Paneer Balti with Shrimp

I love curry. I found a wonderful recipe using shrimp and paneer (recipe here). Recently, I learned how to make paneer, which is a cheese curd.  It is very much like cottage cheese.  The best thing about it is that paneer is very easy to make.  It consists of two ingredients: milk and lemon juice.  Make the paneer the day before you plan to use it in a recipe and the curry will be done in no time. This curry is very smooth and you can adjust the heat to your taste. I think that this recipe is going to be one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

1 lb of raw shrimp, peeked and deveined

6 ounces of paneer

2 TBS tomato paste

4 TBS Greek yogurt

½ to 1 tsp hot chili powder

1 tsp garlic paste

Salt to taste

2 tsp mango powder

1 tsp ground coriander

1 stick of butter

1 tbs vegetable oil

1-3 fresh green chillies, seeded and chopped

3 TBS cilantro, chopped

1 cup of light or heavy cream

Peel the shrimp and cube the paneer, set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add the tomato paste, yogurt, garam masala, chilli powder, garlic, salt, mango powder, and coriander, mix well. Set aside.

Melt the butter and oil in a large wok or deep pan.  Lower the heat and fry the paneer for a couple of minutes.  Drain on a paper towel.  Set aside.

Pour the spice mixture into the wok and mix well. Cook for a minute. Add the paneer and the shrimp.  Cook on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked through. Add the fresh chillies, cilantro, and cream.  Mix well and leave on the heat until it is heated through.  Serve with plain rice and a salad. Enjoy!