Gleaming Grilled and Glazed Paneer

And I rate supermarket fruit yogurts

I love paneer. I love that it’s an impossibly cheap form of protein that can be the centre of a meal. I love that it keeps in the fridge for weeks so I can always have a block in stock and feel safe. And I love its versatility (fry it, mash it or braise it). This recipe takes everything I’ve learnt about paneer over my time cooking with it, and brings it all together in one fun and easy centrepiece. Further down, I’m rating supermarket fruit yogurts.

This dish is one I have had on my list of recipes to develop for at least a year. It’s been in my head ever since I ate the Buffalo Milk Paneer from Bibi Restaurant, which for me is probably London’s best fancy Indian restaurant (along with Jamavar, but the two are doing very different things).

We ate there for my birthday a few years ago and the paneer was my favourite of the dishes we had, along with this amazing bhel puri.

Obviously, buffalo milk is hard to come by, and although I think I have attempted it once, making my own paneer did not feel like a step I was willing to take right now. The goal of my current dinners is to be quick, easy and full of protein. And so, for this dish we use a block of shop-bought paneer (I usually go for this one), and we brine it in a boiling water brine for 30 minutes to an hour, which if you’ve ever tried my other paneer recipes you’ll know is something I do every time I use the stuff. It rehydrates the cheese in a beautiful way making it so much more pleasant to fry and more importantly, to eat.

Next, it gets briefly marinated in a delicious masala spice mix. I happened to have a packet in my cupboard but you can make your own (see below), and don’t worry if you don’t have every single spice, it’ll still be brilliant.

We then cook it in a hot pan on all sides in oil and brush it with butter as it cooks, before glazing it with honey and a chilli, onion topping, which offers the perfect spicy crunch and makes the whole thing look magnificent. We ate ours with my Saag Aloo and rice, but I can't wait to have it with naan too. It’s tender, fresh, and the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. And it demonstrates why paneer can take on halloumi, and win.

Grilled Paneer with a Chilli Honey Glaze

1 block of paneer
3 tsp kebab masala (buy in a packet or see below*)
1/4 small onion, finely diced
4 skinny green chillies, deseeded and finely diced
3 tsp runny honey
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
Lemon wedges, to serve

For the sauce
A handful of coriander
A tsp of the diced green chilli from above
2 tsp mint sauce/chutney
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 pinch black salt (or regular salt)

1. Cut the block of paneer in half vertically, place both pieces in a medium-sized bowl and soak in boiling water to just cover (about 500ml). Add 5 tsp flaky salt or 2 tsp fine salt. This will sound like a lot but you need the water to be like a brine to really season the paneer, as it wont be getting cooked in a sauce.

2. After 30 mins - 1 hour, remove the paneer and rub it with 2 tsp kebab masala. Leave for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the coriander chutney by blending all the ingredients (add a splash of water and a splash of oil if needed) until smooth.

3. Now grill the paneer. Coat it lightly in a little cornflour then heat up the tbsp oil in a hot (preferably cast iron) pan. Add both pieces of paneer into the oil and turn the heat on the pan down. Cook the paneer carefully on all sides until golden brown. I found this easiest carefully picking it up with my fingers to get each side cooked, but use two spatulas if preferred. Brush the paneer with the butter on one of its larger faces and dust 1 more tsp of kebab masala before turning it over on its opposite side to finish cooking.

4. Meanwhile, combine 2 tsp honey with the finely diced onion and chilli in a small bowl.

5. To serve, spread the coriander chutney between two plates then top with the grilled paneer (place the golden-most side up). Brush with a tsp of butter and then a tsp of honey, and top with the chilli honey dressing and some flaky salt. Serve with lemon for squeezing over and enjoy!

*To make your own kebab masala, mix 1 tsp of ground coriander, chilli powder, cumin, ground ginger, black pepper, cardamom, turmeric with ½ tsp cinnamon, paprika, nutmeg, cloves, amchur (mango powder), garlic powder (optional) and caraway seed in a small jar. Grind up any whole seeds (cardamom, cloves) well. This will make enough to cook the above dish 4 times, so even though it seems like a palaver it’ll pay you back.

If you too love paneer, you might enjoy my Paneer Jalfrezi and Paneer Malai Kofta recipes.

Fruit Yogurts: Judged

My pregnancy cravings have mostly been of the sweet variety. I now near the end of at least 5 months of enjoying fruit yogurts every other day, and here I rate my supermarket choices for you, for the hell of it.

Fruit yogurts come in all shapes and sizes, but my particular hankering was for the individual pots of yogurt either where the yogurt sat on top of the fruit compote, or the compote was pre-mixed. The results are limited to the supermarkets within a walking distance of my house. If you have a favourite supermarket fruit yogurt I should try, I would truly love to know about it.

From the top:

1. Aldi’s Mango & Passion Fruit Farmhouse Yogurt, 69p for 125g - 4/10
   Love the glass jar because it feels like I’ve bought it in a French supermarket. Love the thicker than average yogurt that tops this bad boy. But sadly the mango and passionfruit compote is just way too sweet and lets the side down dramatically.

2. Aldi’s Sicilian Lemon Luxury Yogurt, 59p for 150g - 7/10
   Great flavour, love the generous portion size and the bargainous price. It being citrus flavour there is no texture to the fruit but nor should there be.

3. Bonne Maman Apricot Yogurts, Sainsbury’s, £2.75 for 4 x 125g - 6/10

   Great texture to the compote here, there is actual fruit in it. Sadly the yogurt itself is on the thin side. Disappointing – I suggest only buying when on Nectar price.

4. Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Black Cherry Yogurts, £95p for 150g - 10/10

   This is a perfect example of a fruit yogurt to me. There are actual discernible pieces of fruit in it, the cherry flavour is the right side of sweet and the yogurt is thick and tart. Only thing letting it down? The extortionate price.

5. Aldi’s Blueberry & Blackcurrant Layered Yogurt, 69p for 150g - 5/10

   This one has all the right things going for it texturally but again, the compote itself is just too sweet and needs more tartness. Sad really.

6. Aldi’s Yellow Peach Luxury Yogurt, 59p for 150g - 10/10

   This is the yogurt I have eaten the most. I’m a sucker for a peach flavoured yogurt, but this also gets top marks for price, texture, and the ratio of fruit to yogurt. A shining example of a fruit yogurt.

7. Tesco’s Finest Roasted Hazelnut Yogurt, 95p for 150g - 7/10

   Of course hazelnuts are not strictly a fruit, but this deserves its place in the list for pure creaminess. The hazelnut is in tiny diced form, and I like the novelty of that.

8. Tesco’s Finest Black Cherry Yogurt, 95p for 150g - 10/10

   They say it’s thick and creamy on the packaging and they’re not lying. Great flavour and great texture. It’s expensive, but still impossible to say no to. Probably made in the same factory as the Sainsbury’s one, let’s get real.

9. Aldi’s Cherry Farmhouse Yogurt, 69p for 125g - 8/10

   This is a very good, creamy yogurt, in gorgeous packaging. It’s only let down by the thinness of its compote.

Over and out!