I love paneer so much. And, with this Kashmiri Paneer Aloo – Instant Pot Paneer Potato Curry recipe I want everyone to appreciate how awesome paneer is. A quick and easy take on paneer, this recipe skips frying the paneer. And guess what, no chopping or pureeing onions or tomatoes, since this recipe doesn’t use them. That makes it a winner in my house.
What is Kashmiri Paneer Aloo – Instant Pot Paneer Potato Curry?
So, this is an awesome Kashmiri curry, made with ground turmeric, ground fennel, ground ginger, ground cumin, a few whole spices and milk. You throw in one potato and voila you have this awesome turmeric and milk paneer curry with a few spices. Serve this dish alongside rice for complete a meal. The turmeric adds color, the ground fennel and whole spices add flavor. In Kashmiri, yellow paneer is called Ledar (yellow) Tschaman (Paneer). Potatoes are called Ollav. So technically, in Kashmiri, this recipe id called Ledar Paneer Ollav.
What kind of paneer do I use for this recipe?
For this recipe, I used Haldiram brand of paneer. After, trying a variety of paneer types I have zeroed in on this one. This paneer is super soft, moist and without preservatives. It can be found in the frozen section, in the deep freezer in Indian grocery stores. I typically thaw it by keeping it in the refrigerator overnight. You can also microwave it on high for 5 minutes if in a time bind. For this recipe, we will use half a pack of paneer, so just 6.4 oz or 180 gms. The paneer needs to be chopped into 4-inch by 3-inch cubes. For half the pack of paneer, I had about 6 pieces of paneer.
Potato: I used a medium Yukon gold potato for this recipe. The potato needs to be rinsed, peeled and sliced into 1.5-inch thick rounds. You can use red potatoes too.
How will we make is Kashmiri Paneer Aloo – Instant Pot Paneer Potato Curry?
First, select sauté on the instant pot and adjust to normal. Second, add oil to the pot.
Third, when the oil is hot, add in potatoes to the pot and let them sauté for 5 minutes until they are slightly golden. Next, keep turning them every 2 minutes to make sure they don’t stick to the pot.
Then add in paneer. Additionally, move the potatoes and paneer to the side and add in cloves, green cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, and black cardamom pod.
Further, quickly add in 3/4 cup water, ground turmeric, ground ginger, ground fennel, ground cumin, salt, garam masala and stir gently, without breaking the potatoes or the paneer.
Furthermore, close the lid and select manual/high pressure for 3 minutes. When cooking is complete, quick release the pressure and open the lid. Moreover, add in milk and stir well. Then, select sauté and let the milk come to a boil and press cancel. Finally, transfer the cooked dish in a serving bowl, garnish with serrano pepper and serve over steamed rice.
Tried this recipe yet? Give us a rating, comment below in the reply section and let us know what you think.
Try some of our other Kashmiri recipes:
Kashmiri Tamarind Eggplant – Instant Pot Kashmiri Baingan
Butternut Squash Curry – Instant Pot Indian Squash
Instant Pot Kashmiri Rajma – Rajma Masala Instant Pot
Moreover, try some of our other air fryer recipes.
Kashmiri Paneer Aloo – Instant Pot Paneer Potato Curry
Equipment
- Electric Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp oil of choice
- 1 yukon gold potato (medium) (6.6oz)
- 180 gms paneer (1/2 pack of 12.8 oz Haldiram paneer) (6.4 oz)
- 3 whole cloves (laung)
- 2 whole green cardamom pod (hari elaichi)
- 1 cinnamon stick 2 inch piece (dalchini)
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 whole black cardamom pod (kali elaichi)
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 tsp ground turmeric (haldi)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger (sonth)
- 1 tsp ground fennel (saunf powder)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin (jeera powder)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 cup milk (either whole or low fat)
- 1 serrano pepper, small, whole (for garnish) optional
Instructions
Prep
- The paneer needs to be chopped into 4-inch by 3-inch cubes. For half the pack of paneer, I had about 6 pieces of paneer.
- The potato needs to be rinsed, peeled and sliced into 1.5-inch thick rounds.
Cook
- Select sauté on the instant pot and adjust to normal. Next, add oil to the pot.
- When the oil is hot add in potatoes to the pot and let them sauté for 5 minutes until they brown. Keep turning them every 2 minutes to make sure they don’t stick to the pot.
- After 5 minutes are up, add in paneer. Further, move the potatoes to the side in the pot and add in cloves, green cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, and black cardamom pod.
- Quickly add in 3/4 cup water, ground turmeric, ground ginger, ground fennel, ground cumin, salt, garam masala and stir gently, without breaking the potatoes or the paneer.
- Close the lid and select manual/high pressure for 3 minutes. When cooking is complete, quick release the pressure and open the lid.
- Further, add in milk and stir well. Select sauté and let the milk come to a boil and press cancel. Finally, transfer the cooked dish in a serving bowl, granish with serrano pepper and serve over steamed rice.
Notes
- Typically Kashmiri’s deep fry the paneer and potatoes before making this curry. I have sautéed the potatoes in the pot and eliminated frying/sautéing the paneer.
- If you prefer them deep fried please deep fry them separately in a wok and follow the remaining steps.
- The whole spices (cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and cloves can be discarded, they don’t need to be consumed).
Like Shilpa’s lotus stem curry recipe, I tried this one as well, reminiscing what I had eaten at my Kashmiri friend’s home. Except that between then and now, I turned vegan 🙂 So I used Trader Joe’s sprouted tofu instead of paneer, and Ripple milk instead of regular milk. It turned out pretty good (didn’t miss the paneer) so will certainly make it again. The spices and flavor were very close to what I remembered.