Paneer Bhurji/ Scrambled Cottage Cheese

My amma came n' stayed with me for a week n' my relationship with milk completely changed. :)...does that sound weird? But really, I couldn't make you understand what i'm talking about any other way. Now, I make curd, fresh cream, butter n' ghee at home. Well not all in one day...but you get the picture. I never knew it could be this easy. Cooking for 2, the only thing out of this which has a lot of demand on a daily basis is curd n' love how well the curd sets. I could give all the curd companies out there a run for their money...lol.


I'm digressing, what I wanted to say was, previous to amma's visit the only milk product I used to make at home is Paneer. But the major problem with it was I could never cut perfect cubes/squares etc out of my home made paneer. Coz they won't hold a shape like that. I would hang it in a muslin cloth n' end result is always a large ball liked shape that would love to crumble. So I had stopped making paneer at home for my dishes like Punjabi Paneer Makhani, Hara Bhara Paneer n' Paneer Tikka Masala. But my homemade paneer especailly coz it loves to crumble is best for Paneer Bhurji. On a day when you are not in the mood for elaborate cooking, this is just perfect with Chapathis. By the way I follow the Vahrehvah Chef Sanjay Thumma's instructions to make paneer at home.



This dish is by far the only thing I make without a written recipe. I searched online n didn't find any recipe I liked n' thought to myself, how difficult can making something like this without a recipe be. So here you go, my version of a Paneer Bhurji. :)


Ingredients:

1. Paneer: 200gms (soft paneer) crumbled.
2. Onion: 1no (small) chopped
3. Garlic: 4-5nos (chopped)
4. Tomato: 1no (deseeded) chopped
5. Greenchili- 2nos
6. Capsicum/ Bell Pepper- 1no (deseeded n' cubed)*
7. Egg: 1no (optional)
8. Turmeric Powder: a pinch
9. Chili Powder: 1/2tsp
10. Garam Masala: a pinch or 2
11. Oil
12. Mustard seeds- 1/2tsp
13. Curry Leaves
14. Salt: as per taste

* I have used yellow, red n' green capsicums just to get that burst of color, you can just use any one color n' it would still taste nice.

Method:

Step 1. Heat a oil in pan, add mustard seeds n' curry leaves. Let it splutter.

Step 2. Add chopped onions, garlic n' green chili and leave it to cook. (2-3mins on medium flame)

Step 3. Add turmeric powder, chili powder n salt, mix it well. Allow it to cook well.

Step 4. Add the chopped tomatoes to this.

Step 5. If you are adding eggs, scramble it in another pan n' add scrambled eggs to the above mixture. (I like the texture better this way, but up to you if you want to add the beaten egg directly to the above mixture, you can.)

Step 6. Add the chopped paneer to the above n' mix it well. Leave it to cook for a while. (Ensuring that the paneer does not harden).

Step 7. Add the cubed/chopped capsicum to the above. Mix it well n' allow it to cook for another 3-4mins.

Step 8: Check for salt n' add more if you need it. Sprinkle some garam masala on top n' its ready...:)

Happy Cooking!!!

Sanjeev Kapoor's- Hara Bhara Paneer Tikka

I have immense faith in Sanjeev Kapoor's recipes. He is referred to as "The most celebrated face of Indian cuisine" for a reason right? :). None of the recipes I have tried of his has ever failed me. My only problem is with his TV shows, they show some 3-4 dishes in like half an hour n' that means everything is happening so fast...I'm sometimes worried I'll miss out something. When I saw his show on using a grill stone for cooking, I was sure I have to try this paneer recipe that was featured. The first time I made this dish was about a year back. Have tried this many times after that n' it has always been a winner. But my paneer pieces weren't grilled to perfection, like I wanted it to and could never get a decent photograph until now.




I attended a BBQ session at Weber- Bangalore (outdoor BBQ grill dealers) recently and it helped me a lot with the grilling process this time around, (even though this recipe calls for grilling on the stove top.) Chef Sarabjeet, gave us a lot of pointers and it proved useful to me. They are running a weekend half a day BBQ workshop on May 1st, do let me know if you are interested, will give you the contact details. It is in fact, my favourite Paneer Grill recipe to date. So here you go.




Ingredients:

For the Paste:
1. Fresh coriander leaves : 2 bunches
2. Fresh mint leaves: 1bunch
3. Green chillies: 4nos (reduce if you don't like it too spicy)
4. Garlic: 10cloves
5. Ginger: 1 1/2" piece
6. Lemon Juice: 2tsp
7. Onion: 2nos (medium sized) chopped
8. Salt: as per taste
9. Hung Curd: 1 cup
10. Fresh pomegranate pearls: 2tbsp

For the Marinade:
11. Gram Flour (Besan): 4tbsp
12. Kasoori methi powder:2tbsp ( I used dried kasoori methi leaves)
13. Chat Masala: 2tsp
14. Roasted Cumin Powder: 2tsp
15. Garam Masala: 2tsp
16. Mustard Oil: 2tbsp ( I used regular Sunflower oil)

Other Ingredients:
17. Paneer (Cottage Cheese): 500gms (2 inch cubes)
18. Onion: 2nos (medium) cut into 2 inch pieces
19. Green Capsicum: 2nos- seeded(medium) cut into 2 inch pieces
20. Tomatoes: 2nos- seeded (medium) cut into 2 inch cubes

Method:

Step 1: Grind together green chillies, coriander leaves, mint leaves, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, onion, salt, yogurt and pomegranate pearls into a thick paste using very little water.

Step 2: Roast the cumin seeds n' powder it using a mortar and pestle. Roast gram flour for two to three minutes and set aside.

Step 3: Place the paneer cubes in a bowl, add kasoori methi powder, chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, garam masala powder, roasted gram flour and the ground paste and mix well. Add a tbsp of oil to this and marinate the paneer for two hours.

Step 4: Thread the paneer pieces onto skewers alternating with onion, capsicum and tomato pieces.

Step 5: Season the grill stone/pan with oil and heat. Place the skewers on the hot grill pan and grill for three to four minutes. Baste with oil, turn the skewers and cook the other side for two to three minutes. Once this was done, I turned the flame to high and grilled it over the flame for 5-6secs both sides. (this step wasn't part of Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe) Serve it hot with a dip/chutney and its gonna impress everyone.




I'm gonna give this recipe★★★★★ ;) Its a must try, take my word for it. Happy Cooking!




I'm sending this post to the event Dish Name Starts with H, hosted by Akila from Akila's Kitchen.

Punjabi Paneer Makhani

I was going to make Chicken Kadai, but the lady who comes to help me with cooking n’ cleaning (she comes 3 days a week) was coming today n’ she doesn’t touch non-veg (at all) so I thought might as well make something I can take her help on. I wish I hadn’t asked for her help, I asked her to make tomato puree in the mixer grinder n’ a portion of my kitchen was splattered with tomato puree, she had stuffed too much into the small jar n’ hadn’t closed the lid properly before turning it on. :( So anyway we had a lot of cleaning work along with cooking in the 90mins she comes to work….so I got busy with cooking n’ she got into cleaning. I like finishing my cooking for the day in the morning before I go off to work that way when I reach home I don’t have a mountain of work waiting for me.

The first recipe book I ever bought was Nita Mehta’s Indian cooking. The reason I got it was to learn some north Indian cooking for my husband….i have never tried this recipe before n’ it’s shame that I hadn’t tried it before….there is something so alluring about a simple recipe. I guess after all that struggle (in my case just mental) today morning when a dish comes out well, that’s rewarding enough. I have deviated from the original recipe a little, but I have clearly mentioned them so you can avoid those steps if you feel like it. Do try this recipe…its really nice.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer- 250 gms ( cut into cubes)
2. Tomato- 500gms (I used only 3medium ones) or (if you are using ready made tomato puree I guess ¾ or 1 cup will do)
3. Cashew- 3 tbsp (coarsely crushed)
4. Jeera- 1tsp
5. Ginger Garlic Paste- 2tsp (preferably fresh)
6. Ghee/ Oil- 2tbsp (I used a non stick pan n’ used only 2tsp)
7. Kasturi Methi leaves- 1tbsp
8. Tomato Ketchup- 1tsp
9. Kashmiri Chili powder- ½tsp (reduce the amount if you are using ordinary chili powder)
10. Coriander Powder- 2tsp
11. Garam Masala- ½tsp
12. Milk- 1 ½cup
13. Cream- ½cup (optional)
14. Salt- 1tsp or according to your taste
15. Water- as required
16. Oil- 3tbsp (to lightly fry the paneer cubes, again this step to fry paneer is not there in the original recipe, I thought I’d like it better if its ever so lightly fried)
17. Green Chili- 2nos (finely sliced) the original recipe does not ask for this, but I was scared the sweetness of the dish won’t suit us, so you can skip this if you want.
18. Sugar- as required or ¼ spoon (this is not there in the original recipe either)

Method:

Step 1: Soak the cashew pieces in hot water (half a cup) for 10-15mins. Adding a little water (2-3tbsp) grind the cashew into a thick paste. Keep it aside.

Step 2: If you are making Tomato puree at home, cut each tomato into 4 and boil it for 5mins in half a cup of water. Keep it aside to cool. Make a thick paste in the grinder.

Step 3: Fry the paneer cubes in oil and keep it aside.

Step 4: In a pan heat Ghee and add jeera to it. Once jeera turns brown add the ginger garlic paste to this and fry it till the color changes.

Step 5: Add the tomato puree to this and fry it. (till the mix becomes dry and dark in color n oil starts oozing out) I added my chopped green chili and fried it along with the puree.

Step 6: Add kasturi methi and tomato sauce to this. (on low fire)

Step 7: Add coriander powder, chili powder, garam masala, and salt. Since I had reduced the amount of ghee to 2 tsp I had to add some water at this stage as the mixture was really dry. Stir it till the masala is cooked well.

Step 8: Add the cashew paste to this n’ mix well. Taste it to see if its too sour n’ add a little sugar to balance the taste.

Step 9: Heat the milk to be added (just 1 min in the microwave will do) and pour the warm milk into the above. Stir well. The original recipe asked us to keep the gravy aside to cool n’ then add the milk. But I figured adding hot milk to the hot gravy will do the trick as I was running out of time.

Step 10: At this point the gravy will look really rich n’ thick n’ smell nice. Add the paneer pieces to this gravy stir it for another 4-5mins. The curry is ready.

Step 11: If you are adding cream, do so at this stage and stir lightly (more like folding). And take off the fire immediately. Add a dash of cream on top before serving.

I'm posting this recipe before my husband eats it for lunch today, normally i will wait for his verdict. But i'm sure he will love this with chapathi..:) I think this will be best served with Chapathi or Tandoori Roti or Jeera Rice...

Paneer Tikka Masala

I have been making paneer at home mostly….but I have this problem that they don’t form a shape for me to cut them into cubes….once I hang them for the water to drain….i don’t know what to do to get them into a square or rectangular shape for me to cut them into cubes later….the day I learn how to do this…I’m gonna share it with the world…so mostly I have been making paneer burji or paneer cutlets or paneer wraps…(will post these recipes once I take some snaps)…the problem is I make all this once I get back from work….n’ my husband is no help in the kitchen….so by the time I’m done making things (I’m kind of slow)…I’m way too tired n’ hungry to get more creativity out of me for a good snap…needless to say he will be really hungry too…that’s how I have been so quite on my blog…..me doing this blog and the so many wonderful food blogs out there has kind of inspired me to cook new things…but the more interest I take in cooking….the more weight I put on…what with just the 2 of us to finish whatever I make….so I’m taking this food blog thing a little slow.

Anyways….so I’m on a veggie food spree and decided to buy paneer this time so that I can try some north Indian recipes……what I could mostly find on the web were panner butter masala…2 good recipes are available here

http://www.mariasmenu.com/vegetarian/paneer-butter-masala

http://mykitchenantics.blogspot.com/2009/07/paneer-butter-masala.html

I almost went ahead n’ tried this. But then I came across a simple Panner Tikka Masala on a cooking show on the TV and decided to try it instead…so here you go….

Ingredients:

For the Marinade:
1. Yogurt- 2tbsp (the host asked us to use thick yogurt if u don’t have that…then hang the yogurt in a muslin cloth to reduce the excess water)
2. Chili Powder- ½ tsp (more or less according to taste…this is less according to me)
3. Kastoori Methi Powder- 1tsp
4. Salt- as per taste
5. Lime Juice- Half a lime
6. Oil- 1tsp
7. Paneer- 400gms (sliced into cubes)
8. Tomato- 1 (deseeded n’ sliced into cubes)
9. Capsicum- 1 (sliced into cubes)
10. Onion- 1 (sliced into cubes)

For the rest;)
1. Oil- 2-3tbsp
2. Jeera Seeds- ½ tsp
3. Onion- 1 big (Chopped)
4. Ginger Garlic Paste- 1tsp (preferably fresh)
5. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
6. Coriander Powder- 1tsp
7. Cumin Powder- ½ tsp
8. Chili Powder- ½ tsp
9. All purpose flour (maida) – 1tsp
10. Tomato Puree- 1 cup
11. Fresh Coriander Leaves- 1stem (chopped)
12. Garam Masala Powder- 1tsp
13. Water- as required
14. Salt: as per taste
15. Cream : 2-3tbsp

Method:

Step 1: Add yogurt, kastoori methi, lime juice, chili powder, oil and salt (from the ingredients for the marinade) into a fine paste. Add Paneer, tomato, onion n’ capsicum cubes to this paste n’ marinate for atleast half an hour.

Step 2: Heat oil in a pan and add jeera, once the jeera splutters, add the chopped onions and ginger garlic paste to this. Let it cook until the onion turns golden brown.

Step 3: Add turmeric, coriander, cumin n’ chili powders to the onion. Let the masala cook for a while. Add the flour to this n’ let it cook for a while. (don’t move on to the next step till the flour is cooked well…you will be able to see the oil separating from the mix and that’s an easy way to know its cooked)

Step 4: Add salt and the pureed tomatoes to this…stirring it occasionally let this mixture cook for a while. Depending on the whether you are using canned tomato puree or fresh the cooking time will vary a little. If you are using canned tomato puree it will cook faster. Once the oil starts to separate add a little water to get a thick gravy (if required)…

Step 5: While the tomato puree is being cooked, grill the marinated paneer and veggies on a grill pan or in the oven, I used my grill pan this time but decided to try the grill in the oven the next time around….the only reason why I’m thinking this is as more oil is required when u grill them in a pan compared to grilling them in the oven (I think so I’m not too sure)….the tomato cubes tend to get cooked faster than the other cubes….so take them off the grill sooner than the others. (If you are using skewers in the oven I guess this shouldn’t matter.)

Step 6: Add the grilled paneer and veggies to the gravy n’ let it cook for a atleast 10 mins….add the garam masala powder on top of the curry n’ mix well….let it be covered for 5more mins. Add the cream one spoon at a time n’ mixing it with the gravy….let it cook for another 5mins n’ add coriander leaves to this to garnish.

Its best served with plain rice, tandoori roti or chapatti……I added on sliced green chili along with the garam masala as I wanted the dish to be a little more spicier….also its possible that the gravy turns a little too sour…again it depends on ur tomato puree….if this happens…just add 2-3pinches of sugar n’ that should resolve your problem…. I’m not too fond of adding red color to my food….but I guess most of the restaurants add color to enhance the look….do so for this recipe if you want….might make it look exactly like what you buy from restaurants...:)