten curd and mix.
- Finally, it is the turn to add garam masala and roasted kasuri methi.
- Add some water if your masala is sticking to the bottom and to adjust the consistency of your gravy.
- Cover with a lid and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
- At the end, add shallow fried paneer cubes to the gravy. Mix generously. And let it cook for 4-5 minutes with the cover lid on.
- And with this, your Dhaba Style Paneer Masala Amritsari is ready to serve. It goes very well with naan, chapati or lachcha paratha.
Notes
Dhaba Style Paneer Masala Amritsari is a must try recipe. With very little and routine ingredients, you can make a yummy, mouth-licking, authentic Dhaba Paneer recipe. Directly from a very old and popular Dhaba of Amritsar(North India), to your kitchens. It is a SUPER WOW recipe in my home. 🙂 So, just give it a try. The trick is no fancy ingredient, but the authentic way is the key to this yummy recipe. Some points are to be considered:
- Firstly, please fine chop the onions rather than making a gravy. Because in traditional times, people believed in doing work with hands rather than machines.
- Secondly, don’t use sour curd. And, whisk it before using.
- Thirdly, please don’t skip the use of besan.
- most importantly, please cook the onions properly at medium heat. It may take 15-20 minutes. The slow cooking of onions bring out a sweet flavor, which is the key to this recipe.