Paneer Burger

On our last grocery trip, I saw B pick up two fat buns from our local baker. 
"I want a burger", he said. 

"Great! I have just soaked some soya nuggets ... will make some thick patties." 
He kept quiet. And then I noticed a big pack of paneer too. 

He hates hates soya nuggets while I try to sneak it into his food for the protein boost. 😊

"So how to do plan to add the paneer to the burger? Grate?", I keep on. 
"I haven't decided on it, yet". 

Today, he wanted his burgers for lunch. 

"I want a stir fry with lots of onions and garlic, some tomatoes for moisture and small pieces of paneer. 

And I want  Italian flavours. I will add the olives last. " 

So I made this stir fried Paneer with vegetables for the burger. 

Need : 

Thickly sliced onions 
Sliced capsicums 

Paneer cut into small pieces 
Boiled potato cut into small pieces

Chopped garlic
Mixed Italian herbs - Thyme, Oregano, Basil, Celery etc. 

Olive oil

Red chilli flakes 

Salt

Sugar 

How to : 

Heat a little olive oil and add the garlic and the potatoes. 

Add a little salt and fry on high for a while. 

Now add the paneer and the rest of the ingredients. 
Stir fry on high heat till everything comes together. 

Heat the buns on a flat heavy pan .... I kept the base for a longish while so that it crisped up. 

Cut them in half but not all the way. 
Stuff with the filling and serve immediately. 

We are not eating deep fried right now ... so there was no potatoes chips on the side. 

( Guess it is high time I got that air fryer ..... what say? ) 

And also no soft drinks too. 

But B did make some Pomegranate juice for me. 

Lunch was good. A change from our regular meals was welcome since the weather has started to turn really hot these days. 

Take care all. 

Ps: B forgot to add his favourite olives after all. 😉

Doi Paneer / Dahi Paneer / Cottage cheese cubes cooked with curd and spices

I made this curry a few weeks back when I got some good Paneer ... store bought.
Once upon a time, I used to make Paneer at home ... yes, the whole process of curdling the milk, straining the cheese and then setting it before I cut it into cubes.
B loved those fresh blocks of paneer lightly stir fried and sprinkled with a little salt.
I do cook paneer often as a protein source for vegetarian B. I use the nutritious whey in a lot of dishes too.
But not as often as I would want to ... recently.
I mean ... make paneer at home.
Somehow making dahi / curd has taken over and the bulk of milk at home goes into it. And more often than not, I find myself trying to balance between the making of curd or paneer.
Curd wins, as always.
And only because it is easier to make.

And I am not at all in favour of store bought paneer. But a few months back, I read about Punjab Sind dairy products on one of the groups on facebook and how their products are good and fresh.
And promptly forgot about it.
But on our trip to Goa last November, I had wanted to pick up some local Kokum and other stuff ... which is why we had been to a super market. And there, as we were parking the car, I noticed a Punjab Sind shop.
Which made me make a serious mental note to try their stuff once I am back home.

Which I did.
I bought some fresh Paneer and curd and loved them.
Especially the Paneer ... which is made fresh and they give you a small piece to taste ... with a sprinkle of some masala.
Reminded me of our paneer tasting experience on our Amritsar trip. 
Coming home, I used the paneer for three dishes and one of them was this Dahi paneer.
I was making some chicken for myself for dinner and as usual resorted to quick fix cooking .... marinating the chicken with everything and slow cooking it on the stove top or in the oven.
So I did the same for the paneer too.
While they were cooking by themselves, all I made was some rotis.
And my quick dinner was sorted.

B loves Paneer cooked with Punjabi flavours, which is why I add kasuri methi and Punjabi garam masala usually.
But you can try this curry with other flavours too.

Need :

Paneer - 6 medium sized cubes
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp. ( I used 1 frozen cube of my homemade version )
Green chilli paste - 1 tsp
Curd - 1 cupful , beaten till smooth
Cumin seeds / Jeera - a pinch
Black cardamom - 1, crushed
Cinnamon / Dalchini - 2 small pieces
Turmeric / Haldi powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander / Dhania powder - 1 tbsp.
Kitchen King masala powder - tbsp. ( I used it since I had run out of kasuri methi )
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Water - for gravy .... if needed

How to :

Marinate the paneer cubes with the ginger garlic paste + curd + haldi + red chilli powder + dhania powder + salt + sugar and keep aside for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the jeera + dalchini + crushed black cardamom.

Then add the chopped onions and fry on low heat till it slowly starts to brown.

Add the marinated paneer, cover and cook till the raw smell of masalas is gone and oil starts to leave the sides of the masala.
Do remember to adjust with a little water if needed.

Stir carefully around and mix everything well.

Once you get the desired consistency of the gravy, sprinkle the Kitchen king masala powder, raise heat till the sides start to sizzle ( it gives a good smoky flavor ) and then switch off heat.

Keep covered for 5 minutes before serving.

You can add a spoonful of ghee ... or butter in the end and keep it covered.

Goes best with hot rotis, especially roomali rotis.

Enjoy!!


PS: This is not a review for Punjab Sind.

Saunf Paneer / Fennel seeds powder flavoured pieces of cottage cheese

 

 The sky has stayed glum for the last 6 days. Or more.
Like a child denied its favourite toy.
Like a young girl just rebuked.
Like a heavy heart that doesn't burst. Yet wants to.
Like tears threatening to spill. Yet don't.
The sky stays grey. Still. Sad.
Rain threatening to spill. Yet doesn't.
Not even a light breeze is allowed.

 It's glumness spills over to us below.
It gets difficult to breathe in this hot  humid.
We keep looking up at the sky, hoping for a break.
Maybe the clouds will part and the sun will smile through.
No luck.

Our cool and breezy hilly city has turned into a serious, brooding and stuffy place to be ... the last few days.
There is the smell of rain in the air.
But no relief.
It is as if someone has put a dome over the whole city .... blocking out sunlight as well as free flowing air.

So we wait.
For the dull clouds to disperse.
To let in some sunshine and air.
To let us breathe again.

Lately, I've been trying out a lot of recipes from other blogs and blogger friends.
While not all have been clicked and presented, every one of them have been enjoyed immensely.
Trying out others' recipes brings a much needed change.
The ingredients are different, the temperings will be different, the way of cooking will be different.
And the whole dish will be different.
This change is hugely welcome to me ... I'm tired of my own way of cooking.
It is almost like someone else has cooked for me with love.

I recently tried Soma's wonderfully simple but full of flavours recipe of Paneer in fennel flavoured tomato sauce. 
 Personally, I'm not a huge fan of paneer. But if I have good paneer, I love to try simple recipes so that the freshness of the paneer does not get smothered by overwhelming masalas.

I loved Soma's recipe so much that I got another block of paneer the same week and made it again.
We had guests and everyone of them wiped their plates clean ... this gravy is so delicious.
And yes, they smacked their lips too. :-)

 I had made a few changes in the recipe to suit the availability of ingredients in my pantry ... like I used peanuts powder instead of almond; I did not have ginger powder, etc.
So I am giving the recipe here.
The original recipe is here.

The best thing about this recipe is it is a no onion garlic recipe.
Fuss free.

Need :

Paneer pieces - 10 to 12, make sure you use fresh paneer
Fennel seeds powder - 3 tbsp
Peanuts powder - 5 tbsp
Grated tomato - 2 medium sized cups 
Green cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 2 small pieces
Black pepper powder - to taste
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Sugar - ½ tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - as needed

How to :

Heat oil.
Let in the green cardamom (make sure you break them first ... or they will splutter real bad)
and the cinnamon.
Add the grated tomato and fry for a while.
When it starts to lose its rawness and the extra water, add the fennel powder, black pepper powder, turmeric powder and the red chilli powder.
Fry well till all moisture dries up.
Add around a cupful of water, salt and sugar.
Cover and simmer for a while.
Remove cover and add in the peanut powder.
Add some more water - remember to check on the salt every time you add water.

Let in the paneer pieces and give a gentle stir for them to get coated properly with the masala.
Cover and simmer for some more time.

Remove cover and check the thickness of the gravy.
Sprinkle the ghee on it and cover.
Remove from heat.

Serve hot with rotis.
Absolutely divine ... this one dish is.
Enjoy!!!

Have you tried to make Paneer cubes at home ?
The recipe is here. 


Have you tried to make my very quick Paneer Butter Masala yet?
The recipe is here.



Do try .... and don't forget to let me know how you liked it. :-)

Easy Paneer Butter Masala

( Vegans can make this with tofu / boiled potato cubes / steamed medium sized cauliflower florets ).


Too many things at hand these days ... and every job demanding attention at the same time ... not to say nothing of the people around me ( I hope JKJ pardons me for using the line in such frivolous settings).

There have been a few things ... read major few things ... that needed to be done with in the house before the monsoons set in ( no sign of that yet ... still .... ). So we have been after the guys who were suppossed to deal with them, for over a month. And after days of unending calls (from us) , they all land up on one single day.

The house turns into mayhem ... we are banished to a corner .... and the sounds of hammering, drilling and breaking of bricks etc. made a din enough to drive wild elephants away.
And with my kitchen taken over, we were left to the mercies of home deliveries.



But I just could not stay away from my blog .... I must say this wanting to hear from you all on my posts is getting addictive. :-)

So while checking mails was sidelined ... or any other work for that matter, I wanted to post something. Luckily, the snaps for this dish were ready. So here's the dish that I made, as promised when I posted my homemade paneer cubes.


This recipe is very quick to make .... and easy too. If you have the paneer ready, then this is done in a jiffy. The butter here is just a wee bit ... just to give a flavour.
I have simplified it ... if you want an elaborate one, you can of course use more ground masala pastes like onion, cashew, etc.

Need : Paneer cubes ( around 10 pieces of small size ), a little butter, a few cloves of garlic[optional] , 2 big sized tomatoes, 2 black cardamoms,
a cupful of whey, crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) leaves,
a little garam masala, salt and sugar to taste.

How to : Run the tomatoes, garlic and the cardamom in a mixer to get a paste.

Heat a non stick kadhai / wok and add a little butter. You can go overboard and add lots if you want to too.

Add the tomato paste and keep frying till it is well cooked and dries up. Now add the crushed kasuri methi and keep stirring for a while.

Add the whey and the paneer cubes. Cover and simmer till you get the gravy of desired consistency.

Remove cover and sprinkle a pinch garam masala. Cover and let it stand for a while for the flavours to absorb.


Serve hot with rotis / parathas / naan.
Another easy dish using whey is here. :-)

Homemade Paneer Cubes

I was wondering in one of my last posts at how few of my recipes actually make it to my blog.
One of the main reasons is I cook most of the good stuff for dinner ... and absolutely hate to click snaps in bad light. So inspite of cooking up loads of food, my blog lacks most of them.


So when dear Joyeeta lamented that her homemade paneer always breaks down before a dish is complete, I remembered that I do make paneer at home. And also realised that I have never posted it.


So here's the paneer ... made by me. And it doesn't break ... see? Hope this recipe helps Joyeeta and anyone who wants make paneer at home.


I have never liked store bought paneer and guess that's what prompted me to try making it. It is surprisingly easy to make .... and has a firm yet soft texture. Has always worked well for my dishes.



I am giving the measurements and snaps for a detailed description. Since I was making it only for this post, I have used less milk. If you want to, you can increase the measurements accordingly.

The sun chose to play hide and seek today .... wreaking havoc on my snaps. :-(

Need : Half litre milk, juice of half a lemon / 2 teaspoons of white vinegar, 1 teaspoon cornflour, a little cooking oil.

How to :

Bring the milk to a boil and then add the lemon juice / vinegar. After it curdles, keep boiling for 2 to 3 minutes more.


Drain it in a soup strainer. Tie it up in a cheese cloth and hang it to drain out all water.

Or .... just keep a bowl filled with water ( to make it heavy enough) on the paneer in the soup strainer .... for about half an hour.


Remove after half an hour and mash it well with cornflour till smooth.


Pat it on a plate ( preferrably steel ) and give a thick, squarish shape.
Place it in the freezer to set ... for about half an hour.
Make sure it does not start to freeze ... the water in it will go bonkers once you start to fry it ... the whole thing will fall apart. :-)

Bring out the set paneer and cut it into cubes.

Spray a little oil on a very lightly heated pan / griddle. Place the paneer cubes on it for a while ... turn them over once ... and remove.
Don't brown them too much ... this is just for the paneer to hold together.


Done ! Your gloriously golden and creamy paneer is ready! :-)

Add them to any dish you want to. Just remember .... store bought or otherwise .... good paneer is delicate. So don't go about stirring and tossing and bullying it into oblivion.

Always add paneer at the end while making a dish with it. Just add it, give a stir if necessary ... cover and simmer. That's all.


I made this out of the paneer I made ... recipe coming up in the next post. :-)