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In this week's guest post, I'm excited to introduce Maria Silva, the author at Maria.Recipes, who created a delicious and easy-to-prepare vegetarian keto recipe featuring Indian-style homemade paneer cheese. For more keto recipes, don't forget to follow Maria on Instagram!
Indian food is definitely my favorite, but it is traditionally full of fat, carbs and sugar. Curries are almost always eaten with rice AND rotis (wheat flatbread), and desserts are so sweet I get a sugar rush every time. Not great for keto!
But traditional Indian recipes, when slightly tweaked, can become a delicious low-carb meal, both for people who want to find new interesting ways to cook meat, and also for vegetarians, as Indian food has a very strong vegetarian tradition.
Paneer makhani (literally, “Cottage cheese in butter sauce”) is one of the most decadent vegetarian Indian dishes. It consists of a spicy tomato-based sauce cooked in butter and then garnished with heavy whipping cream, making a creamy, spicy, tangy and sweet curry that everyone loves.
Can I Use a Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can use a slow cooker. In fact, the Instant Pot does both! To make this vegetarian low-carb Paneer Makhani recipe in a slow cooker (crockpot), brown the ingredients in a heavy-based pan and then transfer into a slow cooker. Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours or on high for 1 to 2 hours.
Hands-on Overall
Serving size about 1 cup
Nutritional values (per serving, about 1 cup)
Net carbs7.8 grams
Protein15.6 grams
Fat40.4 grams
Calories458 kcal
Calories from carbs 7%, protein 14%, fat 79%
Total carbs10.2 gramsFiber2.4 gramsSugars6.7 gramsSaturated fat25.2 gramsSodium82 mg(4% RDA)Magnesium16 mg(4% RDA)Potassium256 mg(13% EMR)
Ingredients (makes 3 servings)
- 200 g (7.1 oz) paneer (you can make your own paneer)
- 3 tbsp butter (45 g/ 1.6 oz)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 large yellow onion, roughly chopped (75 g/ 2.7 oz)
- 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped (200 g/ 7.1 oz)
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- 1/2 inch of ginger, chopped, or 1/2 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (80 ml/ 2.7 fl oz)
- fresh cilantro for garnish
- salt to taste
- Suggested sides to serve: Keto Naan Bread or cauli-rice
Optional ingredients:
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- stevia to taste
- red chili powder to taste
- 1/3 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
Instructions
- Add the butter to a pan over medium-high heat. Once it has melted, add the bayleaf and the cumin seeds. Let them cook for about 45 seconds.
- Add the onion, garlic and ginger with a pinch of salt. Cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until the onion is very soft.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stevia, coriander powder and turmeric, as well as 1/3 cup water. Cook about 5 minutes until the tomatoes are broken down.
- Take out the bayleaf if you can find it, then transfer everything into a blender and blend until you have a fine paste. You can add some water if it is too thick.
- Put he sauce back into the pan over medium-high heat, and add the cubed paneer.
- Let it all simmer together for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the stove, add the cream, garam masala and fenugreek leaves. Mix well.
- Garnish with coriander and eat with cauli-rice or with flax roti.
Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, about 1 cup)
| Net carbs | Protein | Fat | Calories |
|---|
| Paneer |
| 2.7 g | 13.9 g | 18.5 g | 231 kcal |
| Butter, unsalted, grass-fed |
| 0 g | 0.1 g | 11.5 g | 102 kcal |
| Bay leaf, dried |
| 0.2 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Cumin, spices |
| 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 1 kcal |
| Onion, brown (yellow), raw |
| 1.6 g | 0.2 g | 0 g | 9 kcal |
| Tomatoes, fresh |
| 1.8 g | 0.6 g | 0.1 g | 12 kcal |
| Garlic, fresh |
| 0.3 g | 0.1 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Ginger root, fresh |
| 0.2 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Turmeric, spices (dried, ground) |
| 0.2 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Garam masala, spice mix |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Cream, heavy whipping, pouring, full-fat (30-40% fat) |
| 0.7 g | 0.5 g | 10.1 g | 98 kcal |
| Coriander (cilantro), fresh |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Salt, pink Himalayan rock salt |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Total per serving, about 1 cup |
| 7.8 g | 15.6 g | 40.4 g | 458 kcal |
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