Now this might sound strange to you – after all, halloumi cheese and curry dishes come from two different parts of the world. But there’s a method to this madness, because in reality halloumi is actually a lot like paneer, the cheese you can find featured in a lot of vegetarian Indian dishes. We also just really like halloumi and don’t get too many chances to eat it, so when we heard that you could swap it for paneer in this recipe, we decided to give it a try. We think this turned out great, and if you’re intrigued you can follow along here to see how we made this dish.
You’ll need:
- 1 pound of halloumi cheese
- A small container of Greek yogurt
- Butter
- Vegetable oil
- Cumin seeds
- Cardamom
- A cinnamon stick
- A white onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Curry powder
- Turmeric
- Cayenne
- A 28-ounce can of whole plum tomatoes
- Cilantro
To prep your halloumi, cut it into 1-inch cubes and mix with 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Place the halloumi pieces on a baking sheet, making sure that none of them overlap, and roast at 400°F for 15 minutes, or until they’re a little crispy and browned in spots.
Meanwhile, chop up your onion. In a Dutch oven, warm 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat and add in a teaspoon of cumin seeds, 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom, and your cinnamon stick. Let this cook for just a minute, then stir in the onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Grate in 3 garlic cloves and a small cubes of ginger, and also mix in a teaspoon of curry powder, 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric, a sprinkling of cayenne, and a pinch of salt.
Next, take your tomatoes out of the can and crush them by hand into a bowl. Add them in and bring the pot to a simmer, then turn the heat down and let cook for 6-8 minutes, until everything has thickened into a sauce. Then take the pan off the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt, the juice from your can of tomatoes, and 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro.
When the halloumi is done in the oven, add that in …
… and gently mix everything together, then let your curry sit for 10 minutes to meld together.
Then you can serve up the curry with extra cilantro.
We really liked this meal, for several different reasons: first and foremost, because we love halloumi. But we also enjoyed bringing the flavors of two different cuisines together – the cheese and the Greek yogurt from Mediterranean cooking, and the spices and cooking method that come primarily from India. It was a delicious mix of all kinds of flavors, and using halloumi in place of paneer was pretty inspired, if we do say so ourselves. We were able to whip this up fairly quickly for dinner one night, so it’s a perfect and creative dish for your meat-free delight.