This, in my opinion, is the perfect evening meal for a cold, wet November night. Especially if you serve it with a bottle of Cobra Beer and a mountain of sides.
Tikka Masala, though served at most Indian restaurants and takeaways in the UK, isn’t actually an Indian dish. It was invented in Britain to cater to our love of exotic spices, but poor ability to cope with heat from chillies, so it’s flavoursome, but mild (so feel free to add fresh chillies or chilli flakes if you like a bit of heat). It’s now one of England’s national dishes, and is much loved throughout the country.
It’s usually served with chicken, but this is a vegie version, made with Paneer – an Indian cheese, instead. The Paneer doesn’t taste like cheese, it acts like tofu does in dishes – it soaks up all the lovely flavours and provides a different texture to the dish. Paneer can be found in the dairy section of most supermarkets.
I’ve used a Patak’s Spice Paste, but feel free to use whatever brand of curry paste you like.
The marinade takes 30mins, but use this time to wash and chop all your veg, set the table and get your oven heated up, ready for the naan breads, pakoras and bhajis. Or, marinade the Paneer in the morning, or the night before and store it in and airtight container in the fridge.
Leftovers freeze really well in airtight containers, then defrost and reheat in the microwave. I don’t recommend freezing rice.
Ready in 50mins (30mins marinade and prep, 20mins cook) – Serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 1 packet of Paneer
- 4 tablespoons of Tikka Masala paste
- A pinch of ginger
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 large white onion, finely diced
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed and finely chopped
- 1 capsicum (bell) pepper, diced
- 50g of frozen peas
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- A 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 100mls of double cream
Method:
- Cut the Paneer into bite sized chunks and place in a bowl with the Tikka Masala paste and the ginger.
- Mix well, cover, and leave to marinade for 30mins.
- Put a large pan on the hob, over a medium/high heat and add the oil.
- Once hot, add the onion, garlic, pepper and frozen peas.
- Fry for 5mins, or until the onion has turned translucent, the peas are fully defrosted, and the peppers have softened slightly.
- Add the marinated Paneer (make sure you get all that lovely paste into your pan, too) the salt and chilli flakes if usung.
- Mix well and fry for 5 mins to infuse the spices.
- Turn the heat down slightly and add the tin of chopped tomatoes.
- Mix well, then add the cream.
- Mix well and simmer for 10mins until thick and piping hot, then serve.
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