Tag Archives: paneer

Paneer Manchurian

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Indochinese is nostalgic to immigrants and I’ve tried for years to make a good paneer Manchurian. I think I finally have a recipe that’s worth writing down. The trick is replacing the ketchup with maggi hot and sweet tomato chilli sauce. Bonus – it’s ready in less than 20 min.

It’s inspired by this Ranveer Brar recipe. The ingredients are all approximate except for the sauce – measure that one out.

First soak your paneer in warm water for 15-20 min. It makes a big difference. Then fry it in about half an inch of oil till it’s brown on all sides. Remove paneer.

Next prep your stir fry ingredients- about a cup of onion, less than half a cup of scallions, about a tbsp each ginger and garlic and interestingly about half a cup of cilantro stalks . A chilli or two would work as well

The sauce is 1/3 cup of soy sauce and 1/3 cup of maggi hot and sweet tomato chili sauce (from your friendly Indian store), 1/3 cup water, a large tsp of sugar , a tsp or so of vinegar and lots of black pepper

Start stir frying – in the paneer oil, add onions and then scallions and cilantro stems and ginger and garlic. There should be a lot of different textures in this dish. Then add the paneer back and the sauce and cook for 2 min or so. Add a tsp or more of cornstarch slurry and the dish is done!

It’s spicy , sweet and very delicious.

Kashmiri Waza Paneer

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After an annoying work day, I find a new dish relaxing. And if it turns out to be a keeper , I write the recipe down so I can remember where I found it. This is also a Ranveer Brar recipe (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BnetynMDlkw)

This style is cooking is new to me. It’s all stewed in water- the tadka, (the infusion of spices into oils that flavor the whole dish) is missing. The dominant taste here is the sweetness of the caramelized onion and butter. They work with the whole spices to form a gentle and delicious flavor.

Prep: caramelize about a cup and half of onions and then grind into a paste to give you about a 1/3 cup of onion paste. I read that caramelized shallot paste (praan) forms the backbone of wazwaan cooking in Kashmir.

Heat some water with a tsp of turmeric and some salt. Once it starts to boil- add paneer pieces and boil for about 8-10 min. Pat the pieces dry and fry them till golden brown in mustard oil (I used regular oil with some mustard seeds sputtered in them)

Start the yakhni- in a liter of water , add 4 tbsp of butter, 2 black elaichis (cardamom), 2 bay leaves and one piece of cinnamon. Add the caramelized onion and a pinch of asafetida and a tbsp of Kashmiri mirch (I used gochugaru- use any mild flavorful chili powder). Bring to a boil and simmer.

Add the paneer and simmer on low for 15-20 min.

In the meantime- take 2 tbsp of the mustard oil and add a cup and half of tomato puree. Cook on low for 15 min or so. Add 1 tbsp of dry ginger powder and 1 tbsp of fennel seeds, some sugar and some salt. Add the masala to the paneer. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Eat with pita or rice.

Paneer Ghee Roast (Kerala Style)

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I love South indian preparations- in both dry and curry form. But the techniques are so tedious- scrape cocount, grind to paste, dry paste- so on and on and on. This is my version of a much quicker dry roast. The masala will not be as smooth as a blender-ground masala but the flavor is spot on and this dish will be ready in 30 minutes.

Prep:

Chop: 1/2 a large onion diced (about 1 cup), 4-6 cloves of garlic, 3-5 kadipatta leaves (chopped fine)

Masala: mix together 2 tsp of  ground red pepper  (I used the Korean Gochugaru but Kashmiri red chillies  will work), 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp ground fennel seeds and 1/8 tsp ground methi(fenugreek) seeds. ( I used a mortar and pestle to grind the fennel and methi  to add to the powders)

Other flavorings: 2 tbsp tamarind paste (which I always have frozen) and 1 tbsp ground jaggery

Cook:

Cube 1/2 lb of paneer and roast in 1 tbsp of ghee on a low flame till lightly browned. Remove to a plate.

In the same pan, add another 1 tbsp of ghee, add curry leaves and onion. Cook till onion starts turning translucent.

Add masalas and roast till fragrant (around 1-2 minutes) without burning any of the ingredients.

Add tamarind, jaggery, 2 tbsp of yogurt and 1/4 cup of water. Cook for a minute and add paneer.

Cover and cook on low heat for 10-15 mintues.

Serve with dosa or rice or appam.

Tikka Masala Kit

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So this Tikka Masala Kit works ! I found it at Whole Foods. I used paneer – it has whole spice (cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, red chilli) which is toasted in hot oil (30 sec). The protein marinaded for 10 min is then fried in the same oil (5 min). The curry is then added with 1/4 cup of water and simmered for 5 min. I added a splash of cream and dinner was ready. I routinely make this gravy from scratch and honestly this was almost as good.

Yorkshire pudding / popovers with malai paneer

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Yorkshire puddings with paneer curry

Yorkshire pudding with malai paneer

While doing the stream of consciousness internet browsing thing, I came across Jamie Oliver’s video on Yorkshire pudding. I have no idea why I haven’t made this before. Hot oil, batter that puffs up, crisp outside, doughy interior – sounds so beautiful. Jamie paired his with salmon and creme fraiche. I’ve paired mine with a paneer curry, mint chutney and raw onions

Yorkshire pudding

I’ve linked to Jamie’s video below. Whisk 4 eggs, 200 ml milk and 200 g all purpose flour together with a pinch of salt. Heat oven to 425F. Pour a cm of vegetable oil in 12 muffin tins. Heat the oil for 15 min. Pour the batter in cups 2/3 full (I overfilled mine and had only 9 puddings). Shut the door and do not open till 20-25 min have passed and the puddings have puffed up gloriously

Malai paneer: my easy go-to paneer recipe

Heat 2 tbsp butter or ghee, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 dried chillies and half a cup of sliced onions till onions are pale gold.

Add 3 chopped garlic cloves and 100 gm of chopped paneer. Sauté for 2-3 min. Add frozen corn, green beans, raisins, cashews (I added pine nuts today). Add half a cup of cream and 1 tsp cumin powder and 1 tsp coriander powder. Cook for 10 min. Adjust consistency with more cream if needed, add ½ tsp of garam masala powder and ½ tsp of crushed kasoori methi.

Mint chutney: blend ½ cup of yogurt with ½ cup mint leaves, ½ cup cilantro and 2 jalapeños and salt

Assemble: tear open popover, add paneer, top with sliced raw onions and chutney. Find your happy place !

Malai paneer

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Malai curry

Inspired by a FB video I saw with Malai paneer. This tastes like a very outstanding desi version of an Alfredo sauce

2 tbsp oil- add 1 tsp jeera – Brown

Add turmeric, one red chili and half an onion- sliced

Lightly brown onion

Add 2 cloves of garlic chopped and 1 packet of paneer chopped into 1 inch squares

Add corn and green beans

Add 1 tsp of jeera powder, 1 tsp of coriander powder and ½ cup of heavy cream and 2 tbsp sour cream

Add 1 tsp of garam masala powder and 1 tsp of Kasuri methi