Tuesday, July 19, 2016

PANEER TIKKA MASALA!!!


I love paneer or cottage cheese recipes. Although paneer & cottage cheese means the same, they are totally different in textures & you definitely cant work the same way with cottage cheese like you do with paneer.




My version of PANEER TIKKA MASALA is really thick & delicious. Also really not heavy as the usual one because there is no cream or butter at all. SURPRISED? Well! don't. Coz you will not miss it at all. I take out the ingredient If I feel the recipe doesn't really require it that's makes it unnecessarily heavy. I am all into healthy home cooking & its got be guilt free to eat but get the same good taste. This has curd & cashews in it & its more than enough to make it rich & tasty.

Now as the name sounds its a paneer tikka in a masala gravy. So it has 2 stages the usual paneer tikka which we have as an appetizer & the thick gravy in which this is cooked.

RECIPE:

INGRIDIENTS:

For paneer tikka:

200 Grams of paneer
1 small capsicum/ green bell pepper
1 medium onion
3/4 cup curd / yogurt
1 Tsp each of, Cumin,Coriander, red chili  powder
1/2 Tsp each of Garam masala, kasuri methi
1/4 Tsp turmeric
1/2 Tsp Ginger garlic paste
1 Tsp salt
2 Tsp oil

For Gravy:

3 Tbs of Oil
1 Medium onion
3 medium tomatoes
10 Cashews
1Tsp ginger & garlic paste
1Tsp Kashmiri red chili powder/ Byadige chilli also does the trick.
1/2 Tsp Garam masala
1/2 Tsp Kasuri methi
Salt to taste


METHOD:

1. Put all the ingredients together in the marinate & mix it nicely.


2. Cut onions & capsicum in cubes just the size of the paneer. Then add them in the marinate & mix well. Let it sit for 1 hr at least.

 If you have home made paneer which sometimes can be crumbly, In that case take paneer cubes & coat them in all purpose flour or corn flour nicely & then dip it in the marinate & keep separate till u grill them or take some of the marinate separately add a tsp of corn flour to the mix so that its thick & coats paneer & then grill it.

3. In an iron tawa over a medium high heat grill or roast the ingredients in the marinate separately so that they are charred & the marinate coats them all around. Keep it a side. You can use ovens for grilling if you have one.


4. For the gravy take 1/2 the oil in a pan & put the onions & fry for a bit then add ginger garlic paste & stir after 3 min add tomatoes & cashews & cook them form 5 min. After it cools grind it in the mixer.

5. In a another pan take the remaining oil in medium heat, add  Kashmiri chilli & stir for 5 sec till the oil is infused with bright red color. Don't burn  it. This step is necessary so you get a nice red gravy. Why use artificial coloring or chemical when u can do in natural way.


6. Then add the grounded masala with a little bit of water stir & add garam masala & salt. If you hv the left over marinade you can add that too. Need not waste them it has all the flavors.

7. When it comes to a boil add the Paneer & tikka veggies & kasuri methi in the end stir & switch off the heat.

The paneer tikka masala is perfect when you have the paneer capsicum & onions nicely coated in the marinate & charred nicely to get smoky flavor. The capsicum & onions have to be crunchy in the gravy & not soft that is why we put it in the end & switch off immediately. Little crumbles of paneer all over the gravy makes  it look rustic. The gravy shouldn't be too smooth. For every bite with the chapatis you have soft paneer & crispy veggies really YUM! This is what makes Paneer tikka masala different from other paneer dishes. This goes best with  naans jeera rice or even plain white rice too.




4 comments:

  1. Hey.. This looks really yummy.. Sure to try it.. It looks like a new blog n both the recipes look good... Waiting to see what would be your next post.. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Divya i really appreciate ur comments. They are valuable for me. Tks a lot. Will keep posting real good home foods.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Divya i really appreciate ur comments. They are valuable for me. Tks a lot. Will keep posting real good home foods.

    ReplyDelete