Cottage Cheese in Thin Gravy

I've stayed away from thin gravies because I've always wanted to perfect a thick gravy. Most of my thick gravies come from tomato and onion and while they taste good, the looks are less than pleasing, and the effort to make them look good continues. So I surprised myself when I found myself attracted to a recipe of Paneer in Light Gravy from a book on Bengali cuisine that I own, called Pumpkin Flower Fritters.

I also liked this recipe because it calls for using coriander in the cooking, and not merely as a garnish at the end. It's been a while since I did that, and I'm glad I was reminded of it because it really tastes good.

Here's my version of the recipe:

Cottage Cheese/Paneer: 250 gm, cubed
Tomato, chopped: 1 cup
Dry ginger powder OR Fresh ginger, chopped: 1 tbsp
Fresh coriander leaves, minced: 1 tbsp
Bay leaves: 1 big or 2 small

Tempering
Cumin seed/jeera: 1 tsp
Green chilli, slit: 2-3
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Oil: 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Water: 1/2 cup

In the oil, fry the paneer till light brown and reserve.

Temper the same oil with the cumin. Add the bay leaves, the ginger and the garam masala - make sure all this has been done on the lowest heat.

When it's fragrant, add the tomato, coriander and the green chillies.

Add the salt and saute till the gravy turns red and the tomato is well cooked.

Add the paneer and saute.

Now add the water. Let the paneer soak up the spices.

The books says to serve this with chapatis or luchis (deep fried bread) but I just made a soupy meal of it!