Khatta-meetha Paneer Gravy in Microwave

Time constraint does not stop any of us from craving for fancy food...does it? I have always relished paneer and when my MIL gave me this unbelievably easy recipe, I had to try it the very next day. I have made it a few times now and it turns out equally tasty every time. Here goes the recipe for the quickest paneer dish I have ever made.

Serves: 5-6 persons

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Shredded Paneer

• 400 g (14oz) paneer i.e. 1 medium sized packet
• Vegetable oil – 2 tsp
• Green chillis - 4-5 slit longitudinally
• Raisins (medium sized)  1 tbsp
• Garam masala – 1 tbsp
• Ginger paste – 2 tbsp
• Tomato paste -5 tbsp or 1 medium sized chopped fresh tomato 
• Milk-1 cup
• Salt to taste
• Green peas –1/2 cup
• Cilantro - 1/4 cup finely chopped

Method:

• Grate paneer  and mix it well with oil in a medium sized microwave-safe container. Cook in microwave for 2 mins.
• Add garam masala and raisins and stir well .Microwave again for 2 mins .
• Add green chillies, ginger paste and tomato paste and microwave for another 2 mins after stirring.
• Add milk,green peas,cilantro and salt to taste and microwave for 4 mins.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Serve hot with homemade chapati or even rice!

Paneer Gravy

Enjoy :)

Ajanta from Amherst

Notes: The step by step adding of ingredients instead of adding everything together is for better mixing because we stir every time we bring the bowl out. Also, cooking time may vary with each microwave.

Red Pepper- Pistachio Paneer/ Shrimp

Here in Houston, there are only a handful of restaurants that serve vegetarian dishes that are just as good as their non-vegetarian dishes (Surprise!). So every time we go out for dinner, one of us has to 'settle'. 

At home, I try to make both, but often struggle. I wanted a recipe that would be great for strictly non-vegetarian him and vegetarian me!Thats when I stumbled upon this original Vikas Khanna recipe that called for a pound of shrimp. I swapped that with 1/2 pound of shrimp and 1/2 pound of paneer, so I could make us both happy :) This recipe with only paneer would surely taste just as good. Here it goes-

Serves: 4 persons

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Chopped pepper and onion

• 
  
• Ingredients:

• 1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

• 1 red onion, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted, shelled pistachios

• 2 green chillies

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (optional)

Raw shelled pistachios

• 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic

• 1/2 pound paneer, cubed
• 1/2 pound deveined shrimp

• Salt to taste

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• Water

Method:

Golden brown paneer

• Paneer: In a small skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and 1/2 tbsp garlic, saute till edges turn brown, (~1 minute). Add paneer and salt and cook until golden brown on all sides (~ 5-7 minutes). Transfer paneer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Sauteed shrimp 

• Shrimp:In another small skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and garlic and cook until edges turn brown, about 1 minute. Add the deveined shrimp and salt and cook until the shrimp turn pinkish opaque (~2 to 3 minutes). Drain on a paper towel.

Red Pepper-Pistachio Sauce

Sauce: Blend bell pepper, onion, 1/2 cup pistachios, green chilies and 1/2 cup water to a smooth puree. Add remaining tablespoon oil to medium skillet. Add red pepper mixture and cream and bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp red chilli powder. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes - till the sauce is creamy good! :) Divide sauce into two. I used the same skillets I used to fry the paneer and shrimp, respectively.

Add paneer and shrimp into the respective skillets and simmer for 4-5 minutes; stir in chopped mint. Season with salt, and garnish with mint/ chopped pistachios. 

Serve hot with roti or naan.

Red pepper- Pistachio Paneer

Red pepper Pistachio Shrimp

Bon Apetit!
Hetal from Houston

Diwali special - Orange Delight

Diwali is just round the corner. Its the best time of the year - with all the festivities, diyas, fire crackers, rangolis  and ofcourse - sweets. :)

I have a sweet tooth, and love to try out new sweets each year. This year I'm trying to make simple sweets entirely from things that are readily available in our pantry/ refrigerators.

Here's the recipe for Orange Delight, a quick and easy sweet.

Crumbled paneer

Ingredients:

1 cup crumbled Paneer. I made the paneer at home from whole milk and yogurt. You can use any method you prefer. One of popular methods uses lemon juice as here

1 whole naval orange.

1/4 cup super fine sugar (sieved)

Orange food color (1-2 drops optional)

Orange or vanilla essense (optional)

Special equipment:

Cookie cutters (optional)

Mini Cupcake liners

Directions:

Orange segments

• Peel oranges, and remove skin and seed from each segment. Roughly chop the segments. Reserve  pulp from 4-5 segments for garnishing.

Orange and sugar mixed into the paneer

• Gently mix the paneer and sugar into the orange pulp.
• Add orange food color and essense (if desired) and mix.
• Roll into small balls or cut with cookie cutter of desired shape.
• Place each piece into a mini cupcake liner gingerly. 
• Garnish with reserved orange segment pieces.
• Serve cool. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-4 days.

Orange Delight

Note: Using crushed pineapple and yellow food color would create another variation and could be called "Pineapple Delight" :)

Happy Diwali!

Hetal from Houston