SPICY MUTTER PANEER

This weekend, I was in the mood for a lavish meal but somehow wasn’t in the mood to experiment. Quite uncharacteristic I know. I decided to go with the tried and tested Mutter Paneer. I have made this quite often and have refined my recipe over time by adding a few touches of my own. When you make it yourself, you will like the uniqueness of this recipe. Oookayy… Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

v      Fresh Paneer (Cottage cheese) – 1 pack (approx 400 gms)

v      Green peas (boiled) – 1 cup

v      Onions - 2

v      Tomatoes – 3

v      Green chillies – 2

v      Garlic – 3 small pieces

v      Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

v      Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

v      Cinnamon – 1 stick

v      Cloves – 5

v      Cardamom – 3

v      Cashews – 10 to 15

v      Garam masala – 1-2 tsp

v      Chili powder – 1-2 tsp

v      Coriander powder – 1-2 tsp

v      Yogurt (Curd) – 1 cup

v      Oil and ghee

v      Salt as required

Paneer Preparation:

This is a very important step which I do a little differently from most other Paneer versions you would find. I feel that this gives Paneer a distinct flavor. So give it a try.

ü       Cut the paneer into small cubes.

ü       Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the paneer in a mild flame. Turn it around to ensure it gets fried on all surfaces.

ü       Take a bowl of curd and add a tsp of chili powder, garam masala and salt.

ü       Now soak the fried paneer in this mix for about half an hour. This gives a nice spice to the paneer.

Special Spicy Masala:

In addition to garam masala, I make a spicy masala that adds to the taste. So if you are in the mood for some finesse, go for this one. Grind the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves to a fine powder.

Gravy Paste:

This is the penultimate step in your cooking expedition. Hang on there!

ü       Heat oil in a pan and fry green chilies, garlic and cashews for half a minute and then keep them separately

ü       Now add the onions and fry them till they turn golden brown

ü       Finally add tomatoes and fry them for about 2-3 minutes

ü       Now let it cool for a while

ü       Then grind all of the above into a fine paste

The final Act:

You are almost there. Hold your taste buds (and of course your stomach) for a few more minutes.

ü       Heat a pan and add a small tsp of ghee.

ü       Now add the gravy paste and sauté it for a minute.

ü       Now add the ground spicy masala powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt and continue the sauté for another 2 minutes.

ü       Then add the paneer (soaked in curd) and boiled peas.

ü       Now cook for about 5 minutes in a mild flame until the flavor gets into the paneer.

ü       If you are very hungry you can sneak some paneer into your stomach while you are cooking (tasting is always a good excuse).

ü       That’s it. Mutter Paneer Masala is ready.

ü       Now garnish it with coriander and serve with hot rotis.

Enjoy spicy and tasty paneer. A good and relatively easy experiment to carry out on a weekend. Try it and you will be pleasantly surprised!