Paneer Mint Mazedar

Wow!!! It has been more than two years since I posted anything here!!! I wish I would make some time to address my passion once in a while...

It all started last Sunday when we had lunch at one of our favorite Indian restaurants. We ordered 'Paneer Shashlik' without exactly knowing what it was. We were served large cubes of paneer in a light green yogurt sauce. It tasted divine and different. As soon as we got home, I searched for Paneer Shashlik recipe. I was surprised to find Paneer Tikka recipes and none of them resembled what we ate at the restaurant. Hence it was up to me to reinvent the recipe.

In most of my gravies, I saute my onions and then grind them. My husband often tells me (from his experience during student days) that chefs in Indian restaurants cook onions using a different technique. I decided to experiment this new technique (read recipe to find out what I did ;-) ) with this recipe. I also added cashews (a bit too much) to make a (read extra creamy) creamy gravy. As a side note, I coined the name for this dish too...


Ingredients:
Paneer - 1 lb (cut into cubes)
Onion - 4 large
Mint leaves - 1 large bunch (wash and separate leaves)
Cilantro - 1 bunch (Wash and chop)
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Garlic - 8 large cloves
Cooked Peas - 1 cup (Optional. If using frozen thaw to room temperature)
Cinnamon - 3 inch piece
Cloves - 5
Cardamom - 4
Cumin - 3/4 tsp
Coriander - 1 tsp
bay leaves - 3 to 4
Yogurt, well beaten - 3 tbsp
Green chillies - 2 (I make my gravies mild, you can spice it up to your needs)
Whole cashews - 15 to 20 (I added a lot more)
Juice of 1 large lemon
Milk - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 3 tbsp

Method:
Slice onions and cook them covered with 1 cup of water and 2 tbsp of milk. When the onions become transparent, soft and the raw smell disappears, remove from heat, cool, reserve remaining liquid if any (onion water) and grind into a smooth paste.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin and coriander. When the coriander seeds turn light brown, add green chillies, ginger and garlic and saute until soft. Now add mint and cilantro leaves. Stir fry for 30 seconds and remove from heat. At this point the leaves would be bright green and the raw smell would have disappeared. Cool this mixture, grind and set aside. Let us call this 'green paste'

Grind cashews with milk into a smooth paste.

To prepare paneer, in a small sauce pan allow water to boil, add cubed paneer and remove from heat. Let it stand covered in warm water until ready to use.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil, add the ground onion and cook in medium heat for 3 minutes. Add cashew nut paste and yogurt and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent burning and splattering. Add the green paste, onion water and paneer cubes. You can add more water to obtain desired consistency. Bring the gravy to a boil. Add peas and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and mix well. Serve with hot rotis, paratas or naan.

Note:

• The onions can be sauteed instead of boiling in water
• To prepare paneer, I have tried deep frying, shallow frying, microwaving and using hot water. I have found hot water to be the best technique. It keeps the paneer soft and is easy and quick.

Couscous - Pomegranate and much more salad

I prepare couscous salad pretty often, with small variations every time. Now, it is time to incorporate the wonderful fall fruit, pomegranate.

Couscous is quite a newcomer to my kitchen. About a year ago, I saw Sandra Lee from the Food Network, using it.  I searched online and found that couscous is a type of Middle Eastern pasta made from semolina flour. Traditionally, it is cooked by steaming for a long time. Today, the varieties sold in the grocery stores are pre-steamed for convenience and are ready in 10 minutes. Even though, it is a pasta, it neither looks nor tastes like one, but more like cracked wheat. It is very versatile and is an interesting alternative to regular pasta. I have always been using Trader Joe's whole wheat couscous in my preparations.

This is an adaptation from couscous salad recipe posted in about.com

Ingredients:
Dry Couscous - 1 cup
Black beans - 1 16 oz can, drained
Pomegranate - 1 cup
Red bell pepper - 1 medium, diced
Lemon -1 zested and juiced
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Chopped flat leaf parsley - 1/4 cup
Chopped mint - 1/4 cup
chilly flakes to taste (optional) 
Salt and pepper to taste
Water - 3/4 cup

Method:
Prepare couscous as per directions in the box. Combine water, lemon zest, 1 tbsp olive oil (I sometimes use chili oil) and chili flakes (yes!!! we love the heat) and bring to a boil. Simmer, pour over couscous, season with salt and pepper to taste, mix well, cover with a plastic wrap and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine black beans, pomegranates, red bell pepper, lemon juice, remaining olive oil, parsley and mint. Season with salt and pepper to taste and let it stand for 30 minutes. Combine with couscous preparation and cool in the refrigerator before serving.

This was our salad during the POM dinner party I recently hosted. Check out the recap here.

Hara Bhara Moong (Green gram beans)

I had made Moong beans (pacha payaru) sundal for Saraswati pooja and most of it was left over. So, I made this dish and served it with roti.

In little oil, I sauteed few green chillies, chopped ginger, few garlic cloves, one bunch of coarsely chopped cilantro and one cup mint leaves. I ground them into a paste with 4 tbsp of grated coconut and set aside.

I sauteed finely chopped onion, tomato and diced red bell peppers. Then I added the moong beans sundal (can be substituted with cooked moong beans), salt and little water and brought the mixture to boil. Then I added the ground paste mixed well and removed from heat. It turned out really good. After dinner, I ended up eating the remaining with plain yogurt.... Hmmm... wonderful!!