Methi Paneer

This is a quick light dish and ridiculously easy to make. It is also a one pot dish and for once, you do not have to sear the paneer.

You need

1 pack of paneer cubed
Yogurt- enough to marinate the paneer
I onion finely diced
3 green cardamoms
1 clove
1 piece of cinnamon
Few pieces of black peppercorn
1 black cardamom
3 cloves of minced garlic
Minced ginger
Salt
2 tbspn kasoori methi
2 green chilies
Turmeric
Coriander powder

1. Marinate the paneer in the yogurt.
2. Heat some oil in a pan. Add the green cardamom, clove, black cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorn, and wait till you hear the cardamom splutter. Add the onion and cook till you get a translucent hue.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for a minute.
4. Now add the powdered spices , the turmeric and the coriander powder, and sauté
5. Add the paneer and yogurt.
6. Add salt and kasoori methi with some water. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
7. Add loads of chopped green coriander and serve.

Chilly Paneer

You see, I am a sucker for Indo-Chinese food, any restaurant known as “masala wok” or “spice and zen” has me instantly. I always loved chowmein, gobhi Manchurian, fried rice, chilly paneer, sweet and sour soup etc. The strong tangy flavors always resonated with me, and I still prefer Indo- Chinese food over traditional Chinese food at times, at least the take out variety or American –Chinese food. Although I must admit, I love Panda Express at times. It is right opposite my house and the noodles and spicy eggplant with the Rangoon cream cheese fried wantons, hit a spot at times. :)

Indo-Chinese food gets it unique flavor from a combination of Indian ingredients such as garam masala, cilantro and tamarind with Chinese soy sauce, ginger, garlic, vinegar, green chilies, and scallions. I think it is a great marriage between two cuisines, backed by century’s old cooking traditions. The two flavor profiles complement each other so well; it’s like a perfect marriage between two people who just complete each other. And then, I love paneer. I still don’t understand why people use tofu as a substitute in curries. Tofu is tasteless, while paneer has a nice meaty flavor and texture, which my partner says reminds him of chicken. Paneer stand up well to strong Indian sauces. And it works very well, in this Indo-Chinese dish as well.

Chilly Paneer is made after deep frying the paneer which is coated in a cornstarch batter. I hate deep frying, so I always avoid that step. I just sauté the paneer till I get a sear.


1 pack paneer
1 tomato
I bunch spring onions
Corn flour
Ginger
Garlic
Garlic chilly paste
4 green chilies
Soy sauce

1. Saute paneer till golden.
2. Heat some oil. Add the ginger garlic and wait for the raw smell to dissipate.
3. Add the chopped spring onions.
4. Add ginger garlic paste.
5. Add the tomato, cook till pulpy.
6. Add the green chillies.
7. Mix corn flour in some water and mix.
8. Add paneer. Cook for a while.
9. Add soy sauce.

Naan Pizza

The other day my friend Ava was complaining that eating pizzas out was expensive. I like to make my own pizzas from scratch. Check

http://indianfoodathome.blogspot.com/2010/10/pizza-from-scratch.html

However, that takes time, and the following recipe is quick and a great way of using left over naan. The sauce here has Indian elements like ginger and garam masala while the toppings include paneer. But I think it is very easy and inexpensive to use naan as a base, pile it with toppings and cheese.


Sauce
14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1 tspn garam masala
2 cloves of garlic
Ginger finely minced
Cumin powder
1 -2 green chilies

Toppings
1 cup paneer
1 bell pepper finely chopped
Mozzarella cheese ( ½ pack)
Parmesan
Cheddar
Loads of finely chopped green coriander

Base
4 naans

Instructions

1. Simmer all the ingredients of the sauce till you get a thick sauce which loses most of its water.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Sauté the paneer and the bell pepper separately.
4. On each naan, add the sauce, toppings.
5. Bake till golden brown.

Achari Paneer Wrap

This is a simple flavorful quick recipe.
I took a pack of paneer and cubed it. I took some oil in a pan and added loads of asafetida. To this I added mustard seeds, cumin seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, and fenugreek seeds. In retrospect, I could have used panch phoron. I added a teaspoon of garlic. Once then seeds sizzled, I add turmeric and cayenne pepper. When the spices are done, add around 1 cup of thick yoghurt to the pan and whisk slowly. At this stage I added two teaspoonfuls of hot mango pickle. Add the paneer and cook till dry.

Now add some ghee to a pan. Spread out a roti or parantha. Add some of the paneer mixture. Add cilantro chutney, chopped tomatoes, onions (pickled in vinegar), and cream cheese (Optional).

Serve with cucumber raita.

Paneer Tikka Masala

Lately, I have met someone, who is white, and can take more heat in his food than a bunch of Hyderabadis put together. It works for me- he appreciates my cooking and I am happy not to temper down my spices. The other day we were at Kasa, a self promoted ‘indian taco joint’ in the Marina, which serves wonderful home cooked fillings like kadhai paneer, chicken tikka masaka, or kadhai gobhi, in a warm parantha wrap.
There I figured out his love for “chicken – teekaa – musaalaah’, and I wanted to make a vegetarian version with paneer.

The dish has two components to it. You make a tikka – or paneer/ chicken which has been marinated and skewered to imbibe the flavor of the marinade. The second component is the sauce – a rich spicy creamy tomato sauce. A lazy version of the sauce used by many a British home cook, has been a jar of Campbell tomato soup, spiced and creamed. However, this version had to use a basic Indian sauce, cooked from scratch, with a robust North Indian flavor. For this very reason, I dismiss Gordon Ramsay’s recipe since he uses the very South Indian aromatic- curry leaves.

I looked up recipes on the Internet and read the recipe from Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors by Lizzie Collingham. I particularly like Harpal Singh Sokhi’s version for chicken tikka masala. Here is a cook, who understands Punjabi cuisine and he explains the little tricks, and he definitely does not have a heavy hand with onion, garlic, ginger, which in their extremity mask the true flavors of the dish. He seems very technically proficient. However, I did change the recipe a little.

For the paneer tikka
Marinate a pack of cubed paneer overnight in the following marinade.
1 cup of yoghurt, 1 tspn each of cumon powder, coriander powder and chat masala, ginger, garlic, salt, and juice of half a lemon.we
The next day, you could either bake the paneer in a hot oven at 400 F, on oiled tinfoil.
Or use skewers. Soak the wood skewers in water. Skewer the paneer and get a fine crusting using a hot tawa.

For the Sauce
to some hot oil add the following - cumin seeds, 3 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom, black pepper, 2 bay leaves, 1 small piece of cinnamon
Add 1 and 1/2 large onions chopped finely to the spices .And saute till brown.
In a blender blend the following - 3 med tomatoes ( you want the onion -tomato ratio to be the same), 4 tspn cashewnuts, 3-4 cloves garlic, ginger.
Once the onions are done add the tomato mixture. Cook till dry. Add coriander powder, turmeric, red chilly powder. Roast the spices.

Add some water, and add the paneer. Cook for 15 mins. Add 1 medium cubed capsicum, Cook for another 10 mins, and keep adjusting water. Add 1/2 tspn sugar.
Add garam masala, chopped coriander, and cream. Mix all together.