Paneer Kurma (Paneer vegetable Kurma) | Side dish for chapathi

Paneer kurma is my favorite with chapathis and parathas. I like the white kurmas served in restaurants with less flavour of garam masala and spices so just wanted to give a try and here is my version. And happy independence day wishes!! The colors of the kurma are apt for the occasion though not intentional :)

Paneer Vegetable Kurma Recipe:

Serves 2



Ingredients:

• Onion - 1/2 finely chopped
• Paneer - 1/2 cup cubed
• Carrot - 2 chopped
• Peas - a handful
• Ginger garlic paste -2 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp chopped finely
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt - as required

To temper :

• Cloves - 2
• Cinnamon - 1

To be grinded :

• Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Green chillies - 2
• Fennel seeds(Sombu) - 1/2 tsp
• Cashew - 5
• Onion - 1

Method:

1. Pressure cook carrot and peas until soft. Keep aside.
2. Heat a tawa with little oil and fry paneer till golden brown, switch off and drain in a tissue,keep aside.
3. Then in the same tawa, saute onions and coconut till slightly browned. Add sauted onion and coconut with the ingredients under 'to be grinded' with little water to a fine paste and keep aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan, add cloves, cinnamon , gingergarlic paste and onions saute till slightly brown then add the ground paste saute till raw smell leaves. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water(adjust according to the thickness) and allow it to boil for 3mins. Add required salt.
5. Add the pressure cooked veggies and fried paneer. Simmer for 5-7 mins until the kurma thickens and nice aroma comes.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and switch off.

My Notes:

• Frying paneer is totally optional but I prefer doing it in most of the paneer dishes.
• You can also saute tomatoes with onions and coconut and then grind it together.
• Adding a tsp of garam masala enhances the flavour too.
• This accompanies well with rotis and dosas too.
• This is closely the same way I make vegetable kurma too. You can add potatoes and beans too, adding vegetables is purely of your choice.

Paneer Kheer | Paneer Desserts

To me paneer is always related to savoury sidedishes or starters. So when I saw this paneer kheer in tarladalal protein rich recipes cookbook that I have, I was totally bowled out by the idea of a simple yet delicious looking dessert so instantly tried it.

Ingredients:

Recipe Reference : Tarladalal

• Paneer crumbled - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 2 cups
• Cornflour - 2 tsp
• Sugar - 2 to 3 tbsp
• Saffron - 1 strand
• Elachi powder - a pinch
• Nuts - 2 tbsp (pistachios, badams and cashews chopped)

Method:

1. Crush the saffron in a tsp of milk and keep aside. Add cornflour in a tsp of milk, mix well without lumps and keep aside.
2. Boil milk, add the cornflour milk mixture mix well continuosly and then simmer for 10mins until it starts thickening. Add sugar and mix well until completely dissolved. Add the saffron milk mixture and give a quick mix.
3. Now add the crumbled paneer to the boiling milk, mix well and allow it to boil for 5-7 more mins.
4. Add elachi powder, mix well and garnish with nuts and switch off.You can also toast the nuts in ghee and then add it to the kheer.
5. Allow it to cool for 5mins then refrigerate for 15mins and serve chilled.

My Notes:

• Saffron is optional, I like the flavour so added it. You can skip it too.
• Cornflour is added to fasten up the thickening process of the milk.
• For the above mentioned ingredients, it yields 2 small cups of paneer kheer.
• Adjust sugar according to your sweetness.

Paneer kheer was close to the taste of basundhi, whatever be the name it was heavenly. The paneer blended with the saffron flavoured milk with nuts....what more you want for a dessert..YUMM!! I luv it chilled but you can serve it warm as well.

My little one she loves most of the dishes with milk so this sweet was no exception , she enjoyed it thoroughlly. The picture in the cookbook was too tempting and this was one of few dishes I tried soon after I got the book and with no doubt this was a super hit.

Paneer Jalfrezi | Paneer Recipes

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine went great too with my old friend meet up and family together times which I always look forward during weekends. Whenever guests arrive, the desserts and snacks section is always mine. This time I made paneer pizza and carrot kheer, my friend asked whether the base was also homemade as it was very soft :)

Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe:

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Paneer- 1 cup
• Carrot- 1
• Onion - 1
• Capsicum - 1/2
• Ginger garlic paste -1 tsp
• Tomato puree - from 1 tomato
• Tomato ketchup 1 tbsp
• Red chilli powder 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil, add jeera and allow it to splutter. Add onions and ginger garlic paste saute until slightly browned.
2. Now add the tomato puree and saute until raw smell leaves, this may take atleast 5mins. Add turmeric, chilli, garam masala powder and tomato sauce. Add required salt.
3. Then add carrot saute for 2mins then add 3 tbsp of water and keep covered to let it cook. When the carrot turns slightly soft yet crunchy to bite, add capsicum giving a quick stir.
4. Add the paneer cubes and toss it well until the .paneer cubes are well coated with the gravy. Allow it to cook for 2mins then switch off.

My Notes:

• You can add any veggies of your choice, you add add corn, beans,cabbage - Its purely ur choice to go with the veggies.
• Chop all the veggies thin and lengthwise to get cooked soon and crunchy
• You can use readymade tomato puree also. I used freshly prepared homemade puree.

As still the apartment work has not yet finished, the waste wood keep piling off and on. So my latest hobby being going round the apartment in search of food props.I got this wooden board (which I have used in these pics) from one of these unwanted wood bins :) The only thing that embarasses me is when the watchman asks "why do u always dig in that dust?" And I dont bother saying him that "I want some wooden planks for a project" ;) And he says I am the one who cleans that place often reducing his work he he

Chop the veggies and paneer, you are done with this easy breezy side dish. This goes well with rotis, prathas and even rice with dhal which is my favourite combination. I love corn in jalfrezi but I didnt add the stock was over. And I am not used to use the frozen ones I went ahead with the veggies I had in hand.

Paneer Butter Masala - Restaurant style - Step by Step Recipe

Is there anyone who dont like PB masala? I can definitely hear a NO......I've tried 2-3 different versions but was not fully satisfied with any as I cudnt get the exact restaurant taste. I got this recipe from Vahrevah which is a easy and quick version without compromising on the taste. Its apt like the restaurant gravies.

Paneer Butter Masala Recipe

Recipe Source : Vahrevah.com

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• Paneer - 1 packet
• Butter - 1.5 tbsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Onion - 1 chopped finely
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Tomato puree - from 2 medium sized tomatoes (comes to 1 cup)
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Cream - 1 tbsp for granish (optional but enhances the taste)
• Salt - to taste

For mixing :

• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
• Dried Kastoori methi leaves (crushed) - 1/4 tsp
• Tomato sauce - 1 heaped tsp
• Milk - 1 cup

Method:

Chop paneer into cubes. Take puree from 2 tomatoes and keep aside. Chop onions finely and make it ready. Now in a mixing bowl add chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, dried kasoori methi leaves, tomato sauce then add milk.

Mix the milk spices mixture well and keep aside.In a nonstick pan add a tsp of oil, fry the paneer cubes till slightly golden brown and drain in a tissue paper and keep aside.

Now add butter in the same pan , allow it to melt then add ginger garlic paste saute for 2mins then add onions and fry till golden browned.Then add tomato puree and fry until raw smell completely leaves, this will take atleast 5mins.

Now add the mixed milk-spices mixture, 1/2 cup water and then simmer for 5-7 minutes.The gravy would be thick and mixed well at this stage.Add remaining 1/2 cup milk little by little stirring continuosly to prevent milk from curdling.

Simmer again for 3mins to see like the below consistency.Then add the fried paneer cubes and mix well. Allow the paneer to sit for 2mins then switch off. Garnish with cream(optional) and Serve hot with rotis or naan.

My Notes :

• You can substitute 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 cup of cream and skip the garnishing.
• Frying paneer is optional you can add it raw too as in the orginal recipe, but I always fry as we like it that way.
• The gravy cooked in milk gives it a slight sweet taste even without adding sugar as in restaurants.
• Tomato puree can also be added in the mixing part itself as in the orginal recipe but I find sauting this way even more flavourful. I used fresh tomato puree, you can use store bought ones too.

I am sure u'll also be surprised like me once u taste it, it tastes a in restaurants. Garnishing/adding cream enhances the flavour of the gravy and gives a rich creamy taste.

This is another long time to desire to get the exact taste for PB masala and now am very much satisfied with this recipe and easiness. Sure to be my keeper!

Paneer Tikka in Oven - Step by Step Recipe

After I tried Paneer tikka(stove top method) for Paneer tikka masala I wanted to try the same in oven too as the smoky flavour was missing in stove top method. As I said earlier, stove top method of paneer tikka works best for paneer tikka masala. I referred the recipe book that came with my OTG (guess it was the first time I dusted out the manual ;)) and am totally satisfied with the results.

Paneer Tikka in Oven Recipe:

Makes 3 paneer tikka skewers

Ingredients:

• Onion - 1 cubed
• Capsicum - 1 cubed
• Tomato - 1 chopped into squares

For the marination:

• Paneer -15 medium cubes
• Hung Curd - 3 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Tandoori masala / Chat Masala powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Pepper powder
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp

How to make hung curd:

Hang 1/4 cup curd in a muslin cloth)or any thin cloth) for an hour to make the required hung curd.

Method:

Chop capsicum, tomato and onion into medium sized squares just enough to insert into skewers. Cube the paneer and make it ready. Now mix the ingredients listed under 'for the marination' and keep aside.

Now mix paneer with the marinated ingredients and keep refrigerated for an hr. Then take it out and insert the paneer,capsicum, tomato and onion in skewers alternatively. Arrange the remaining paneer pieces on the tray itself. Brush with oil on top.

Preheat the oven at 210 deg C and arrange the paneer tikkas in the baking tray and grill the paneer tikkas for 15-18mins turning over the skewers in between for even cooking. Your paneer tikkas are ready, serve hot with green chutney and raw onions.

My Notes:

• You can even marinate capsicum,onion and tomato with the marination ingredients or just insert them raw. I usually do the paneer marination first then use the left over marination curd mix for onion-tomato-capsicum.
• You can also arrange the paneer tikkas straight on the wire rack itself but be careful with the temperature (if you are using this method) as the tikkas are exposed to the flame directly.
• You can skip tomatoes and use different color capsicums too.
• My oven has maximum temperature of 250 deg C but I was adviced by the demo person not to use the maximum temperature even if the recipe calls for it. So I lowered the temperature and grilled for an extra 5mins, the outcome was good.
• Make sure the paneer pieces are firm enough to insert else it will break in between. I used Hatsun paneer which works best, milky mist is good too.

To me what I made was paneer tikka as I havent tasted paneer tikka outside though have tasted paneer tikka masala many times. So when I asked hubby regarding the taste, he said it tastes better than restaurants and that was a huge compliment for a first timer.....Yipeee!! :)

Paneer Bread Balls / Paneer Balls

I have tasted paneer balls from Nilgiris and was wondering what ingredients went in to make these tasty balls. But I knew potato and panner were the main ingredients. And the moment I saw these spinach cheese balls from the cookbook by Tarladalal the idea struck me to make these paneer bread balls. But know what?! except the ball idea I totally modified the recipe to my convenience :)

Ingredients :

• Paneer - 1 cup
• Bread - 3 slices
• Potato - 1/2 (just for binding)
• Onion - 1 finely chopped
• Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
• Tomato Sauce - 1 tbsp
• Rava - 1/2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - as required

Method:

1. Crumble the paneer well. Knead it for 5mins until well combined. Boil potatoes until soft and combine with paneer and keep aside.
2. Cut the corner of the bread slices, sip it in water and add it to crumbled paneer . then add all the other ingredients except oil and combine to form a smooth dough just enough to roll into balls.
3. Now pinch equal sized balls and roll them into small balls and deep fry them in oil(I used my paniyaram pan to toast them to reduce oil)

My Notes:

• It is a very easy and interesting snack/starter idea. I have seen this in nilgiris in the name of paneer balls.
• Alternatively you can dip the balls in maida water paste , them cover them with breadcrumbs as we do for veg cutlets and then deep fry or toast them.

Paneer Bhurji Recipe | Paneer Recipes

Recently had some home made paneer which was in a semi crumbled state so that was the reason I tried my hands at Paneer Bhurji. I would say its vegetarian scrambled egg :) Its mild yet flavourful and goes well with rotis and rice too.

Ingredients:

• Paneer - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 finely chopped
• Tomato - 1/2 chopped (I dont like tomato pieces much so reduced you can add 1 whole tomato too)
• Capsicum - 1 finely chopped
• Green chillies - 1 finely chopped
• Turmeric powder - a generous pinch
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera(Cumin seeds) - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 1tbsp to garnish
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Salt - to taste

Method:

1. First crumble paneer well and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a kadai add jeera allow it to crackle. Now add onion, green chillies and tomato then saute for few mins until onions turn golden brown and tomatos are slightly mushy.
3. Now add capsicum and saute for 3mins. Then add salt, turmeric, red chilli, garam masala powder and mix well. Capsicum should be firm and crunchy.
4. Now add the crumbled paneer and saute for 2mins until the masalas get blended with the paneer.Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve warm with rotis or use in a sandwich.

Do you want to know how I used my paneer bhurji, then stay tuned to check the post that is coming up soon :)

Paneer Tikka Masala and Paneer Tikka Recipe(Stove-top method) | Paneer Recipes

My constant order in restaurants after PB masala is this Paneer Tikka masala. I found this recipe in vahrevah and quickly tried it. It tastes almost close to the restaurant type gravy.I was totally surprised when I heard him saying that this is the top veg paneer side dish in most of the restaurants.

I have recently tried paneer tikkas in oven and thoroughlly enjoyed it.I felt the smoky flavour is the best in these tikkas which will be missing in stove top method. But for paneer tikka masala stove top method works good. For the individual tikkas grilling option is better than the stove top so check out for my 'paneer tikka in oven' post.

Paneer Tikka Masala Recipe

Recipe Source : Vahrevah.com

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the Paneer Tikka marination:

• Paneer - 15 cubes
• Thick/Hung Curd - 3 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder powder - 1 tsp
• Dried kasturi methi leaves - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Capsicum - 1/2 cubed
• Onion - 1/2 cubed
• Tomato - 1/2 cubed
• Oil - 1 tsp

For the Tikka Masala:

• Tomato puree - taken from 3 tomatoes (comes to 1 cup)
• Onion- 1
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Maida - 1tsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1tbsp

Method:

1. Making hung curd: If you dont have thick yogurt then hang 1/4 cup curd in a muslin cloth and keep aside for 30mins, Your hung curd is ready. This makes about 2-3 tbsp of hung curd which is required for this recipe.



2. First mix curd with masala powders, kasoori methis,lemon juice, salt to a fine paste then add paneer, tomato and capsicum to the fine paste and marinate for an hr. After an hr (by this time make the gravy ready) roast the marinated paneer along with capsicum and tomatoes in a tawa until slightly golden brown then drain in a tissue paper and keep aside.



3. Prick them alternatively in a tooth pick and enjoy ur stove top paneer tikkas.

For the Paneer tikka masala :

1. Heat oil, add jeera allow it to splutter then add onions and saute until slightly golden brown.Add ginger garlic paste saute for a min. Add maida, salt, turmeric and coriander powders and mix well.



2. Add tomato puree, chilli powder and saute until oil oozes out and the gravy thickens.Once the raw smell of tomato leaves add 1/2 cup water and allow it to boil for 2mins. Adjust salt if required.



3. Then add the roasted paneer to the gravy and allow it to cook for 5mins. Then garnish with coriander leaves, mix once and switch off.

My Notes:

• Maida is added to thicken the gravy says the chef. Ever since I started watching his cooking videos I have been referring a lot from his site, he makes things simpler and easier than it is.



• Always roast the marinated paneer when the gravy is about to complete may be you can start roasting them in parallel when the tomato puree gets cooked.



• You can skip tomatoes if you dont like them and add different color capsicums.

Chilli Paneer Recipe | Indian Paneer Recipes

Actually soups and starters are out of my menu, I start with the dishes right away. So the first time I tasted chilli paneer was very recently only, and the one served in the restaurant I tried was more like gobi 65 and they called it chilli paneer. So I browsed to find the exact recipe and after few googling I found this recipe from Vahrevah.com and loved it instanty.

Ingredients:

• Paneer - 1 cup cubed
• Capsicum - 1 chopped finely
• Onions - 1 chopped finely
• Garlic - 5 minced finely
• Green Chillies - 1 chopped finely
• Soya sauce - 1.5 tsp
• Pepper powder - a pinch
• Tomato sauce - 1/2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp chopped finely
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

For the Marinade:

• Maida - 2 tbsp
• Corn flour - 1.5 tbsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Water - as to form a paste

Method:

1. Make a thick batter of the ingredients under 'to marinade' and add paneer to it and coat it well. Then toast the coated paneer in dosa tawa and drain it in tissue. (You can deep fry them too).
   
   
   
   



2. Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions and saute till lightly browned, then add minced garlic fry till golden brown.



3. Then add green chillies and capsicum and saute for 2mins. Dont make it soggy, it should still be crunchy. Add soyasauce, tomato sauce, pepper, salt and mix well in low flame.



4. Now add the toasted paneer pieces and mix well until everything is evenly blended. Granish with coriander leaves, give it a quick stir and switch off. Serve hot as a starter.

Paneer stuffed Cauliflower Kofta Curry | Side dish for Chapathi

I love koftas based gravies, and whenever we dine out I make it a point to order it as a side dish. As hubby is not fond of it I dont order it often, now the fact that my lil one loves it and I've a company and have been ordering it often. The one I tasted recently in Annapurna Gowrishankar was a different white based gravy(with milk, cashew paste and cream) and I totally luved it, I will surely try to recreate it and post it.

From the day I saw the cauliflower kofta curry in Raks Kitchen I wanted to try it. She has well explainatory stepwise pictures but still my queries were endless as usual. Though everything is self explained, when the chef is ur friend why not take advantage of it ;) Ha ha hope she doesnt kick me. But she patiently answered everything I asked and also suggested paneer as stuffing when I asked for cheese alternative.

Even before she posted, when she mentioned about this gravy with broccoli I was way too tempted as its my fav veggie. But then here fresh broccoli isnt easy to find and I didnt want the healthy veggie to take oil bath ;) so went ahead with cauliflower as she did.

Ingredients:

For Kofta:

Makes 10-12 kofta balls

• Cauliflower,grated - 1 small flower
• Potatoes - 3 medium sized
• Cornflour - 1 tblsp
• Garam masala -1/4 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Baking powder - 1 pinch
• Oil - for frying
• Paneer- small cubes around 10
• Salt - as required

For Gravy

Serves 3

• Tomato puree - 3/4 cup
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Jeera- 1 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Garam masala Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt As needed
• Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
• Milk - 1 cup
• Cream - 2 tbsp

Method:

For the koftas :

1. Pressure cook potatoes until soft, peel off he skin and mash them well. Heat a pan with oil, add cauliflower and saute it well for 3 mins until raw smell leaves. Close with a lid for 5 mins, stirring in between.



2. In a mixing bowl, add mashed potatoes, cooked cauliflower, cornflour, pepper, salt, garam masala, baking powder and mix well.



3. Make small balls , flatten them then keep paneer cubes inside and then close it as shown in the below pic. I didnt deep fry them instead toasted them in kuzhipaniyaram pan till golden brown.

This is a sure a bit lengthy process, the moment you feel tired after all the lengthy cooking ur koftas bring a smile to ur face....Yes they are truely yummy and just melt in the mouth.

You can deep fry them too, then drain it in a tissue for the excess oil to be absorbed. Ur koftas are ready now, keep it aside.

For the gravy:

1. Heat a pan with oil, add jeera allow it to splutter, add ginger garlic paste fry for 2mins.



2. Then add tomato puree, allow it cook till raw smell of tomatoes leave.Add 1/4 cup water and allow it to boil.



3. At this stage add garam masala,red chilli,coriander powders along with salt and leave it until the gravy is thick.



4. Again,add little water, add coriander leaves and simmer for another 4-5 mins.



5. Add milk and cream and mix well,in low flame. When it is about to boil add the koftas and garnish with coriander leaves, switch off. Serve hot with phulkas / naans.

My Notes:

• The koftas are very soft so take care not to break them while deep frying or toasting in kuzhipaniyaram pan.



• Do not keep in stove for more time(more than 5mins) after milk is added, there is chance for milk to curdle. At the final stage before milk is added make sure ur gravy is thick.



• You can add in cheese as stuffing mentioned in the orginal recipe too.

I am sending this to Blogger Marathon event - Raks Kitchen