Paneer Tawa Pulao ( Lunchbox special )

I love making various kinds of rice dishes for my kid. They are super easy to make and very much filling. Adding veggies, eggs, paneer, beans or even chicken boosts the overall nutritional profile of the dish. Plus there is the taste factor which is the ultimate clincher !

Tawa rice is a just another kind of pulao which is cooked on a shallow vessel which allows each grain/vegetable to get coated with the oil/ghee/butter and gives it a slightly burnt/smokey (depends on how long you prefer to cook) flavor .

This time I made Tawa pulao with some leftover paneer cubes and veggies. Used very less spices as per my kid's request so you will need to add more as per your taste. Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cups cooked Jeera rice 
• 100 gm paneer (cut into small cubes )
• 1/3 cup green peas
• 1/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 of an onion (chopped into small pieces)
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 inch long cinnamon
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 green cardamom
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 red chilli whole ( less spicy )
• a pinch of garam masala
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 tsp butter
• salt to taste
• cilantro for garnishing

Preparation - Put the paneer cubes into a bowl of warm water to which you have added sufficient salt. Let it soak for 5-6 mins.

Cooking - Heat the ghee in a skillet. Add the paneer cubes (drained on a kitchen towel) and fry on low heat to a golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

Add the whole spices and fry till fragrant. Now add the garlic and fry to a light brown. 

The onions go in next. They need to be fried till translucent .

Put in the veggies, sprinkle a bit of salt and turn up the flame a bit. Sprinkle water at regular intervals and let the veggie cook in the steam and brown up a bit at the same time.

The rice goes in at last along with the paneer cubes. Season with salt and garam masala. Turn up the flame as you toss the ingredients to distribute the flavour evenly. Garnish with chopped cilantro and remove from the flame.

Serve warm/hot with some kachumbar or even pickle.

Note - Have used a steel tiffinbox for the presentation to create an awareness about the need to ditch plastic. It is not only harmful for the environment but the chemicals leached when we put hot food in plastic containers are carcinogenic in nature. Let us join hands and make a pledge to reduce the use of plastic with this post !

Paneer Kali Mirch ( A refreshingly different Cottage Cheese curry )

The start to this year has been rather low key. Health concerns have taken up all our priorities for the last few days. And added to that, we have made a resolution to cut down of meat and fish this year. Hence, a paneer curry was the natural choice for the first lunch of 2016.

I had noted down this recipe from one of the FB forums sometime back. And decided to add my own touch at the last minute. Result was a rich yet refreshing gravy that made our lunch quite festive.
Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

• 200 gm paneer cubes
• 1/2 cup milk / yogurt ( depends on whether you want that hint of sourness )
• 1 tbsp fresh cream
• 1 large onion ( chopped into thin long pieces )
• 1 tsp ginger juliennes
• 1 tsp crushed peppercorns
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 tbsp chopped mint leaves
• salt to taste
• 5-6 cashews
• 2 cloves

Preparation - Soak the cashews in a cup of hot water for 20 mins.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the chopped onions and fry till brown. Remove from wok. Grind into a smooth paste along with the soaked cashews.

Heat the butter/ ghee in the same wok. Add the ginger juliennes and cloves. Fry for 30 seconds before adding the onion-cashew paste. Saute for another 2-3 mins.

Lower flame and add the milk/yogurt, crushed peppercorns, garam masala, cumin powder and salt. Bring to a slight boil and then add the cream.

Drop in the paneer cubes along with the chopped mint. Cover immediately. Switch off flame after a minute.

Serve immediately along with jeera rice / phulkas or naan.

Note - There are multiple variations to this recipe and hence taste will wildly vary. With mine, I have limited the use of strong spices which can mask the kali mirch or peppercorn flavour. Another version which I tried and liked was one by Tarla dalal which makes use of garlic. 

Badami Paneer

Badami Paneer or cottage cheese cubes cooked in a rich nut based gravy is one dish that invokes sheer bliss. It has an silken texture that just seems to envelope one's entire mouth while the tangy taste of the tomatoes and the mild heat from those aromatic spices join hands to tingle each and every taste bud.

But surprisingly it is very simple and rather easy to prepare. Make this dish for friends and family and have them wondering about the kind of effort that you have put in. Read on for recipe -

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

• 250 gm Paneer cubes
• 1 medium sized onion
• 1 tsp Garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp Ginger paste
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 1/2 cup coriander powder
• 1/2 cup cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/5 tsp turmeric
• 2 pinch garam masala
• 1 cup milk
• 4-5 tsp oil/butter ( 1 prefer 1 tsp oil + 3 tsp butter )
• salt to taste
• cilantro for garnishing
• 5-6 cashews
• 10 almonds
• 1 tsp poppy seeds

Preparation - Soak the cashews, almonds and poppy seeds in warm water for 1/2 hour . Then grind into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Grind the onion separately into a smooth paste

Cooking - Heat the oil and butter in a wok.

Add the onion paste along with the ginger paste and garlic paste. Fry till translucent but no more.

Add the powdered masalas along with the tomato puree. Fry till oil starts to come out from this gravy.

Then add the nuts paste and fry for 2-3 mins. Finally add the warm milk and get it to a boil.

Once the gravy has reached the desired consistency, add the panner cubes. Let it simmer for 2 mins.

Garnish with cilantro before removing from the flame.

Serve hot with jeera rice, rotis or even some delicious butter naan. 

Butter Paneer Masala

Another restaurant favorite decoded. This time it is the sumptuous Butter Panner Masala or Panner cubes simmered in a rich gravy of onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and cream. Though it is hard to believe, the simple preparation method belies the end results.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

• 200 gm Malai paneer 
• 1 large onion 
• 1 tsp GG paste
• 2 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 2 cardamom
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chili powder ( or as per taste )
• 1/4 cup fresh cream
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1" inch cubes of butter ( 2-3 nos )
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tbsp Kasuri methi / cilanatro leaves
• salt to taste

Preparation - Chop the onion roughly. Cut each tomato into 4 halves.

Cooking - Take one butter cube and the oil in a wok. Add the whole spices (cardamom, cinnamom and cloves ) and fry till fragrant.

Add the onions. Fry till onion becomes translucent.

Add the GG paste. Fry for 1 minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for 2 mins before removing from the flame. Keep aside till it cools down .

Transfer to a mixer/grinder jar. Buzz into a smooth puree.

Place the same wok on the flame ( there would be some oil/butter remaining in it ). Add the butter cube. Pour the paste into the wok and cook for 2 mins.

Add the cumin powder, chili powder and the Kasuri methi (remember to rub it between your fingers before adding) to the onion tomato gravy along with 1/2 cup hot water. Add salt.

Bring everything to a gentle boil. Simmer for 3-4 mins.

Finally add the Paneer cubes and simmer for a minute. Finally add the honey and the cream just before removing from the flame.

Serve hot with rotis/phulka/naan or even jeera rice/pulao .

Note - One can also use cashew paste instead of cream. But unlike the cream which is added just before removing the gravy from the flame, the cashew paste needs to be cooked for a few minutes.

Shahi Paneer ( A Truly Royal treat for the taste-buds)

I had not prepared any Panner dish for quite sometime as my husband had got bored with it. So, when I got some from the supermarket last week, I wanted to try out something different from the usual spicy gravies that usually make. After browsing through lots of recipes, I zeroed in on this simple recipe of 'Shahi Paneer' as it looks quite easy and less time consuming. I have avoided tomatoes as I wanted that white look and hence used some extra curd to get that tang into the gravy. But feel free to choose whichever you like.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 30-40 mins

Ingredients -

• 250 gm Malai Paneer
• 1/2 cup thick yogurt
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala power
• 1/4 turmeric
• 1 tbsp makhan (white butter)/oil
• a pinch of saffron
• 3 tbsp warm milk
• 2 tsp sugar
• salt to taste

For the gravy -

• 1 medium onion
• 3-4 garlic flakes
• 1 inch long ginger
• 5-6 cashews
• 4-5 almonds
• 3 cloves
• 3 green cardamom
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 pinch cumin (jeera)
• 2 pinch shah jeera

Preparation - Soak the saffron in warm milk for 20 mins.

Boil 2 cups water in a small saucepan and add all the ingredients listed  under 'For the gravy' . Let it boil for 10 mins (else you can use a pressure cooker and cook all the ingredients for 2 whistles on a medium flame).

Allow to cool down before straining the water (do not throw). Grind the cooked ingredients into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Cooking - Heat the white butter / oil in a wok. Add the paste that we have prepared in the previous step. Cook for 5-6 minutes till the oil starts to separate.

Add the coriander powder, chili powder, garam masala and turmeric at this point. Stir fry for 2 mins.

[Note - If you plan to use any tomato puree, add it at this point and cook for 4-5 mins]

Add the yogurt (whisked to break any lumps), strained water, sugar and salt to taste. Boil for 10 mins on a low flame (be careful as it tends to stick to the bottom).

Add the saffron milk and the paneer cubes. Simmer for 2 mins before removing from the flame.

Serve hot with naan or any other Indian bread. Also goes well with white or any mildly flavored rice.