Cheesy Paneer Mint Tikki

Some healthy snack for your loved ones, you can serve it as starter with a minty dip or have it the Indian way, with rice and daal. The flavors of mint blended well with the paneer and suppressed its otherwise bland taste. You may add a pinch of chat masala as well for some extra kick.

Ingredients

• Paneer - 250 gms
• Pudina / mint leaves - a bunch
• Cheese cubes 6 - 7
• Ginger paste - 1 tsp
• Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Green chilli - as per taste
• Curd - 2 tbsp
• Besan / gram flour - 3-4 tbsp
• Salt
• Butter for shallow frying

Mash the paneer using a spatula. Now make a paste of curd, pudina/mint leaves and the green chilli with a pinch of salt and sugar. Add the mixture and ginger garlic paste to the mashed paneer. Knead well.

After 10 minutes, spinkle the besan / gram flour and knead again. You should be able to form a ball using the paneer mixture.

Now take small amount from the paneer dough and place one cheese cube at the centre.

Take some more dough and make a ball covering up the cheese cube. Cheese should not be exposed outside. Then press them lightly to form a disc or tikki and keep aside.

Prepare all the discs / tikkis and keep it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
Heat butter on a flat tawa and spread it to make a thin coating of butter onto the tawa. Place the tikki side by side and shallow fry till golden brown from both the sides.

Serve with salad and Pudina Aaam ke Chutney.

Navaratna / Navratan Kurma

A popular Indian Vegetarian dish where nine ( nabaratna / Navratan) types of vegetables are cooked in a thick rich creamy gravy. Goes well with any type of Indian flat bread like Roti, Paratha, Naan etc.

 

Ingredients

• Potato - 1 - cut in cubes
• Paneer - 100 gms - cut in cubes
• Frozen peas and corns- 1 cup 
• Carrot - 1 - cut in small cubes
• Beans - 4 or 5 - chopped
• Capsicum - chopped - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1 big - chopped
• Tomato - 1 - chopped
• Cashews and Raisins - 1 tbsp each
• Green chilli - 1 - chopped
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp
• Milk - 1 cup 
• Cream - 2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder 
• Kashmir chilli powder
• Corinader powder 
• Garam masala powder
• Cumin powder 
• Dried Kasoori methi - a pinch, soaked in water

Add butter in a non stick pan, then add paneer cubes and fry till golden brown. Emerse in salted warm water to keep it soft. Fry the potato cubes and carrot cubes lightly and keep aside.

Add some more butter, then add the onion and saute till golden brown. Add the chopped green chilli, ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.

Add chopped tomato and fry a little, then add the tomato sauce and mix well till it becomes mashy.

 Add the masala powders mixed in half cup of water. 

Fry till water evaporates. Then add the vegetables. 

Add a cup of milk and a cup of water. 

Mix well and cook till the  vegetables are done. Add the cashew, raisin, paneer cubes and fried potao cubes with salt. 

Cook till gravy thickens. Mix half tsp of sugar, if you like. 

Add cream and mix again. 

Switch off the heat and add the soaked kasuri methi with the water. Cover and keep for 10 minutes of standing time. 

Garnish with a spoonful of cream and serve.

Dum Paneer kalimirch

Monday is a Paneer or Cottage Cheese day for us. and every week I have to think of something innovative to cook with Paneer. Downloaded this recipe some days back from the net, and it was pretty good. Ideal to have it with tawa roti.

Ingredient:

• Paneer - 250 gms
• Onion - 2, large, chopped  
• Ginger, Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Hung curd - 2 tbsp
• Cardamom, Clove, Cinnamon, Bay leaf, dry red chilli
• Cream - 1 tbsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• fresh mint leaf - a handful
• Salt, sugar, Green chilli - as per taste

Heat the oil in the pan. Add the chopped onion with a pinch of salt and sugar and fry till golden brown. Remove from heat, let it cool, then make a paste of it.

Toss the paneer cubes in hot oil with a pinch of salt till golden brown.

Heat some more oil. Add whole red chilli, cardamom ,clove, bay leave and cinnamon stick and cook for 1 mins over low heat.

Add fried onion paste and cook for 2 mins. Add ginger – garlic paste and fine chopped green chillies and mix well and cook for a min.

Add beaten hung curd and mix well and cook for 2 mins.

Add coriander powder, cumin powder and black pepper powder and mix well.

Add water and mix it well and cook for 2 mins. Then add the paneer cubes.

Add cream, salt and sugar as per taste. 

Add fresh mint leaves and cover the pan with aluminium foil. cook for 15 minutes over low flame, so that the paneer is cooked in Dum.

Adjust the seasoning. Serve with tawa roti or naan.

Patol er Dorma - Stuffed Pointed Gourd

Potal er Dorma or stuffed pointed gourd is a very traditional Bengali Recipe where Patol or Parwal or Pointed Gourd is stuffed with fish, meat or for its vegetarian version, with paneer or cottage cheese. People use prepared lentil paste too as a stuffing. This dish can be used as an appetizer or as a curry dish. I made it as a curry  but with a thick gravy made out of curd and other masalas. This dish is known as  'Pur Bhora Doi Patol' too.  With 'Poila Baishakh' or Bengali New Year just round the corner, it is the ideal time to have this all time favorite 'Patol er Dorma' . 

Ingredients

• Patol / Pointed Gourd - 10
• Home made Paneer - 1 cup, grated
• Onion - 1, chopped
• Tomato - 1,
• Green Chilli - 2
• Kishmish / raisin - 1-2 tbsp
• Onion Paste - 1 tbsp
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Kashmiri chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Curd - 3 tbsp
• Salt, Sugar, Turmeric - as required

Scrape the body of the patols, cut both the top of the sides and scoop out the seeds from one side. This should be done very carefully so that the pointed gourd case remains intact.

Sprinkle some salt and turmeric and fry the Patols well. 

To make the stuffing, fry the chopped onion with chopped green chilli till golden brown, then add the tomatoes and fry till they are mashed.

Add the scraped inner portion of the patol and fry till oil come out. Now add the crumbled paneer and mix well. Add some soaked raisin or kishmish and fry till the mixture is completely dry. 

Your stuffing is ready. Adjust the salt and sugar. The stuffing should have a sweet note, so adjust the sugar accordingly.

Cool the mixture and stuff the parwal cases with this stuffing.

To make the gravy, fry the onion paste, after some time add ginger and garlic paste.

Add kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder mixed in 1/2 cup water and fry well till water evaporates and oil comes out.

Add the beaten curd with some water with bit of salt and sugar.

When it comes to a boil, add the stuffed pointed gourd and lower the heat. Cook it on slow heat till the gravy thickens and patol is cooked through.

Adjust the seasoning and remove from heat. Serve with plain rice.

Sending this entry to the event 'Poila Baishakh with Veg - Bengali Dishes' organised by 'Kolkata Food Bloggers'.