Matar Paneer

I and my daughter simply love paneer. This might be the nth time I am saying this, but that is the fact. So any dish where paneer is one of the ingredient gets an immediate nod from my lil one.  Off late, my daughter has started accompanying me to the super market. As soon as we enter the store, she is on her own, with a small basket in her hand. By the time I finish my shopping, she would’ve finished hers too and a couple of sure shot things that would be in her basket are chocolates and paneer! There would be many other things, which of course I have to diplomatically discard. Such is my daughter’s love for Paneer. Let’s get to today’s recipe, an all time classic and a favorite of many: - Matar Paneer.

What you’ll need

1.       Fresh/Frozen Green Peas – 1 Cup

2.       Cottage Cheese/Paneer – 150 gms

3.       Onion – 2 Medium

4.       Tomatoes – 3 Medium

5.       Garlic – 2 to 3 cloves

6.       Ginger – a small piece

7.       Cashew Nuts – 4 or 5

8.       Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp

9.       Coriander Powder – 1 tsp

10.   Chilli Powder – 1 tsp (Adjust according to taste)

11.   Garam Masala Powder – ½ tsp

12.   Cumin Seeds / Jeera – ½ tsp

13.   Milk – ½ cup

14.   Kasoori Methi – 1 tsp

15.   Fresh Coriander Leaves – for garnishing

16.   Oil – 2 tbsp

Method

1.       Peel and roughly chop onions. Grind onions, ginger, garlic and cashew nuts into a smooth paste.

2.       Also grind the tomatoes into a smooth paste.

3.       Cut the paneer into cubes and soak them in salted lukewarm water until the time of use.

4.       Cook the green peas in water and keep aside.

5.       Heat a Kadai with oil, add cumin seeds.

6.       Once the cumin seeds change color, add the ground paste of onions, ginger, garlic and cashewnuts. Saute for a few minutes or till the raw smell of the onions disappears, say about 6 to 8 minutes on medium heat.

7.       Now add in the spice powders – turmeric powder, coriander powder and chilli powder. Saute for about 2 minutes.

8.       Next add in the tomato paste and fry till all the moisture disappears and the oil starts separating.

9.       Now add in the paneer, green peas about 1 cup of water and salt to taste. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes. Adjust the amount of water depending on the consistency.

10.   Next sprinkle the garam masala, Kasoori Methi and add the milk. Stir well and simmer for another 2 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Yummy Matar Paneer is ready. Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Linking this to the Winter Carnival at Tickling Palates, CWS– Green Peas hosted by Priya and Kalyani’s HLI – Green Peas hosted by Veena.

Palak Babycorn Masala

When I was newly married, we used to live in a place called Domlur in Bangalore and from that house Shanthi Sagar was just about 5 minutes walk. So whenever I used to feel lazy to cook or just was not in mood to go into the kitchen, we would head straight to our favorite haunt - Shanthi Sagar. You guys must be wondering as to what all this has got to do with today’s post. I tasted this curry for the first time here. I was very intrigued by the name, “Palak Babycorn Masala” – nothing intriguing in the name, but you know, in those days, I cooked only some regular daily fare, that too with the help of my diary. Then, the name Babycorn itself sounded exotic, different from the regular Paneer Butter Masala, Malai Kofta etc that’s how I gave it a try. Loved the taste and in due course of time recreated it at home. So here is the recipe:

(Serves 4)

What you’ll need:

1. Spinach or Palak – 2 big bunches
2. Babycorn – 1 packet
3. Onions – 2 big, finely chopped
4. Tomatoes – 3, finely chopped
5. Green Chillies – 3 to 4
6. Jeera – 1 tsp
7. Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
8. Garam Masala – ½ tsp
9. Oil – 2 tsps

Method

Clean and chop palak roughly. Cook the chopped palak, cool and grind it. Cut babycorn into round slices.
Heat a Kadai with oil. Add jeera. Once it changes color, add slit green chillies and chopped onions. Saute for a few minutes. Next add the babycorn pieces. Cook covered for a few minutes or till babycorn is done. Now add the coriander powder and garam masala. Saute for a minute. Next add the chopped tomatoes and sauté till they turn mushy. Then, add the ground palak paste and salt to taste. Let it simmer for a few minutes. (Do not cover and cook as Palak will change color).

Delicious Palak Babycorn Masala is ready to be served with some hot rotis.

Note:

1. This is a semi dry gravy, if you want it to be a gravy like add about ½ cup of water after adding the palak puree.
2. The spiciness of the dish is from green chillies only, so adjust spice according to your taste. The one I tasted at the restaurant was quite spicy.


Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5 along with me 

Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree, Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets:Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials:Harini, Vaishali, Suma, PJ
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

Also linking this to Veggie/Fruit of the month - Spinach hosted by Reshmi started by Priya.