Vegan Paneer Tikka Masala
On day 3 of our Indian cuisine week, I am so delighted to be able to share with you this wonderful Indian recipe! We were both happy that this “food order” made last week by my husband turned out so tasty and satisfying. It seemed first though that luck was not with me … after failing several times to make a well set and firm enough Homemade Vegan Paneer. So I had already been thinking of throwing this idea over board and use a common tofu block instead … But this morning I cut the third try-out and it was firm enough to be cut into nice cubes. What a relieve! 🙂
What is so special about this Vegan Paneer Tikka Masala recipe?
First of all, all ingredients are homemade! The garam masala spice mix, the vegan cream cheese as substitute for greek style vegan yogurt and the paneer. You don’t need to stress yourself to do the same, as it took almost 2 days. But if you happen to have the time, I highly recommend giving it a try!
Secondly, I have full control over the ingredients. This seems to be weird, but I often find myself in trouble when we go to Indian restaurants because everything is just too spicy for my sensitive tongue and throat! The kind waiters or waitresses always firmly assure that the cook CAN make it NOT spicy, but in the end … I burn like a nice Christmas candle! Preparing this Vegan Paneer Tikka Masala myself today, I saw why. It is the spice mix. You cannot take out the chili powder when the gravy is already prepared and the paneer already marinated …!
The Ingredients for this Vegan Paneer Tikka Masala
- Homemade Garam Masala spice mix – please see my Homemade Garam Masala Powder (non-spicy) or indianhealthyrecipes.com for a further detailed instruction! I was so fortunate to have a garam masala whole spice mix at home that a friend of ours once had brought, so the only thing that I had to do was roast the mix, let it cool down and grind it finely (I used our immersion blender with a towel wrapped around to prevent the spices from spreading all over the kitchen and a fine sieve). There are plenty of good quality spice mixes in the stores, but I prefer to decide myself about the content of my food. Furthermore I cannot eat chili, and usualy the indian spice mixes contain chili powder.
- Homemade Vegan Paneer – see this recipe for further instructions. You can replace it with tofu if you don’t have the time to make your own paneer. I haven’t tried it with tofu yet though, and I believe that the overall Paneer experience could be suffering from a too firm texture and stronger particular soy taste, but it should be ok too. Please leave a comment and share in case you want to give it a try!
- Homemade vegan cream cheese – see this blog post for instructions. Alternatively, you can use storebought vegan yogurt (best if greek style yogurt!)
- Fresh ginger
- Paprika powder (here you can use Chili powder if you like it spicy)
- Turmeric powder
- Lemon juice (only if you are not using yogurt)
- Sesame or sunflower oil (I used them both)
- Ripe Tomatos
- Almonds, blanched and soaked overnight – this is only necessary if your blending device is not strong enough to very finely blend the nuts (traditionally, they use Cashews, but I am a bit sensitive to them, so I tried with almonds and it is as delicious as with cashews)
- Salt
- Basmati Rice
- Cumin seeds, bay leaves (optional)
I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did! Now let’s get started …
Vegan Paneer Tikka Masala
Equipment
- 1 immersion blender or other blending device
Ingredients
For the paneer
- 1/2 block homemade vegan paneer see the notes or the blog post text for instructions! Alternatively you can use tofu.
- 3 tbsp homemade vegan cream cheese see the notes below or the blog post text for further instructions! Alternatively you can use storebought soy yogurt, best greek style.
- 1/2 tsp paprika powder (or, to make it spicy, red chili powder)
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped and mashed
- 3/4 tsp (homemade) garam masala powder see the notes below or the blog post text above for the recipe!
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp oil sesame or sunflower
- 1/2-1 tsp lemon juice depending on the sourness of your yogurt or cream cheese
- salt
For the gravy
- 1 tbsp oil
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- 16 blanched almonds or raw cashews alternatively 1,5 handfuls of slices almonds
- 2 tsp paprika powder
- 1,5 tsp homemade garam masala powder see the notes below or the blog post text above for the recipe!
- 2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped and mashed
- salt (amount to taste)
For the rice
- 3/4 cup good quality basmati rice
- 1 tsp cumin seeds optional
- 1 bay laurel optional
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Soak the rice
- Wash well the rice, until the water turns clear. Soak it in abundant water for approximately 1 hour.
Marinate the paneer
- In a bowl or pot, mix the cream cheese or yogurt, the spices, the ginger, the lemon juice (if using a mild cream product) and half of the oil (1 tsp) together. Carefully place the paneer cubes in the marinate and coat them softly on all sides. Set aside.
Prepare the gravy
- Cut the tomatos in small cubes. Drain well the almonds or cashews (if you soaked them).
- In a saucepan, heat half of the oil and sautée the tomato cubes together with the almonds or cashews until the tomatoes turned mushy. Stir frequently!
- Add the spices and ca. 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook for another 2 minutes. Take off the heat.
- If you are using a blending cup, let the mixture cool down completely before blending. I used our immersion blender directly in the pot.Blend the tomato mixture with 1 cup of water until creamy.
- Heat the other half of the oil and sautée the ginger for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato mixture, 2/3 cup of water and cook, covered with a lid, until the gravy thickens and the oil starts to collect on the surface. Stir frequently!
Fry the paneer
- In the meantime, fry the paneer cubes in 1 tsp oil on high flame. See that you brown them nicely on all sides, turning them carefully. Take off the heat and set aside.
Cook the rice
- Sieve the rice.
- Bring 5 cups of slightly salted water together with the oil, the cumin seeds and the bay laurel (optional) to a boil. Carefully add the rice, stir only once or twice to prevent the corns from braking. Cook the rice on low flame until it is still slightly al dente and not overcooked. You have to try a corn from time to time, as the cooking time varies from rice type to rice type!
- Once the rice had your desired consistency, pour it into a sieve.
Serve
- Warm up the gravy. Place the fried paneer into the gravy, coat them slightly and carefully. Place them on two plates.
- Serve the Vegan Paneer Tikka Masala with the rice aside.
