As a gift to our Melbourne friends, we’re thrilled to be sharing a series of recipes from the latest book from Broadsheet. Home Made is a love letter to Melbourne’s food scene, featuring recipes, stories and home cooking advice from the city’s favourite foodies.

This recipe comes from Dougal Colam, the chef behind Melbourne’s buzzy, Indian street-food institution Bhang, and is inspired by his travels in Kashmir.

Alongside the recipes that allow you to create some of Melbourne’s favourite dishes in the comfort of your kitchen, Home Made by Broadsheet includes stories, insights and hosting suggestions from the people behind the city’s leading eateries.

Dougal Colam’s Kashmir Paneer Recipe

Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 25 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

80ml (1⁄3 cup) mustard oil
400g paneer cut into 1cm cubes
Pinch of ground asafoetida
4 cloves
2 cinnamon quills
6 green cardamom pods
3 dried bay leaves
1⁄2 tsp caraway seeds
400g can pureed tomatoes
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds ground using
a mortar and pestle
1⁄2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
3 tbsp plain yoghurt whisked
6 saffron threads
1 tbsp roughly chopped
coriander leaves
Sea salt to taste
1 tbsp pouring or thickened cream
Steamed basmati rice or naan bread
to serve

Method

Heat 2 tbsp of the mustard oil in a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat until slightly smoking.

Add the paneer and saute for 5–6 minutes, until golden, then transfer to a bowl of warm water, along with the asafoetida, and set aside (this will soften the paneer).

Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of mustard oil until slightly smoking again, then remove from the heat and let it cool a little.

Add the whole spices, return the pan to medium heat and saute for 1–2 minutes, until the cardamom pods start popping and releasing their aroma.

Add the pureed tomatoes, ground ginger, ground fennel and chilli powder and stir to combine, then add the yoghurt and saffron threads.

Mix well, then simmer for 5–10 minutes, until slightly thickened, fragrant and the oil has started to separate from the mixture.

Drain the paneer and stir into the tomato mixture.

Simmer for a minute or two to warm through.

Add the coriander leaves and salt to taste, then transfer to a serving dish and drizzle the cream over the top.

Enjoy with steamed basmati rice or warm bread.

This recipe is an extract from Home Made by Broadsheet, Published by Plum, RRP $49.99, Photography by Mark Roper