Matar paneer- rich, creamy version

We end up having a lot of osneer at home, so when I saw a recipe for a "quick" version of paneer masala which can be whipped up in a jiffy when visitors drop in unexpectedly, I was obviously interested. Unfortunately, the lady has very different standards when it comes to cooking- this turned out to be at least as involved (if not more so) than my regular version. But the dish was more than worth the effort. Definitely a recipe I'm going to use much more. 

200 gm paneer

1/2 cup peas

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp haldi powder

1 tsp dhania powder

1/2 tsp amchur powder

1 tsp kasoori methi

Salt and sugar to taste

A pinch of nutmeg 

1/2 cup milk

For gravy:

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 onions chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 inch piece cinnamon

2 green cardamom

10 cashew nuts

1/2 cup water

Method:

Pressure cook the ingredients listed under gravy for 20 minutes on sim after the first whistle

Cool. Discard cinnamon and cardamom and grind to a fine paste

Heat oil, add bay leaves, and sauté for a minute or two

Add paste, and dry spices, and sauté on a low flame till the oil starts leaving the sides

Add peas, milk, kasoori methi, salt and sugar, and cook for 5 minutes

Add paneer, bring to a boil, and turn off the flame

Serve with parathas or roti. 

Kadhai Paneer

I've been craving to have a really spicy dinner, but without freaking out my kids. This Kadhai paneer scored on both fronts.

200 gms paneer

2 onions chopped fine

2 tomatoes chopped fine

1 green capsicum chopped fine
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp jeera powder
2 tsp dhania powder
1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tbsp red chilli sauce
Salt to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
Heat oil, add chopped onions, and saute till transparent. Add ginger garlic paste, and spices, and saute till the raw smell goes. Add tomatoes and sauté till mushy.
Allow the masala to cool, then grind it till you get a fine paste.

In the pan, add 1 tsp oil and sauté the capsicum. Add cut paneer and toss around for a minute. 

Add the masala, salt to taste and enough water to attain the desired consistency.
Bring to boil, simmer for 2 minutes and serve. 

Palak paneer in our new home

This is not the first time I've moved home. But this is the first time I've got the kitchen functioning so soon after moving in. I do hope it is a sign that things are going to go really well here.

Just a regular palak paneer, but one that tasted extra good because it was made in my own barely functioning kitchen!

Basil Paneer

I wanted to make a really simple paneer dish to go with parathas, but wasn't in a mood for plain old paneer bhurji either. So I basically threw in a bunch of ingredients that I had, and came up with this nice fusion piece!

250 gms paneer (I used store bought)
1 medium onion
1 large tomato
3 pods garlic
2 stalks basil leaves
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt and sugar to taste
1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
Finely chop the onions and garlic. Heat the oil, add the onions and garlic and saute on low flame till they turn transparent.
Add coarsely chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, mix well, and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy. Roughly tear the basil leaves, add and mix well.
Cut the paneer slices into cubes, and add to the paste. Turn off the flame and mix well.
Add salt and sugar to taste.

Savoury Galette

I'd never even heard about a Galatte till I saw it posted on a food group. Naturally, I had to dig deeper, and I found out that it was a "rustic" pie, which is perfectly suited to my lack of culinary skills (specially when it comes to rolling dough). The original recipe calls for a lot of butter, but I replaced it with olive oil, and it worked just as well.

For filling:
1 bunch spinach
1 tomato
6-8 black olives
100 gms homemade chilli paneer
6 cloves garlic
Salt and chilli flakes to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

For crust:1 cup flour
Salt to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
Water
Milk or egg for washing

Method:Add the olive oil to the flour, and roll between your fingers till it resembles bread crumbs. Add salt and water, and knead well till it forms a dough (same consistency as roti ka atta). Knead on for an additional 5 minutes [this was not a part of the recipe, but when making whole wheat bread, I find I need to knead it longer, so did so].
Roll into a ball, wrap in cling film and cool for an hour.

Wash the spinach, chop into rough slices.
Heat the oil, add garlic, and toss around for 30 seconds. Add spinach, and cook till it releases water, and then the water dries up. Add salt and chilli flakes.
Crumble in the paneer, and add sliced olives.
Dice the tomatoes and keep aside.

Divide the dough into two parts, and roll each into a circle of 12 inch diameter.
Place the filling in the center. Arrange the tomatoes on top, and drizzle salt and olive oil. Wet the edge, fold in till you get a pie of about 6 inches diameter.
Brush the exposed surface with milk or egg wash, and bake at 215 degrees for 15 minutes.

Chilli Paneer

I'd gone on an overnight trip two weeks back, and (quite unsurprisingly), the milk hadn't been brought it all day, till the cook found it at night, and put it in the freezer. There it remained till today, when I pulled them out to make paneer. Since I was in a mood for something different, chilli paneer it was. Similar to the oregano paneer I made a few months back and just as flavourful.
After using half of it up in a palak paneer, I reserved the rest for using in a savoury galette! Yum!!!

1 litre milk
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp chilli flakes

Method:
Take the milk in a thick bottomed vessel, and heat it. When it starts heating up, stir in the chilli flakes, and 1/2 tbsp vinegar.
Once the milk comes to a boil, lower the flame, and add the rest of the vinegar. Keep heating till the paneer separates out.
Line a colander with a muslin cloth and pour the mixture in. Once all the water has drained out, place a weight on the cloth, and leave it for about 30 minutes
Cut into cubes.

Fresh and Crunchy Salad

A couple of weeks back, a friend taught me to make mozzarella cheese. Though it sounded very similar to the process of making paneer, I decided to take it at face value and try it. The bad news is that the end product was no different from regular paneer. The good news is that the paneer went straight into a crunchy salad which was quickly consumed with the Sunday lunch!

For the paneer:
1 litre milk
1 tbsp lemon juice

For the salad:
2 large tomatoes
2 medium onions
1 large cucumber
12- 15 black olives

For the marinade
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
4- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp crushed dry mint
Salt to taste

Method:
Add the lemon juice to cold milk, and keep aside for 30 minutes
Bring to a boil, reduce the flame, and keep stirring till the whey separates.
Drain and keep aside.
Cut the cucumber, onions, tomatoes and paneer into 1/2 inch square pieces.
Mix the marinade, toss in the vegetables, cover with cling film and keep in the fridge for 2 hours.
Garnish with olives before serving

Paneer Salad with mint and pomegranate

There was a time when I would get really upset when the milk curdled, but no longer. Now, I simply make paneer out of it, and either use it in a dish or convert it into a salad. This is the first time I attempted this combination, and I am thrilled with the result.

250 gms paneer
1/2 pomegranate, deseeded
3-4 sprigs mint leaves

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp lime juice'
Salt to taste

Method:
Crush/ roughly pound the mint leaves
Mix the oils, lemon juice, salt and crushed mint leaves
Add the dressing to the paneer chunks and let it marinate for about 30 minutes.
Add the pomegranate seeds, and serve chilled

Sprouts salad

The good thing about going back to work is the fact that I have fewer hours in a day when I can pop random junk into my mouth. The bad thing is that hunger still strikes me at regular intervals, so I need to pack multiple snack boxes to take with me to work. This is my favourite combinatio, revisited.

1 cup sprouted moong
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
100 gms paneer
Rock Salt to taste

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together, and enjoy.

Palak paneer, with yoghurt

Palak paneer is a dish I make often, because almost everyone in the family loves it. But today, I wasn't in a mood to make it the conventional way, and so innovated with spices and cooking style. And it came up trumps- not only did it look very different, it tasted lighter than usual, and disappeared as soon as it was placed on the table!

250 gms paneer

1 bunch spinach, cleaned well

2 small onions chopped

4-6 pods garlic

1/2 inch piece ginger

1/2 tsp jeera

1/2 tsp saunf

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

3 tbsp curds

Salt to taste

Cooking oil

Method:

Heat the oil, temper with jeera and saunf, and when they stop spluttering, add onions, garlic and ginger, and saute till the onions turn transparent.

Meanwhile, boil 1 cup water, and blanch the spinach for about 15 minutes.

Grind the onions to paste, and keep aside

Grind the spinach till smooth, and keep aside.

Beat the curds and salt till smooth.

Mix the spinach puree, onion paste and curds. Return to the fire, adding water if required. Once it starts boiling, reduce the flame and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add paneer pieces (reserving a few to grate on top as garnish), bring to boil, before turning off the flame.

Garnish with grated paneer, and serve hot with rotis.

Apple kheer

Two days back, I decided to give up sugar for a few weeks to see how my body adapts to the change. Since it was a spur of the moment decision taken during the course of a single run, I didn't have time to prepare myself for the change. And of course, the one thing my tongue doesn't stop craving is ... you guessed it.... sugar.
I could cheat, and use honey or palm sugar, or some other sugar substitute, but I prefer to play by the rules I have set for myself. This apple kheer (adapted from chana payash) was a perfect compromise- the sweetness comes entirely from natural sources, and it is definitely enough of a dessert to satisfy my craving.

1 litre milk
1 large apple
1 tbsp curds
1/2 time
A pinch of nutmeg powder




Method:
Make paneer out of 1/2 litre of milk (paneer recipe here- I mixed in curds before boiling, and added the lime juice after it started boiling).
While the paneer is draining, take the rest of the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel, and reduce it on a low flame till it is about 75% of the original volume.
Add finely sliced pieces of the apple, and keep stirring till the volume reduces to half the original volume.
Grate the paneer into the milk, and cook on a low flame till you achieve the desired consistency.
Add nutmeg powder, and mix well.
Chill before serving.

Paneer in mango gravy

The moment I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it, even though it involved making a long and hot trip to the diary to pick up the paneer. And it tasted every bit as good as I hoped it would. Definitely making it again.

300 gms paneer cut into cubes
2 onions, finely chopped
3 tomatoes
1 green chillie
1 inch ginger
1 big mango, chopped into pieces and pureed
3 tbsp cream (I replaced it with milk)
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt as per taste
1 tsp red chilly powder
Pinch of nutmeg powder
1 tsp garam masala


Method:
Saute the onions till golden.
Puree the tomatoes with the green chilli and ginger, and add the mixture to the onions. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt and saute till the oil starts leaving the masala.
Add the mango puree, cream/ milk and nutmeg powder, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes till the colour turns to orange
Add the paneer, garam masala and some water, and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Serve hot, with rotis or parathas.

Chaman Kaliya

The moment I set eyes on Anshie Dhar's Chaman Kaliya, I knew I had to make it. The mix of flavours looked interesting, and I have had a good experience with all her other dishes. So when we had guests over, tonight, I didn't hesitate before deciding to make this for them.
To say it was a hit is a bit of an understatement, and I felt almost resentful of the fact that a dish that got cooked in such a jiffy walked away with so much of the praise. But that's life, isn't it?

400 gms Paneer (home made)
2 cups milk
2 cloves
3 Green cardamoms
1 tsp Cumin
1 Tbs Ghee
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 1/2 tsp fennel powder (saunf)
A pinch of saffron
1/8th tsp ginger powder
salt to taste
1/2 tsp Kashmiri Garam Masala ( Or use your favorite brand)

Method:
If you have freshly made Paneer cut it into squares or rectangles.
If you have store bought paneer, Soak it in hot milk for at least 30 minutes before cooking the dish. (this milk is in addition to the one cup you need to make the dish)
Heat ghee and add the cumin, cloves and the cardamom. It helps if you slightly whack the cardamom with a pestle or a heavy spoon.
Add in the milk, bring it to a boil add in the rest of the spices, except saffron and garam masala.
Simmer this for about 2- 3 minutes , then add the paneer and bring to a rolling boil. Add in the salt.
Bring to a simmer again and let it cook undisturbed for 10 - 15 minutes or until the paneer looks creamy, yellow and soft.
Finish off with Garam masala and saffron and let it stand for 30 minutes before serving. Reheat gently and serve with rice.

Oregano Flavoured Paneer

I've been wanting to make flavoured paneer for a long time, and finally did so today. It tasted really lovely, and I am definitely experimenting more with flavoured paneer.

For paneer:
1 litre milk
1/3 cup curds
1 lemon
1 tsp oregano flakes

For bhurji:
1 tbsp til oil
1 onion chopped fine
1 tbsp (flavoured) vinegar
Salt to taste

Method:
Take the milk in a thick bottomed vessel, and heat it. When it starts heating up, stir in the curds (well beaten), and keep stirring. At this stage, add the oregano flakes (or any other flavour you want to experiment with).
When the milk comes to a boil, lower the flame, and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon. Squeeze in the other half if the paneer doesn't seperate.
Line a colander with a muslin cloth and pour the mixture in. Once all the water has drained out, place a weight on the cloth, and leave it for about 30 minutes
Cut into cubes.

Heat the til oil, and fry the paneer pieces on low heat. Remove the paneer pieces.
In the same oil, saute the onions till the raw smell goes. Turn off the fire
Add the paneer pieces, vinegar and salt, and mix well.

Papa A La Huancaina

When I saw this Peruvian dish posted by SB about a month back, I knew I had to try it out sometime. With the kids home for the holidays, now is the prefect time and I made it today.

The dressing was really lovely, and I know for sure I am going to make it again soon, maybe even as a dip.

For Huancaina Sauce
Soda Biscuits: 10-12 crackers
Paneer: 250 gms
Red Habanero Chillies : 3-5 pieces (Can increase of decrease as per your spice preference)
Toned Milk: 200-250 mls (Tweak according to the consistency)
Salt: To Taste
Lemon Juice: To Taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil : 2-3 table spoons

For the salad
6-7 Boiled potatoes
6-7 boiled eggs
One bunch of Romaine Lettuce
Black Olives to Garnish


Method
Break the biscuits and add them to the blender, add crumbled paneer, pieces of habanero chillies, toned milk, extra virgin olive oil and salt and blend till a pasty consistency sauce is formed, taste and add lemon juice as per your acidity preference and chill.
On a platter spread the lettuce leaves, potatoes, boiled eggs and pour the sauce evenly over it and serve.

Fried Paneer, with strawberry preserve

I tried making paneer tikka a couple of weeks back, but it was an unmitigated disaster. Since the family loves paneer tikkas, I decided to fry the paneer instead, and the results were equally good.
In a fit of inspiration, I paired it with strawberry preserve, which took it into the realms of divine. Here, then is the recipe for fried paneer.

250 gms paneer
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 green chillies
4 tbsp vinegar
Rock salt to taste





Method
Pound the coriander leaves and green chillis in a mortar and pestle till most of the juices are released. Add vinegar and rock salt.
Cut the paneer into thin pieces, and marinate overnight
Remove most of the greens. Melt butter on a tawa, and lightly fry till browned.
Serve with strawberry preserve.

Paneer Cutlets

My younger one ha now turned vegetarian, so when the father and the older one wanted roast chicken for dinner, I had to think of something with proteins for the younger one and myself. Since there was lots and lots of milk in the house, paneer cutlets it was for us! Recipe adapted from one taken from the Tarla Dalal site.

4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp cornflour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
200 gms grated paneer (cottage cheese)
1 cup boiled and mashed potatoes
bread crumbs/ sooji as required
salt to taste

MethodHeat the milk, add the cornflour, stirring continuously, till the mixture becomes thick.
Remove from the flame and add the grated paneer and mix well.
Add the mashed potatoes, mix well, add the salt, pepper and chilli powder.
Divide the batter into equal sized balls and flatten each ball into a pattice shape.
Roll each pattice in bread crumbs/rawa and chill for some time.
Heat a tava and cook the cutlets using little oil till they turn golden brown and crisp form both the sides.
Serve hot.

Paneer peas green pulao

I started out intending to make biryani with soya nuggets, but after making the green masala realised I had run out of onions. Since I didn't fancy going out on a cold winter evening, I adapted the recipe and made this awesome paneer-peas green pulao instead. It was really lovely with a tomato raita!

Basmati rice - 2 cups
Fresh peas- 1 cup
Paneer- 150 gms

Cloves - 3

Black peppercorns - 6-7

Cardamom - 1

Bay leaf -2

Fresh corriander leaves - Around 1/2 cup

Rock salt- to taste
Desi ghee - 2 tbsp

Green chillies - 1

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

MethodWash the rice and soak it in water for half an hour. Drain the water after half an hour.

In a mixer, grind together Garlic ( 1/2 inch piece ), Ginger ( 3-4 cloves ), Green chillies ( 2 chopped ), and corriander leaves ( 1/2 cup ). Add little black salt to taste. Grind to a smooth paste( Add only 1 tbsp water if required )

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan, and add the whole spices. Fry for 10 seconds and then add the ground paste and fry for another 30 seconds. Reduce the flame, add the peas, and stir for about a minute.

Add rice and water (2 parts water to every part rice), and cook uncovered (on low flame) till the rice is done. The rice should be fluffy and not sticky. So fluff it with a fork after its done.

Cut the paneer into small squares, and mix well with the pulao. Garnish with crumbled paneer, and serve hot with raita.

Paneer in tamarind based gravy

We were having guests over for dinner, and since there were kids involved, I didn't want to experiment too much. A the same time, I balked at the idea of serving two dishes with the same gravy, so got a little creative with the paneer-muttar. It came out much better than expected and was all polished off in no time at all. Success!!!

500 gms paneer

500 gms peas

3 medium onions

2 green chillies

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp jeera

2-3 bay leaves

2 tbsp cooking oil

4 tbsp dhania patta- chopped fine

1 tbsp kasoori methi

2 tbsp Tamarind paste

Salt and sugar to taste

Make a fine paste of the onions and green chillies

Heat the oil and temper with jeera and bay leaves. 

Add the onion-chilli paste and the ginger-garlic paste, and fry on low heat till the raw smell goes.

Add chopped coriander leaves and kasoori methi, and keep frying till the masala leaves the edge of the pot.

Add water, salt, sugar and tamarind paste. Stir a couple of times, befor adding the peas, and letting it cook till peas are done.

Add paneer, and give it a single boil.

Add cream, before serving.

Capsicum paneer

Most people, I know, don't notice the gravy that they eat, but I am particular about not serving similar dishes when I have people over for a meal. So, with Kali dal on the menu, I had to think of a non-tomato gravy dish for the paneer. A couple of days back, I had seen this "balti paneer" dish on IFF, and since I know that capsicum and paneer go together, I decided to make it.

250 gms fresh full cream paneer cut in cubes and soaked in milk
1 tsp shahi jeera
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp grounded kali mirch
1 large onions cut into rings
1/2 large capsicum de-seeded and cut into slices
2 green chilies diagonally cut
3-4 pinches kasoori methi
Green Corriander leaves chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder
salt to taste
1/2 cup milk
4-5 tablespoons of fresh cream

Method
Heat oil, and when heated, add the shahi jeera and let it crackle
Add onion rings , cut green chilies and slices of capsicum and sauté
Reduce heat and add kali mirch (crushed black pepper), haldi (turmeric), salt, kasoori methi
Add paneer cubes soaked in milk and mix well
Add milk and cook till the milk dries up
Add the cream and mix for 10-15 seconds
Remove from heat
Serve garnished with chopped dhaniya patta