PANEER, THE INDIAN CHEESE.

Paneer or the Indian cheese, is a very popular food item in a lot of Indian dishes. Its so versatile, that one can come up with so many different kinds of recipes with it. A great tasting food for vegetarians too.

My husband loves paneer in any form, and he can have leftovers, for the next few days (that is if it lasts that long). The only drawback is, that paneer is made out of whole milk, so it has a high content of saturated fat. But if one has it once in two weeks its perfectly fine. Though one can try making it at home with low fat milk, personally I would not take the trouble, as its a lot of work, and it doesn't even hold its shape, specially if you have to make paneer tikka, or paneer pakodas.
You can get paneer in any Indian store. The paneer we get here in San Diego, is not very soft, so I usually soak it in little warm water before using it.

I made paneer butter masala, for my tiffins last Monday, here is the recipe.
One can even substitute tofu for paneer. I wouldn't say that it tastes the same, but it doesn't taste bad either. I have made mutter paneer, using tofu.

Hope people try this one out.
Feed backs are welcome.
Happy eating

PANEER BUTTER MASALA

INGREDIENTS

CASHEWS- 1/2 CUP (soaked)
ONION- 1 SMALL
GINGER CHILLY PASTE- 1 TBSP
TOMATO PUREE- 1/2 CUP
RED CHILLY POWDER-1/4TH TSP
TURMERIC POWDER- 1/4TH TSP
SHAHI PANEER MASALA- 1 TSP (available in most Indian stores)
GARAM MASALA- 1/2 TSP
MILK- 1 TBSP (you can substitute milk with cream, for a creamier taste)
SALT - TO TASTE
OIL- 1 TBSP
PANEER- 14 OZ (400 GMS).
KASOORI METHI- 1 TBSP (available in most Indian stores)

METHOD

1. Blend the cashews and the onions to a fine paste.
2. Cut paneer into square pieces. (soak in warm water for 5 mins).
3. Heat oil in a pan.
4. Add the ginger and chilly paste.saute
5. Add the onion and cashew paste. saute till the paste begins to brown.
6. Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt.
7. Add tomato puree. add little water, and let the gravy simmer.
8. Add the milk or cream. simmer for 10 min.
9. Add the paneer pieces. mix gently.
10. Add the garam masala, shahi paneer masala and the kasoori methi.(adding these at the end, gives the dish its flavour.)
11. Mix everything well, add little water if needed. cover and simmer for about 10 mins.
12. Garnish with chopped coriander.
13. Serve hot with naan.

the picture above was taken while it was still simmering......

yummmmmyyyyyyy........