Chilli paneer is Indo fussion food, its not an complete indian food but it is given a indian touch to make it a indian food. The perfect blend of indian and chinese ingredients gives this cuisine a indo-chinese taste. Again it a punjabi blend, since you can taste a typical punjabi flavour in it. Paneer is Indian cottage cheese, which can also be substituted with Tofu which is made from soya milk where as paneer is made from normal milk. Paneer is most widely liked by punjabis but when it is given such a taste which combines a traditional indian and chinese taste adds a delicious delight to both eyes and mouth. It is a unusal combination which is widely liked by people and enjoyed by food lovers.



Ingredients:

Its monsoons and everyone of us would love to sit at home nearby the windows or at balcony and enjoy garam garam pakoras and enjoy watching the rains in a chilly wet evening. Pakoras are favourite among every indian, being young or old. And everyone loves to have them during monsoons. Punjabi style pakoras are known for their crispy and spicy taste. There are varieties of pakoras like Aloo pakoras, Gobi pakoras, Palak pakoras etc. One such pakoras is Paneer pakora, which is just tempting during chilled evenings. Paneer Pakoras is a well known snack from Punjab and I thought of posting this now since the period of monsoons are just perfect to share this recipe and enjoy them.




Ingredients:
250 grams Paneer (Cottage cheese)
8 tablespoons Gram flour (Besan)
2 tablespoons Corn flour or Rice flour
2 tablespoons Red chilli powder
1 1/2 tablespoons Amchur powder (Dry mango powder)
1 pinch Ajwain (Carom seeds)
1 pinch Hing (Asafoetida)
1/4 teaspoon Cooking soda
Water as per requirement
Oil for frying.



Method:

1. Firstly cut the cheese into thick square pieces.Cut them in size of 3 inches wide and 2 inches broad and height of atleat 1 inch.
2. Sprinkle mango powder and red chilli powder on these pieces.
3. Mix the gram flour,rice or corn flour, red chilli powder,amchur powder, hing, ajwain, soda and salt in a bowl.
4. Add some water to the mixture to make it thick batter.Dont add more water at a start. Add part by part in small quantity to avoid forming lumps , this helps in making smooth batter. Add water only to the consistency to make the batter smooth . Dont add too much of water and end up making its consistency too thin.
5. Dip each piece of the cheese in this batter.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
7. Check whether the oil is hot enough. This can be checked by dropping few drops of the batter into the oil. If it is hot enough to fry the pakoras, then you can see those batter coming up and bubbles surrounding them indicating its ready for frying the pakoras.
   
8. Now put the pieces of cheese in the heated oil one by one.
9. Fry them till they become golden brown.
10. Remove them in a Oil absorbent paper or place a tissue paper at the top of the plate where the pakoras would taken out.
    
11. Paneer Pakoras are ready.
12. Serve the Paneer Pakoras with green chutney or with tomato ketchup.
    

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: Best fresh
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with green chutney or tomato ketchup.


Note:

• Normally, rice or corn flour is not added to the batter. But adding 2tablespoons of corn or rice flour would make the pakoras crispy and crunchy.
• Amchur powder is added to give a tangy taste .
• Sprinkle a pinch of chat masala over the paneer pakoras while serving. It makes them even more tastier.

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Often people avoid green vegetables. And green vegetables are considered boring and tasteless.
But there are few cuisines which are not boring and tastes delicious. Palak Paneer is one such splendid cuisine, which not only looks delightful but also tastes awesome. Palak is the Indian Hindi word for Spinach and Paneer is the Indian version of Cottage Cheese. In most of the foods, be it fast food, or western version , Spinach and Paneer when combined makes the food look beautiful and creates a yummy taste. Palak Paneer is a food fromNorthen states of India like Punjab, UP, Kashmiri and Delhi. And is served with Jeera rice or plain rice. This cuisine is made using main ingredients Spinach, paneer and few spices. It is easy to prepare and can be seen in the menu of special ocassions. Paneer is easily available in stores anywhere be it India or other countries, if not then it can also be prepared at home. I will include a post on making paneer at home. But when you are short of time, buying readymade paneer from store is best option. The creamy texture of spinach with paneer is a very good combination.




Ingredients:
Spinach - 2 Large bunches or frozen spinach 500 grams
Paneer (Cottage Cheese) - 200 grams
Onion - 1
Butter - 3 tablespoons
Bay leaves - 3 -4
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoons
Black pepper powder - 1 2/ teaspoon
Tomatoes - 2 either diced or puree ( I recommend Puree for good gravy)
Ginger- Garlic Paste - 1 tablespoon
Green Chillies - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli powder or caynne powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida - a pinch
Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup
Whole Wheat flour - 2 tablespoons (optional- only if you find the spinach gravy or cream very thin in consistency).
Salt - to taste.






Method:

1. If using frozen spinach thaw and blend it just for a minute so spinach has a creamy texture but without becoming pasty. OR
2. Mix green chilli paste and ginger-garlic paste with spinach. Add little water (if you are using spinach leaves).
   
3. Pressure-cook the above mixture for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove before the first whistle.
4. Cut cheese into small cube shaped pieces. Keep 3 cubes for decoration.
5. Blend the tomatoes to make puree.
6. Mix coriander, turmeric, garam masala, black pepper powder and red chili with tomato puree and set aside.
7. Mix whole-wheat flour with heavy cream and set aside. ( This step is necessary only if you find the spinach puree and cream to be thin in consistency) . Normally green vegetable retains some water to it, so does dairy product. As a result, while cooking they tend to leave more moisture or water , hence adding wheat flour will help it thicken.
8. Cube the paneer in about half inch pieces and deep fry them on medium high heat just for few minutes so paneer become very light gold in color, take paneer out on paper towel so extra oil can be absorbed.
9. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the butter to it and onions to it. Saute till it turns pink.
10. Add hing and cumin seed. After cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree mixture, and let it cook for a few minutes until the tomato puree is about half in volume.
11. Add the spinach, and let it cook on low medium heat for about 10 minutes covered.
12. Add heavy cream mixture and let this cook another four to five minutes.
13. Add paneer and fold it gently with spinach and let it simmer for a 2-3 minutes.
14. Keep the pan or tawa or whichever utensil you are using for cooking palak paneer , closed with a lid or plate to avoid the spinach to splatter and thus leaving you with boils or any mishap. Or to , you can also bake it on oven over 180 degree C for 30 minutes.
    
15. Transfer the spinach to a serving dish and spread the tomato slices over the top, and cover the dish so tomato slices get tender with the steam from the spinach.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day
Serving suggestions : Serve hot with steamed hot rice or jeera rice.


Note:

• You can replace the heavy cream with 1 1/2 cups of milk.
• Keep the pan or tawa or whichever utensil you are using for cooking palak paneer , closed with a lid or plate to avoid the spinach to splatter and thus leaving you with boils or any mishap. Or to , you can also bake it on oven over 180 degree C for 30 minutes.
• Normally green vegetable retains some water to it, so does dairy product. As a result, while cooking they tend to leave more moisture or water , hence adding wheat flour will help it thicken.
• Cream is added to make the taste of Palak paneer intresting and taste. Since most of them dont like the taste of green vegetables especially kids. Adding cream will enhance the taste and make it look delightful.
  

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Panner is a dairy product also known as Cottage Cheese. Kadai Paneer is a Punjabi and Delhi Delicacy and is very popular world wide. This cuisine can be found in the menu cards of every small and big restaurants in India and other parts of the world where Indian food is served. The word "Kadai" is a Hindi word which means a deel bottomed vessel with handles on both sides (see the utensil/vessel in the above pic for reference). Kadai Paneer is spicy side dish which is cooked using the main ingredient Paneer along with capsicum, tomatoes and few spices for taste. It is dish without much gravy but is not even a dry dish. Tomatoes are added to give it a tender fresh gravy like consistency which other spices are added without being grounded to keep the freshness of paneer intact. Kadai Paneer goes well with Pulao, Briyani, Jeera Rice and also Rotis and Naans. It is easy to cook where the Cottage cheese (paneer) is and bell peppers or capsicum is cooked with spicy tomatoes or its gravy.





Ingredients:
Paneer (Cottage Cheese) - 500 grams, cut in cubes or triangles
Red Bell Pepper (Shimla Mirch/Capsicum) - 1 meduim
Green Bell Pepper (shimla mirch/ Capsicum) -1 medium
Tomatoes - 3-4 nos medium, chopped
Red Chilli powder (Cayenne powder) -1 1/2 teaspoons
Coriander seeds (crushed/ powder) - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Onion Sliced -1 medium
Cloves -2
Whole dried chillies - 2
Bay leaves - 2
Cinnamon stick (1 inch stick) -2
Ginger paste - 2 teaspoons
Garlic Paste - 2 pteaspoons
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Green chilli - 1
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1 /2 teaspoon
Oil - 3 tablespoons
Salt - To taste
Freshly chopped Coriander leaves / Dry Kasuri methi - 2 tablespoons.





Method:

1. Cut paneer and bell peppers into ½ inch cubes.
2. Blend the tomatoes, ginger, and green chili to make a puree. ( Even Chopped Tomatoes can be used for this cooking).
3. Heat the oil in frying pan on medium heat and stir fry paneer for about 2 minutes - take them out before paneer starts changing color.
4. Next stir-fry bell pepper until they are tender. Do not over cook the bell pepper. Take them out and drain on a paper towel.
5. Using the same frying pan, Test the oil by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
6. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds.
7. After the cumin seeds crack, add the cloves, cinammon, Bayleaves, dried red chillies and onion. Saute it till onion changes its colour to light brown.
   
8. Add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, fenugreek leaves and cayenne pepper.
9. Cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
10. Tomato mixture will reduce to about half in volume.
11. Add about 2 spoons of water, and the salt.
12. Wait till gravy comes to boil add paneer and bell pepper and let it simmer for about five minutes on low medium heat. Stir gently after adding the paneer to the gravy.
13. Now it is ready to serve. Garnish with coriander leaves or kasuri methi, toss and serve.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: Best fresh and stays for 1 day
Serving Suggestions: Serve hot with Jeera rice, Pulao or Briyani. It can also be served with Roti or Naan.


Note:

• Instead of frying the paneer, we can also put the paneer pieces in a cup of water and heat it in the microwave oven for 1:30 min. then drain the water and use the paneer immediately.
• Tomatoes can be chopped and used too instead of blended puree.
• Dont stir roughly or more after adding the Paneer. Those who are afraid or new to cooking , better use Non-stick kadai.

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1. First of all blend the tomatoes to puree for a gravy. Diced tomatoes can also be used but tomatoes when blended to paste gives a good texture and enough gravy . Also it goes well with kids.
2. Also grind ginger and garlic together and keep it aside. Chopped ginger and Garlic pieces can also be used, but i prefer paste since it gives good taste and goes well with people who dont like it in dish.
3. Boil 1 cup of the onions. We do this in the microwave by adding 1 tsp water and covering the onions. Cook on high for four minutes. Add the 1/2 cup raw onions, ginger, garlic and cashews and grind to a smooth paste without adding water. Those who dont have Microwave can boil the onions in pressure cooker for 1 whistle and allow it to cool later.
4. Heat the oil and butter in a deep pan. Add the onion puree, a pinch of salt and kasuri methi. Fry it on a medium flame until the paste turns light brown and starts drying out a bit (7 minutes or so).
5. Add the Kashmiri and regular chilli powders, turmeric and tomato puree. Cook for five minutes on medium.
6. Add the peas. (If using frozen peas, microwave on HIGH for a minute, just to thaw and add them at the very end).
7. Add the cumin, garam masala and tandoori masala powders. Add salt to taste and cook until the mixture becomes a little thicker than the consistency you desire in the final dish.
8. Add the evaporated milk and honey. Stir, taste for salt and seasonings, then add the paneer cubes (save a few for garnish).
9. Heat it through, turn off the flame.
10. Keep it covered for 15 minutes for the flavours to blend together.
11. Finally garnish it with some coriander leaves before serving. Serve them hot with Naan , Parathas or Roti.
    

• For a change in recipe, try using baby corns. It makes the dish delicious and intresting.
• If using fresh peas, then boil it separately in hot water until it turns tender. If using frozen, then keep it outside and allow it to thaw for a while.
• While grinding the tomatoes, dont add water to it.
• Prepare this dish about 4-5 hours in advance before serving. This way everything has a chance to blend together and the peas does not have that raw un-cooked taste to it.
• Add the cream only at the end else it curdles up and leaves an unpleasant taste.
• If not cream, Yoghurt can also be used but do add it only at the end to give the cuisine a good look.
• Tandoori Masala is just for giving the cuisine some ectastic colour. It is optional.

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