Aloo Paneer Recipe

What do you do when you have potatoes (aloo) and Indian cottage cheese (Paneer) at home, and you want to stir-up a rather quick yet tasty gravy-based dish with both these ingredients? You follow this Aloo Paneer recipe – an easy to prepare yummy curry made with the universal favourite aloo and soft paneer – pair it up with your choice of Indian bread or a simple rice dish and enjoy a super hearty meal.

About Aloo Paneer

A lot of people might associate India majorly with being one kind of a spicy-gravy-consuming-nation, but that’s a misnomer. When talking of gravies and curries, it is quite right to say that India is as diverse in its curries as it is in its people, traditions and cultures.

This Aloo Paneer recipe is my rendition of a Punjabi Aloo Paneer masala, that’s a lot more – it is a creamy, tangy, rightly spiced onion-tomato based gravy which has chunks of aloo and paneer dunked in it. I have also added cashews to the gravy due to which it oozes richness.

In case you don’t have cashews, you can easily substitute it with blanched almonds. To elevate the texture, taste and mouthfeel of this Aloo Paneer even further, you can also opt to add fresh cream in it. This is just going to turn the recipe into a dish of royalty.

Since this Aloo Paneer recipe has a tomato-based gravy, the most important thing that you must keep in mind is to use ripe and red tomatoes, for the right flavor and zing. Using extremely sour or even just sour tomatoes can alter the taste drastically. Allergic to dairy? No worries, go ahead and make this curry with tofu instead of paneer.

Finish this Aloo Paneer with a sprinkle of dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) and some garam masala powder, and voila! You have a dish that screams deliciousness. Pair it up with Roti or Phulka, any paratha of your choice, Naan, Jeera Rice, Peas pulao or Saffron rice and indulge!

How to make Aloo Paneer

1. Firstly chop 1 medium onion (about ⅓ cup chopped onions), 2 medium to large tomatoes (about 1 cup chopped tomatoes), 1 inch ginger, 2 to 3 small to medium garlic cloves and 1 or 2 green chilies.

2. Then add all the chopped ingredients (onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chilies) in a mixer or blender jar. Also, add 15 cashews.

If you want, you can soak cashews in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes and then add.

3. Blend or grind to a smooth paste without adding any water.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Add 1 tej patta.

5. Then add the ground onion-tomato-cashew paste. Be careful as the mixture splutters. So keep the heat to low when adding this paste. Mix very well.

6. Keep a lid on the pan allowing some steam to pass out, as this masala paste splutters a lot. Do check at intervals if the masala paste has stopped spluttering or not, and give a stir.

7. When the mixture stops spluttering, remove the lid.

8. Now add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder and ½ to 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder.

9. Mix very well and sauté till you see oil releasing from the sides of the masala paste.

10. Now add chopped potatoes. Chop 2 medium-sized potatoes in smaller size so that they cook faster.

11. Add salt as per taste.

12. Mix very well.

13. Add 1.5 to 1.75 cups water.

14. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the potatoes on a medium-low to medium heat. Do check while the potatoes are cooking and if required add water.

15. Once done, check the potatoes by sliding a fork or knife through a few pieces. The knife should slide in easily. Once potatoes are fork tender and gravy is done, you will see some oil specks on top of the gravy.

16. Add 200 grams cottage cheese (paneer), cut in cubes.

17. Add ¼ teaspoon crushed dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) and ½ teaspoon garam masala powder.

18. Mix very well and switch off the heat.

19. Lastly, add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.

20. Serve Aloo Paneer with chapati, phulka, paratha or naan. You can also have it with jeera rice, peas pulao or saffron rice.

Expert Tips

1. You can substitute cashews in this Aloo Paneer curry with blanched almonds. Soak almonds in hot water for 30 minutes. Later peel them and then add while grinding.
2. You can use tofu instead of paneer.
3. If you want to add peas then you can check this recipe – Aloo Matar Paneer.
4. You can adjust the water in the gravy according to the consistency you prefer. For a medium consistency or a slightly thinner gravy, add more water.
5. You can also use a pressure cooker or Instant pot to save time in cooking the potatoes. Add less water if cooking potatoes in the Instant pot or pressure cooker.
6. You can add 2 tablespoons cream while adding dry fenugreek leaves and garam masala powder. This makes the Aloo Paneer recipe richer.
7. If the gravy tastes sour, then add ¼ to ½ teaspoon sugar or 2 to 3 tablespoons cream.
8. If you plan to serve Aloo Paneer with rice, then you can add some more water to make a medium to slightly thin consistency gravy.

This Aloo Paneer post from the archives first published on Jun 2017 has been updated and republished May 2022.