Adraki Dhaniya Paneer is a bold, aromatic Indian dish packed with fresh ginger and cilantro flavor. A satisfying vegetarian dinner that comes together easily and pairs perfectly with rice or flatbread.
When I was in India earlier this year I ate at one of my favourite places, India International Centre (IIC). While I had some favourites including Dal Makhani, Dum Aloo, and Butter Chicken, my family and I were scoping the menu and we wanted to try some new dishes. One of those was Dhaniya Paneer. As you may know, I really love paneer dishes! Paneer is such a wonderful blank canvas and excellent vegetarian protein source. Not only is it great for curries, but I also love it for sandwiches, wraps and pizzas!
If you follow me on Instagram, then perhaps you saw the story of me enjoying the Dhaniya Paneer for the first time at IIC! If you’re not following me already, then I totally recommend that you do not only for recipe sneak peaks and to see my kitchen experiments, but to also see my eating out adventures! I discuss in my Make Cooking Fun!! free guide how going out to eat can inspire you to get creative in the kitchen. In this case, that totally happened! I was really blown away by the Dhaniya Paneer! It was my first time ever tasting it anywhere and I knew right away that I’d have to try it when I got home! This paneer dish features a cilantro-ginger tomato gravy. It’s actually really quick to make and it’s amazing for any occasion!
I’m so happy to be sharing with you my interpretation of the dish! If you want to try a new Indian dish, then I recommend you do as part of your Live to Cook one month challenge! Get your free goodies by signing up to my newsletter!
To follow along as I prepare this fantastic Adraki Dhaniya Paneer, don’t forget to check out the video! I’d appreciate it if you subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already and hit the bell button so you receive all the notifications for when my video recipes go live! I love to share videos to go hand-in-hand with the written recipes so you have all the tools you need to guarantee success! Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients for Adraki Dhaniya Paneer
Time to review the ingredients needed for our Adraki Dhaniya Paneer. We won’t need too much for this recipe! Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD with all ingredient measurements and the full instructions to save for later! The recipe card will also allow you to scale the recipe based on how much paneer you want to make! You can make this recipe just for two or for a large family gathering - all ingredient quantities are automatically adjusted so you won’t have to do any ratios!
Heat a wok on medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add the whole spices (cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns). Roast the spices for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic.
Add onions, pinch of salt and saute until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
Add garlic and cook for 3-4 more minutes.
Add tomatoes, the juices released will help deglaze the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes and add turmeric and ground coriander. Mix well and cook until tomatoes are on the verge of breaking down.
Add passata and bring to a simmer on medium heat.
Once the tomato masala is well cooked, some oil should have released or the mixture should appear to have dried out and you should be able to slide the masala across the pan. Then, transfer this masala to a food processor and puree until completely smooth. Add water as needed.
Return the pureed masala back into the wok and turn the heat to medium-low.
Then, add in a pinch of salt and deggi mirch and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and is released from the pan easily. Stir occasionally to ensure sauce does not burn.
Crush the kasoori methi/dried fenugreek leaves between the palm of your hands and add to the sauce, mix well. Cook for 30 seconds.
In a separate pan, heat 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Add slit green chillies, ginger and cilantro to the oil and saute for 2-3 minutes or until aromatic. Set aside for now.
Add cubes of paneer and mix well. Let the paneer steam in the thick tomatoey masala for 2-3 minutes.
Then add in the garnish (sautéed cilantro, chillies and ginger).
Add 1 Cup of water to create a gravy and bring up to a simmer. Add more water as needed to adjust to your preferred consistency. Season to taste. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Finish with about a teaspoon of garam masala.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Tips for Excellent Adraki-Dhaniya Paneer
The whole spices needs to be roasted well before adding the rest of the ingredients to release their flavours.
Keep stirring the tomatoes so that they don’t get burnt.
The tomato masala should be cooked until the mixture has released some of its oil and appears dry for the most amount of flavour.
For the tempering mixture, saute the chillies and ginger together until the mixture is aromatic before sauteing the cilantro.
Serving Suggestions for Dhaniya Paneer
Dhaniya Adraki Paneer is excellent with rice or bread to create a restaurant experience at home! Here are my bread recommendations:
Paneer in a spiced tomato gravy finished with a fragrant ginger (adrak) and cilantro (dhaniya) tempering — that fresh ginger-and-cilantro hit is what makes this dish special.
How do I keep the paneer soft?▼
Add the paneer near the end and let it steam in the thick masala for just 2–3 minutes before adding water. Brief cooking keeps the cubes soft instead of rubbery.
How do I make it less spicy?▼
The heat comes mainly from the deggi mirch (Kashmiri chilli) and the green chillies in the ginger-cilantro tempering — use less of each for a milder curry.
What do you serve with adraki dhaniya paneer?▼
Scoop it up with naan or roti, or serve it over jeera rice to soak up all that fragrant gravy.
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Recipe by Anadi Misra
Adraki Dhaniya Paneer | Ginger-Cilantro Paneer
Adraki Dhaniya Paneer is a bold, aromatic Indian dish packed with fresh ginger and cilantro flavor. A satisfying vegetarian dinner that comes together easily and pairs perfectly with rice or flatbread.
green chillies(slit down the middle and sliced thin)
(8 g) ginger(grated)
(130 g) cilantro(finely chopped)
Instructions
1
Heat a wok on medium heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp butter. Add the whole spices (cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns) Roast the spices for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic.
Heat a wok on medium heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp butter. Add the whole spices (cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns) Roast the spices for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic.
Add onions, pinch of salt and sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 3-4 more minutes.
Add onions, pinch of salt and sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 3-4 more minutes.
3
Add tomatoes, the juices released will help deglaze the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes and add turmeric and ground coriander. Mix well and cook until tomatoes are on the verge of breaking down.
Add tomatoes, the juices released will help deglaze the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes and add turmeric and ground coriander. Mix well and cook until tomatoes are on the verge of breaking down.
4
Add passata and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Then, add in a pinch of salt and deggi mirch and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and is released from the pan easily. Stir occasionally to ensure sauce does not burn.
Add passata and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Then, add in a pinch of salt and deggi mirch and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and is released from the pan easily. Stir occasionally to ensure sauce does not burn.
5
Once the tomato masala is well cooked, some oil should have released or the mixture should appear to have dried out and you should be able to slide the masala across the pan. Then, transfer this masala to a food process and puree until completely smooth. Add water as needed.
Once the tomato masala is well cooked, some oil should have released or the mixture should appear to have dried out and you should be able to slide the masala across the pan. Then, transfer this masala to a food process and puree until completely smooth. Add water as needed.
6
Return the pureed masala back into the wok and turn the heat to medium-low.
Return the pureed masala back into the wok and turn the heat to medium-low.
7
Then, add in deggi mirch, a pinch of salt and continue cooking while you start preparing the garnish in another pan.
Then, add in deggi mirch, a pinch of salt and continue cooking while you start preparing the garnish in another pan.
8
In a separate pan, heat 1–2 tsp of olive oil.
In a separate pan, heat 1–2 tsp of olive oil.
9
Add slit green chillies, ginger and cilantro to the oil and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until aromatic. Set aside for now.
Add slit green chillies, ginger and cilantro to the oil and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until aromatic. Set aside for now.
10
Crush the kasoori methi/dried fenugreek leaves between the palm of your hands and add to the sauce, mix well. Cook for 30 seconds.
Crush the kasoori methi/dried fenugreek leaves between the palm of your hands and add to the sauce, mix well. Cook for 30 seconds.
11
Add cubes of paneer and mix well. Let the paneer steam in the thick tomatoey masala for 2-3 minutes. Then add in the garnish (sautéed cilantro, chillies and ginger).
Add cubes of paneer and mix well. Let the paneer steam in the thick tomatoey masala for 2-3 minutes. Then add in the garnish (sautéed cilantro, chillies and ginger).
12
Add 1 cup of water to create a gravy and bring up to a simmer. Add more water as needed to adjust to your preferred consistency. Season to taste. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Add 1 cup of water to create a gravy and bring up to a simmer. Add more water as needed to adjust to your preferred consistency. Season to taste. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
13
Finish with about a teaspoon of garam masala.
Finish with about a teaspoon of garam masala.
14
Serve hot and enjoy!
Serve hot and enjoy!
Nutrition per serving
641
Calories
34g
Protein
24g
Carbs
47g
Fat
5g
Fiber
12g
Sugar
1303mg
Sodium
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Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen
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17 minMedium8 servings
4 servings
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