03/01/2017
Highway Paneer****My Style
Ingredients:
For the base -
Indian cottage cheese (paneer) cut into cubes
1/2 cup of green peas (steamed)
2 tablespoon of oil (I use olive oil)
Salt to taste
For flavours-
4 green cardamoms
1 large cardamom
3 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon of garam masala powder (optional)
1 tablespoon salted butter
2 teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori menthi)
For the gravy-
2 medium sized onions (chopped)
1 large tomato (chopped)
8-10 roasted almonds and 2 tea spoonful poppy seeds (soaked in luke warm milk for 30 minutes)
1 teaspoon of roasted gram flour (besan)
1 and 1/2 tablespoon of beaten yogurt
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of red chilly powder
1 teaspoon of kashmiri chilly power
1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder
2 teaspoon of ginger and garlic paste
2 teaspoon of honey or a teaspoon of jaggery (replacing sugar)
Garnish with-
Chopped coriander leaves and chopped onion grass (optional)
Let's get started. I put the oil in pan ( I used extra virgin olive oil keeping my calorie intake in mind) and heat it in medium flame. Once it's hot enough I put paneer cubes and fry for 2 mins stirring frequently and take it out. Then I put them in warm water along with a pinch of salt (paneer will remain tender this way). Moving to next I add my green cardamoms, large cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves (almost everything from my flavour list except butter and fenugreek leaves). I let them cracked for 30 seconds and all the flavours are now infused in the oil. It' so aromatic!
I add chopped onions and fry until golden brown (as all the experts say often!) and while frying my onions I add a pinch of salt. This helps the onion to soften and that gives a nice consistency to my dish. Then I add tomatoes and fry for a minute and add a pinch of salt for same reason. I love doing that. I add green peas, salt according to taste and green chillies. Meanwhile I grind almonds and poppy seeds in milk (avoiding milk cream here so you see my dish has less fat) and keep aside. When it starts releasing oil, I add turmeric powder, red chilly powder and kashmiri chilly power one by one and stir. Then I add cumin powder, coriander powder, roasted gram flour and ginger and garlic paste. I let it cook for a minute or till the raw smell is gone and I can see the oil. Next I add the beaten yogurt but temperature is the key. I prefer to turn oven off and remove the pan. Once it reduces it's temperature and it's warm but not hot, I add the yogurt and stir continuously. Thus the gravy gets desired texture. I put it back in low flame and keep mixing it. Once it releases oil, I add the paste of almond, poppy seed and milk to it. Mix it well and cook for few minutes till it releases oil. By now the raw and tangy smell of yogurt should be gone. If I have desired consistency, I will avoid using water. If not, I will use some milk and warm water to achieve the desired level of consistency. Then I add my paneer cubes (removing from the water) and honey, give it a mix and cover for 5 minutes. Next I add garam masala powder (optional), dried fenugreek leaves and butter to give it additional flavour. I put it in low flame with cover for 5 minutes and I remove it from flame and keep covered for another 20 minutes. It allows to mix all flavours together.
If you prefer, you may garnish using coriander leaves and onion grass!
