Yum! Yum! Yum!

Matar Panner is a simple Paneer curry that goes well with roti or chapati. As peas and panner makes this dish creamy and slightly sweeter in taste, this will be kids friendly recipe for sure. Usually in restaurants this dish is made with tons of cream in it. But this recipe is light and lean with out any cream added and comes with very less calories but with the same great taste. Here is the recipe, Njoy!

Matar Paneer

Ingredients:
Paneer - 1 big block ( 400 g)
Matar (Green Peas) - 1 cup ( i have used frozen Sweet Green Peas)
Butter - 1 Tbsp
Cilantro - 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp ( optional)

Masala Paste:
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Clove  - 1
Cinnamon - 2 sticks
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 2 to 3 ( Cluster Tomatoes)
Green Chili - 1

Preparatory Steps:

• Chop Onions, Tomatoes, Green Chili and set aside. 
• Chop Paneer in 1/2 inch cubic blocks.
• Thaw frozen peas in microwave or outside.

Masala Preparation:

1. Heat non-stick pan and add 1 Tbsp of oil. Once the oil is hot, add panner cubes and sauté them on all sides until they turn slight brown. Take out the panner cubes into a plate and set them aside. 
2. In the same pan, add clove and cinnamon, followed by green chili, onion saute these until onion become translucent ( about 2 min), add chopped tomato now and saute for 2 more min. Let it cool or 5 min, and then grind everything together into coarse paste. 

Method:

1. Heat non-stick pot and add butter to it. Once the butter melts add cumin seeds followed by cilantro. As cilantro starts wilting, add ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder, mix everything together with butter.
2. Now add ground masala paste to the pan and mix it in. Cover with lid and simmer for 3 min.
3. Now add salt, red chili powder, garam masala powder and mix it in gravy. Simmer for 2 more min. Now you will get gravy consistency. If it is thick, add 1/2 of of water to thin the gravy.
4. Add thawed matar (sweet peas) to the gravy and combine well. Close the lid and simmer for 5 min. Taste and adjust salt per your taste. 
5. Add sautéed panner cubes to the gravy and combine well gently, until paneer cubes are coated with gravy. Simmer on high for few more minutes. Switch off the stove, transfer to a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with Roti or Chapati.

Notes:

• If the gravy turns out spicy and you want to soften the taste, you can add the 1 tsp of sugar to the gravy in step #4 right before adding paneer cubes. 
• Since I have used Sweet Peas, they add slight sweet taste, hence I didn't added any sugar in my recipe. 
• If your tomatoes are not juicy and tangy, this curry won't get the same taste. Then you can add 1 tsp of lime juice at the end into gravy, that adds slight tangy taste softening all other spices.
• Adding Cilantro in tempering will get very unique taste to this dish.
• Some recipes suggest pressure cooking for this recipe, I don't prefer that as pressure cooking will take away beautiful green color from peas, hence i suggest you to be patient and cook this dish on stove top. 

Today I am presenting this colorful scrambled panner recipe, that is very easy to make with paneer. This will be a nice variation from your routine Egg Burji when you have Paneer Lovers at home. My daughter loves egg and son loves Paneer, this recipe will be a compromise between both, as it looks like Egg Burji to my Anvi and Abhi has no complaints with Panner. I sneak in lot veggies to make it healthy and colorful. Often I do stuff this in English Muffins or on Breads to make a protein filling breakfast. Complete Win-Win for my family. Here is the recipe, Njoy!

Paneer Burji

Ingredients: Yellow Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup chopped Orange Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup chopped Asparagus - 1 cup ( chopped) Onion - 1/2 cup chopped Green Chili - 1 Paneer - 1 cup chopped ( 1/2 Block) salt - 1 tsp ( adjust to taste) Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp (optional) Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp ( optional) Cilantro - 2 Tbsp chopped Tempering: Oil - 1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Turmeric - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Heat the Non-Stick Pan, add Oil to it. Once the oil is hot add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. 
2. Wait until mustard seeds starts spluttering, then add chopped green chili and chopped onion, add turmeric powder. Sauté for 2 min until raw smell of onion goes away.
3. Then add chopped veggies and sauté them along with onion mixture for 3 to 4 min. Add salt to veggies in between. 
4. Vegetables starts becoming tender, then add chopped paneer to the pan and mix with all the veggies. Sauté for 5 min until panner is cooked. Add Coriander powder and red chili powder.
5. Keep on mixing Paneer with veggies until it gets scrambled and coated with spices on high heat.
6. Top with Cilantro and switch off the stove and transfer this to bowl, server hot with white rice or soft roti. 

Colorful Scrambled Panner

Notes:

• Coriander powder and Red chili powder are optional in this recipe, you can skip of these makes it spicy for your kids.
• You can roll this in Roti or sandwich in bread slices for Kids Lunchbox.
• You can vary the vegetables as you wish, Carrots, Green Bell Pepper and Beans could be another combination to make it colorful.

I have made this Special Pulao for one of our potluck parties at work. Usually  I make Veg Pulao or Semya Pulao for office parties as they are quick one pot meals to serve the big crowds. As I got bored of those and wanted to try something new, ended up making this Fusion Rice Dish Baycorn and Paneer Pulao, and of course it made special appearance at the potluck and all of my colleagues Aww Ooohooed about this rice. Here is the recipe to make your own version, Njoy!

Babycorn and Paneer Pulao

Ingredients:
Babycorn - 1 can ( I have used can, if you are using fresh take around 20)
Paneer - 1/2 block ( around 100 gm)
Mixed Veg - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2 ( medium)
Green Chili - 4 to 5
Cilantro - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Butter - 2 Tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tbsp
Basmati Rice - 4 cups ( raw)
Water - 8 cups
salt - 2 tsp
black pepper - 1/2 tsp
garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Pulao Masala Spices:
Cardamom - 1 pod
Clove - 4
Cinnamon - 3 ( 1 inch stick)
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Star Anice - 2
Marati Mogga ( Capers) - 2
Jajikaya ( Whole Nutmeg) - 1

Preparatory Steps:

• Wash and Drain Basmat Rice in Colander and leave it colander for 30 min, so that all the water is drained.
• Chop Green Chilies and Onions in thin long strips.  Chop Paneer into thin square strips. Chop baby corn into half. Thaw Mixed Veg in microwave for 1 min. 
• Have the Pulao Masala Spices Handy.

Method:

1. Heat non-stick pan on stove and add 2 tbsp of butter. Once the butter melts add 2 tbsp of oil to the pan. Now Start adding Pulao Masala Spices to the pan in the oder of Cardamom, Cumin Seeds, Clove, Cinnamon, Star Anice, Marati Mogga. Break Nutmeg into pieces and add to the pan. Fry pulao spices for 1 min. 
2. Now add chopped Green Chili, Onions to the Pan and mix with oil and fry for 2 min. 
3. Add Ginger and Garlic Paste mix well with onions. Add chopped cilantro and keep the flame on low and simmer for 3 min. 
4. Now add Baby Corn and Paneer to the pan and mix gently with onion mixture and sauté for 5 min. Add thawed mixed veg to the pan and mix well. Now add salt, black pepper to the vegetable mixture and stir it well so that vegetables are coated with spices.
5. Add Drained Basmati Rice to the pan and mix with onion and vegetable mixture. Add Garam Masala to the rice and mix well. 
6. Add 8 cups of water to the Rice Cooker and keep it on start. 
7. Switch off the stove and transfer the rice to the Rice Cooker pot and close the lid and cook it until the rice is done. 
8. Once the rice is done fluff the rice with fork and spread it in a wide bowl or plate for easy serving. As there are several vegetables and flavors in it, you can serve this Rice as it is or with Raita.

Notes:

• Adding Chopped Cilantro to the onion mixture in the beginning will add lot of subtle flavor to this rice.
• While mixing the Babycorn and Panner with other veggies, do it gently so that Babycorn or Paneer will not break. 
• You can add 1/3 cup of Yogurt to the vegetable mixture before adding the rice to the pan for additional creamy taste to this rice. 
• Usually I use less salt as there are several veggies in this rice, adjust salt according to your taste. Taste the water after transferring the rice to rice cooker, if you feel like need more and add some salt to the water and mix it well, until you get the right taste.
• Mixed Veg is optional, but i prefer to add to this rice as it will add some color and makes this rice beautiful contrasting with White Paneer and Baby corn. 

Take a Close Peek, I know your mouth is watering now...! :-)

Never seen Pulao Spices that are mentioned here, No Worries refer to my Vegetable Pulao Recipe Here for visuals! :-)

More Related Categories:

Pulao Recipes  

and 

Fusion Rice Dishes

will be back with another fusion recipe, until then take care!
-Mythreyi

Paneer Stuffed Mushrooms

Forgot to mention these take only 15 minutes to make that serves two people.
Prep Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 5 Min
To finish it: in No Time :-)



Ingredients:
Mushroom - 1 lb ( or 10 in number)
Paneer - 1/2 block ( Indian Cottage Cheese)
Onion - 2 Tbsp ( finely chopped)
Green Chili  - 1
Cilantro - 1 Tbsp
salt - 1 tsp
black pepper - 1/4 tsp
chat masala - 1 tsp ( optional)
Mexican 4 Cheese - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method:











Keep it low cook them for 5 min. You will notice the cheese starts melting and sealing the mushrooms on top.

Tips:

• Never wash mushrooms under water, that makes them mushy in your dish.
• First try making the panner mixture, leaving them aside with spices it let the flavor sink in while you clean mushrooms.
• Chat masala is optional, you can skip, if you like mild version. 
• To make it more zesty, replace green chili with Jalapeno slices. 

Take a peek at inside. Yummm! Wanna Bite?

keep smiling and spread the joy ! :-)
take care until we meet here again
-Mythreyi

It is so true that in the beginning I  am not fond of Paneer, in the past two years I have tried several variations with it and I started fallen in Love with it! The more varieties  you try with it the more you want to explore with this amazing protein filled Ingredient for Vegetarians. Today I have tried snack version out of it and it turn out be so delicious to match up with your Chai time instantly. Here is the recipe, Njoy!

I have to admit i was not a big fan of Paneer in the beginning due to it's dense and fatty nature. I always use TOFU in place of Paneer before. During my recent stay in India, as it's readily available in all the markets or some of the good and quick Paneer recipes i found, some how I have gotten into making lot of Paneer Dishes and now there is no turning back. As my sister is visiting today I was planning to make something special and started making the recent Panner hit recipe with Tomato. Then it started raining and now I am in the mood to make something spicy, zesty and lip smacking dish. So switched gears and made this quick fix appetizer with Paneer and  absolutely loved it. so did my sister like it? You Bet! Here is the recipe enjoy!

Chili Paneer

Ingredients:
Paneer - 1 cup ( cubed)
Onion - 1/2 of small
Green Bell Pepper (capsicum) - 1/2 medium
Red Bell Pepper - 1/2 medium

Garlic - 1 Tbsp
Green Chili - 5

Ginger garlic paste - 1 /2 tsp
Soy sauce - 1 Tbsp
Green Chili Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Tomato sauce ( ketchup) - 1 tsp
Corn Starch - 1 tbsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Spring Onions - 1 Tbsp

Method:

1. Chop the Panner block into bite size pieces. Add 1 tsp oil to the non-stick  pan and saute them until they turn slightly brown on all sides. Switch off the heat and keep it aside.
2. Take 2 Tbsp of water in a small bowl and add the Corn Starch and mix it well.
3. Heat 1 tsp on oil in a non-stick pan. Once the oil is hot, add chopped onion, green chili and garlic. saute them for 2 min on high heat. Add Chopped Green and Red Bell Pepper to the Pan.
4. now add soy sauce, ginger garlic paste, green chili sauce and tomato sauce to the pan and mix it very well. 
5. Add Panner cubes to the pan, mix well until it coats with all sauces. Now add salt and black pepper (freshly ground) and give it a quick stir.
6. Add the corn starch paste to the pan and mix it well as it makes the sauces thick.Taste and adjust the seasonings.
7. Turn off the heat and transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with spring onions. 

Ta daa, spicy and zesty Chili Panner is ready in minutes and now it's time to enjoy that rain with this Chili Panner, if you excuse me :-P!

Tips:

• To add some color I have added red bell pepper also in the recipe, but it is optional. 
• After adding the Panner to the sauces, be careful when you stir, Paneer becomes soft at this stage and it can easily break. 
• Watch out, as this is very easy to make it can turn into addiction, if you care for your calories, you can do the same recipe with TOFU  with less damage to your diet. :-)

• Indo-Chinese Recipes
• Quick Bites
• Paneer Recipes

take care until we meet here again..
-Mythreyi

Here comes another effortless delicious simple exotic Paneer Curry.  This curry is very easy and  can be made with basic ingredients that you can easily find in your Pantry. In any Indian gravies or curries the addition of tomato puree is usual, but in this curry Paneer gets coated with mild masala and simmers in exclusively tomato puree until the tangy tomato flavor sinks into it, which makes it special and unique. During our recent family reunion, my cousin Tara (and wonderful cook) made this curry in hurry. Me & my sister just loved it and surprised at how quickly she fixed this superb dish. Since then I am hooked on to  this. This goes very well with any flavorful rice like pulao or jeera rice. Today I have served this  bright delicious Paneer Curry with mild colorful vegetable pulao and the guests are totally delighted with this combination. Here is the recipe, Njoy!

Paneer Tomato Curry

 Ingredients:
recipe source: Tara's (my cousin) Kitchen

Paneer Cubes - 1 cup
Tomato - 5 medium (juicy & cluster tomatoes)
Onion - 1
Green Chili - 2
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
mustards seeds - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
salt - 1 tsp
black pepper - 1/4 tsp
red chili powder  - 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp ( to shallow fry paneer)
Cilantro - 1 Tbsp

Preparatory Steps:

• Heat the non-stick skillet and add 1 tsp oil. Once the oil is hot add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder to it. Add chopped Paneer cubes to the skillet and shallow fry until all the edges are brown. (approx 5 min). Keep a  bowl of boiled water with a pinch of salt added to it on the side. Drop these fried Paneer cubes into the boiled water and leave it for 5 min. Take out the a Paneer cubes from water and squeeze them and place it on the side. This step makes the Paneer crisp on the edges and soft inside. Sometimes Paneer can become like rock after getting fried. the hot water bath for the Paneer will avoid it, makes it soft in your curry. 

• Grind the chopped Tomatoes in the Mixie or Blender to make tomato Puree.

I have seen these cocktail tomatoes at Indian store for the first time, they are smaller than cluster tomatoes but bigger than cherry tomatoes. These bright, cute tomatoes are packed with tangy flavor and made this curry colorful, beautiful and flavorful. :-)



Method:

1. Heat the 1 Tbsp of oil in the non-stick pan. Once the oil is hot add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When they splutter, Add chopped onion, green chili and saute them for 3 min. Add ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder and stir it well and until the oil separates. 
2.  Add Tomato Puree to the pan and mix it well with onion mixture. Add salt, black pepper, red chili powder and close the lid and simmer for 3 min. 
3. Now the tomato puree gets cooked and becomes gravy, add coriander powder and cilantro. Close the lid and simmer for 2 minutes. 
4. Add the fried Paneer Cubes to the pan. Mix it well until the Paneer gets coated with gravy.Keep the flame in low and simmer for 5 min, this makes the spices sink into Paneer.
5. Taste and adjust all the seasonings and switch off the stove; transfer it to serving bowl and garnish with some cilantro on top. 

This goes very well with any mild rice dish like vegetable pulao or jeera rice and pairs well with pulka or roti.

take a close peek... Hmmmm...Yum!

will be back with another great recipe
until then take care
-Mythreyi

Paneer - 1 block ( or cubed 1 Cup)
Bell pepper  (or capsicum) - 2 medium
Onion - 1 medium
green chili - 2
Tomato - 4 ( cluster or non-hybrid)
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
salt - 1 tsp
black pepper - 1/2 tsp
curry powder -  2 tsp
cilantro - 2 Tbsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Olive Oil -  2tsp

Cilantro - 1 Tbsp ( for garnish)

Preparatory Steps:

• Chop the Paneer into small cubes, heat 1 tsp olive oil in the non-stick pan and saute the Panner cubes for 2 min on high ( until all the sides become crisp and golden). Turn off the heat and Keep it aside.
• Remove the stem and seeds in the Bell Pepper and chop into medium size pieces (same size as Paneer). In the same non-stick pan, saute the bell pepper pieces on high. You will notice the edges becoming slightly black then turn off. This gives a nice smoky flavor to the curry which makes it unique.

Method:

1. Heat the Oil in the non-stick pan. Once the oil is hot add cumin seeds. once they start spluttering, add the chopped onions and green chili to the pan. ( saute for 2 min).
2. Add the ginger garlic paste and mix it well with onions, saute until the oil separates from onions. Now add chopped tomato to the pan. Close the lid and let it simmer( for 4 to 5 min)
3. You will notice the gravy coming together, then add salt, red chili powder, curry powder. Mix the spices into the curry, keep the heat on high  and keep stirring.
4. Now add the sauted Panner and Bell Pepper slices to the pan and coat well with gravy. Now add black pepper and give it a stir.
5. Turn off the heat,  Top with chopped cilantro and now call this colorful curry is done!

Chef's Tip:
Black Pepper enhances the flavor of Bell Pepper, make sure you add black pepper after adding Bell Pepper in your curries. This is the tip I have learnt from Vah Chef! and I have noticed it adds very unique flavor and quite a kick to your curry. So give it a try and let me know your opinion!


will be back with one more interesting dish...
until then take care
-Mythreyi

-Take care until we meet here again
Mythreyi