Paneer Do Pyaza
Updated: January 9, 2022, By Swasthi
Paneer do pyaza recipe – Do pyaza or dopiaza is a dish named after Akbar Mullah Do Piaza who created the dish during the mughal era. Though the original version was made with meat, the vegetarian versions like paneer do pyaza and mushroom do pyaza are also popular in Indian restaurants.
The original Mughlai recipe used lot of onions and did not use tomatoes instead curd/ dahi was used. So the recipe shared here is not of an authentic do pyaza but a restaurant style paneer do pyaza recipe.
The taste of paneer do pyaza gravy is rich, very unique and delicious. I had always wondered about the unique flavor & taste of few paneer dishes served in a North Indian restaurant in Singapore. After several trials I was very happy with this recipe which yielded me a similar one that tasted the best. If you love restaurant style paneer dishes then this is a must try.
About Do Pyaza
Do pyaza recipes are made with lot of onions. Some of the perceptions are – the dish is made with 2 different kinds of onions or twice the amount of onions that we normally use or onions being used twice in the recipe.
I have used 2 kinds of onions and used them twice in the recipe. I have used small onions or shallots for the garnishing, you can use even regular onions. Just cube them and use.
Most paneer dishes are made with a onion tomato puree. But this one unusually uses tomato and capsicum puree which makes it unique in taste and aroma. Paneer do pyaza is best served with roti, paratha, plain basmati rice, Jeera rice, ghee rice or any pulao varieties.
For more Paneer Recipes, you can check
Matar paneer
Palak paneer
Easy paneer tikka
Paneer tikka masala
Restaurant style paneer lababdar
Achari paneer
Photo Guide
How to make Paneer Do Pyaza
1. Add capsicum, tomatoes and cashews to a blender jar. All the ingredients are raw and not sauteed. I have used red capsicum. You can use even green or yellow capsicum. Just that you will need to add little more chili powder to get a good color.
2. Make a fine puree.
3. Heat a pan with oil. Add jeera and cardamoms.
4. When the jeera crackles, add finely chopped onions. Make sure the onions are very fine chopped.
5. Fry till the onions turn golden and shrink in size. Add garlic ginger paste.
6. Fry till the raw smell of the garlic ginger paste goes away.
7. Add the capsicum and tomato puree. On a low to medium flame, saute till the mixture leaves the pan.
8. Next add red chili powder, salt & garam masala. Also add coriander powder.
9. Fry the masala well until oil separates.
Making gravy
10. Pour water enough to make the gravy. I used 3/4 cup water. You can use little more if needed.
11. Mix well. Cover and cook on a medium heat until the gravy thickens. You will see traces of oil over the gravy.
12. Lower the heat completely. Add paneer and crushed kasuri methi. If you do not like the flavor of kasuri methi, you can skip it.
13. Mix and cook covered for 3 mins. Do not over cook the paneer as it turns hard. Turn off the stove once done.
14. While the paneer cooks, add oil or ghee to a small pan and heat it. On a high flame, saute the onions & green chilies for 2 mins. The onions must be partially cooked and retain the crunch.
15. Transfer the onions and green chilies to the gravy along with oil. Turn off the stove. Sprinkle some coriander leaves. Make sure you don’t cook paneer for long otherwise it turns hard.
Lastly transfer paneer do pyaza to a serving bowl. I had set aside some of the onions and used them to garnish.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Paneer Do Pyaza Recipe
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 200 grams Paneer or Indian cottage cheese or tofu
- ¾ cup onions finely chopped
- 1/3 cup tomatoes chopped (1 large,or replace with curd)
- 1/3 cup capsicum cubed (any color)
- 7 to 8 cashews
- 2 to 3 tbsps oil
- ½ tsp cumin or jeera
- 2 green cardamoms or elaichi
- 1 ¼ tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ¾ tsp garam masala
- ¾ tsp coriander powder or daniya powder
- ½ tsp Salt (use as needed)
- ¾ cup water (use as needed)
- ½ tsp kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves
Tempering Paneer do pyaza
- 1 ½ tbsp oil or ghee
- 12 shallots – small onions or ¼ heaped cup cubed, layers separated
- 2 green chilies deseeded and sliced
Instructions
Preparation
- Make a fine puree of capsicum, tomatoes and cashews. Set this aside.
- Add oil to a pan and heat it.
- Add jeera and cardamoms.
- When they splutter, add chopped onions.
- Fry until they turn golden.
- Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
- Pour the tomato puree and saute on a low to medium flame.
- Within minutes the mixture begins to leave the pan.
- Add salt, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala and coriander powder.
- Saute till oil separates. After frying the mixture for few minutes, oil begins to ooze out.
How to Make Paneer Do Pyaza
- Pour water and mix well.
- Cook covered until the gravy thickens. Traces of oil would be seen on the gravy.
- Lower the flame completely. Add paneer and sprinkle crushed kasuri methi.
- Cook covered just for 2 to 3 mins. Turn off the stove. Do not overcook the paneer.
- Meanwhile add 1 to 1.5 tbsp oil or ghee to a hot pan. Fry onions and green chiles on a high flame just for 2 to 3 mins. The onions must be partially cooked but must retain the crunch.
- Pour this over the paneer gravy and sprinkle some corainder leaves. You can set aside few onions for garnish.
- Paneer do pyaza is ready to serve.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Incredible recipe. Do pyaza was a favourite of ours in the restaurants. Now I can make it better at home. I make this using chicken instead of paneer, using the basic marinade from your jalfrezi recipe. It has become the new favourite in our home.
Wow! That’s really nice to know Drew. Thank you for sharing back!
Nice
Thank you so so much for your recipes! Since Covid started I’ve been cooking so much from your blog and there was not a single dish I didn’t like, not even when I used veggies I normally dislike. I cook your recipes 2-4 times a week. Thank you!!
Hi Lui,
So happy to know! Thank you so much!
So simple and came out very well just like restaurant.
Thanks Swasthi 🙂
Glad to know Jyothi
Thank you so much for letting me know!
🙂
Hii mam,
I am just a beginner and your recipes helped me a lot. I try this recipe and it was amazing, my family really loved it.Thank u so much for recipe ideas.
Welcome Sikha
Glad to know! Thank you
Tried it today, turned out lovely! Something good during lockdown and easily doable with things available at home.
Hi Swati
Glad to know!
Thank you!
Enjoyed it completely .. thank you Swathi for ur recipes .. I usually follow ur recipes n every time it has come out really well ??
Thanks n Regards
Kavitha
Swasthi * ☺️☺️ Typo error
Hello Kavitha
You are welcome! Glad you liked it. Thank you for following the blog.
🙂
A huge thanks from a budding cook and a about to be dad. Your recipes help me cook dishes my wife loves everyday. Thank you so much
Welcome Pushan
Congratulations! So glad to know the recipes helped. Best wishes to both of you.
🙂
Truly amazing ma’am
My husband tried to cook it today and we (all the family members) can not stop praising and appreciating him.thanks to you because you turned him to a super cook in one go…….
Loved your recipes
Keep posting
Welcome Rinki
So glad to know the paneer pyaza turned out good. thanks a lot for the comment & to your husband too for making it so good. It made me very happy.
🙂
I tried this n it’s amazing.. Too good ma’am thank you so much… Keep posting n God bless you
WElcome Shweta
Thanks a lot for the wishes. Glad to know you liked it.
🙂
I tried this… N I’m so happy…….it’s taste is exactly the restaurant style. All my family members loved it. U are an amazing person.. Keep posting new recipes…. N God bless you ?
Happy new year swasti madam..
Wish you all good luck
Hi Sagar,
Wishing you all too a very Happy & Prosperous New Year. I am very happy to receive your wishes. Thanks a lot
Tried this. Yummy!
Thanks for trying Vidya. Wish you a very happy new year.
A happy new year to you and your family.
Great recipes. thank you.
Hey Kashish
Very much delighted to receive your new year wishes. Wish you all too a very happy new year. Thanks for following the blog.
Dear Swasthi,
I am huge fan of your recipes. Been trying them out for over an year now. and must I say they all turn out to be delicious. Just got a query though blending raw tomato & onion into a puree & using it for the gravy does it not give a strong pungent taste for the dishes??? I follow your recipes but when it comes to making onion-tomato paste I prefer to fry them off with little bit of oil. & blend them.
What do you do that makes it alright to not fry the ingredients first????
Hi Poorvi,
Thanks a lot for following the blog. I feel it is the basal part of the onion that lends a bitter or pungent taste to the gravy. Removing them completely should be fine. For a good tasting gravy, actually the ratio of onion to tomato, cashews and cream matters the most. More onions and less tomatoes and no cashews or cream will more often make the gravy pungent, feeling the flavor of onion more dominant. I have made few recipes with raw onion and tomato pureed together but never had a problem. Sometimes I boil the quartered onions for 3 mins. Drain and rinse them under running water. Blend with tomatoes and cashews. This is the quickest and tastes good as well. Do check this malai kofta recipe. I have shared a similar method. Hope this helps. Wishing you a very happy new year
Hey Swasthi,
A very happy new year to you too!!!
Thanks for the tips… Will definitely try the kofta recipe.
While I was making this, which was absolutely DELICIOUS, I noticed that the instructions say to use ginger garlic paste, but the ingredients list doesn’t mention it, so it’s not suggested how much to use. No problem – I just guessed and put in 3 smallish cloves of pureed garlic and a teaspoon of pureed ginger (and as I said, the final result was fantastic). But maybe it was not intentional to leave out that detail. How much would you recommend using in this recipe?
Hi Zanna
Happy to know it turned out delicious. I forgot to mention the amount of ginger garlic paste. Thanks for the mention. I have updated the post.
Wish you all a very happy new year.
🙂