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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Achari Paneer

The end of school year in Singapore. My kids have vacations and I seem to be busier in holidays,  than the school days..!! I am not cooking much, and the holidays are just passing by....! My son's friend's mom(Thank-you-- Shuvali), sent me a delicious chicken.... which we all liked so much and made me cook something new again. As I didn't have chicken at home, I decided to make the recipe with paneer. I loved the flavor.



 Would you like to taste....? :)





Ingredients:

  • 400 gms paneer cubes
  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt (or regular curd. Hang it for an hour to get the thick waterless curd)
  • 1 tsp each of nigella seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp of coriander and cumin powder
  • 1 tsp of garam masala
  • 1 large red onion
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 4 green chilies 
  • salt about 1 tsp or to taste
  • 1- 3 tsp of mustard oil (or any regular oil or ghee, mustard oil flavor is really nice)
  • More tomato, coriander leaves, or ginger to garnish




Recipe:

  • Slit the green chilies, chop the onion and tomato, grate the ginger and garlic to paste.

  • Heat mustard oil in a pan.
  • Add the dry spices.(cumin, mustard, fennel, nigella and fenugreek)

  • Heat them for about half a minute, add turmeric and asafoetida.
  • Now add the ginger - garlic paste, onions and then the tomatoes. Saute them for 30 seconds to a minute after each addition. 

  • Add the cumin and coriander powder and saute till the masala is cooked.

  • Now add paneer cubes and mix well. 
  • Cook for about 5-7 minutes.

  • Lower the heat, add salt and garam masala.

  • Add the greek yogurt and mix it in with the paneer and let it cook on a low flame for 3-5 minutes.


  • Garnish with more tomatoes, coriander leaves and slit chilies or ginger matchsticks.

  • A very yummy side for roti, parathas or naans.




Quantity:

  • 3-4 servings with other accompaniments like roti, chapati, naan or parathas.




Note:

  • This recipe can also be made with chicken. As my son says, it tastes better with chicken :) 
  • Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric and greek yogurt (or hung curd) for about 2-3 hours before cooking it.