Shahi Paneer Kofta Masala

You might have noticed that I have been posting a lot of recipes with Paneer and Tofu. We love them so much that these two appear on our table often.Though I wanted to share some other recipe here, I am posting one of my favorite recipe today which is paneer based . This dish has been praised and savored with the same gusto every time I serve it.  

Shahi denotes something rich,creamy and fit for kings. In one word it can be summarized as 'Royal'. Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. Koftas are dumplings. So I guess you would have understood that you are about to be a part of a royal indulgence......

I came up with this recipe a few months ago when I was feeling so bored one afternoon and wanted to cook something different and exotic[That usually happens to me-Boring = go and cook something]. I had to prepare dinner earlier as we had plans to go shopping . A side dish would be the perfect thing to cook ahead and so this dish came up in my mind. It took an hour from start to finish. I had made paneer earlier that day with no idea what to make with it and used it here.

When dinner was served hubby was the first one to taste it and he was literally spell bound. I am not exaggerating here. He loved it so much. Lil angel loved the koftas and MIL made no comments about the gravy. When she came into the kitchen later that night she praised it. She said it was just like the ones served in restaurants and hubby who happened to pass that side peeped in to comment that it tasted better than the restaurant food!!

All those rich and creamy ingredients had worked their magic on the dish and I got praised for it!!!!

I used:

Homemade paneer from ¾ liter milk [ make sure that the whey is completely drained out]
Coarsely ground pistachio nuts – 2 tablespoons
Almonds -10
Khus- khus seeds / Poppy seeds -2 teaspoons
Tomato puree- 1 cup
Onion- 2, sliced
Ginger garlic paste- 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon
Fresh Yogurt -1 cup
Whole spices – cardamom seeds from 2 pods, cloves -2 , cinnamon- a small piece.
Kasuri methi / Dried fenugreek leaves -1 tablespoon
Red chilli powder -1 ½ teaspoons
Coriander powder -1 teaspoon
Cumin powder -1/2 a teaspoon
Salt to taste
Butter -1 tablespoon
Oil to deep fry


1.    Soak khus khus / poppy seeds in the smallest jar of your blender.[It is a lot easier this way than soaking it in a cup and then transferring to the blender jar as half of them get stuck to your finger / spoon / the cup]
2.    Microwave almonds in a cup of water for 2 minutes and when cool remove the skin[and discard] and keep aside[the almonds].
3.    Heat butter in a pan and sauté onion till brown. Cool and grind to a smooth paste.
4.    Grind the almonds along with the soaked khus khus to a fine paste and keep aside.
5.    In a bowl take crumbled paneer and coarsely powdered pistachio and mix well. Make small balls and deep fry in oil till golden brown and keep aside.
6.    Heat a little oil in another pan and add cumin seeds and whole spices.
7.    When the cumin crackles, put in the ginger garlic paste and onion paste. Cook for a minute.
8.    Add the tomato puree, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and mix well.
9.    Add around ½ a cup of water and bring to boil.
10.  Now put in the ground almond-khus-khus[poppy seed] paste and mix well.
11.  Simmer for 5 minutes and add the yogurt.
12.  Adjust consistency by adding water/ milk.Simmer for 10 minutes.
13.  Add the kasuri methi and remove from heat.
14. When you are ready to serve, heat the gravy once again and bring to boil and add the fried koftas.Simmer for a couple of seconds .

Serve with Roti / Chapathi [Griddle cooked Indian flatbreads]

Though the ingredient list and the steps are lengthy, this is a true treat. Served with Chapathi / Roti, every bite is pure bliss.



Bon Appetit...

 

Catch me cooking @ Seduce Your Tastebuds

Shondesh | Sandesh - A creamy Delicacy From West Bengal

Bengal is known for its delectable sweets. Sweets find an important place in the Bengali Thali. The Bengali desserts make use of sweetened cottage cheese / Paneer / chhana.

This one is the basic Shondesh recipe.There are numerous and innovative Sondesh varieties that can be developed from this one.

Shondesh makes use of Paneer [like most of the Bengali desserts] and is sweetened with sugar and a garnish is added. Such a simple recipe for a finger-licking yummy sweet. I am sure you just can't stop eating it.

I used:

Homemade paneer from 1 Liter milk .Make sure that the whey has been completely drained out.
Castor Sugar - 1/4 cup [ add more if you like it sweeter
Saffron- a few strands soaked in a tablespoon of warm milk
Raisins to garnish

1. Take the paneer in a pan and add sugar.Heat the pan on low flame and cook the paneer for 5 minutes.The color of the paneer should not change.If you over cook the mixture, it will become crumbly.
2. Transfer the paneer onto a flat surface and add the saffron and the milk used to soak it.
3. Knead well for some time.You will know that you have kneaded enough when a ball rolled out from the dough does not crack on the edges.If you want to get it done fast, put the paneer mixture in a mixie jar and blend for a couple of minutes till it is creamy.Do not add water / milk to blend.Its very easy and quick.
4. Use moulds to shape the shondesh or just roll them into balls and slighly flatten them.
5. Garnish with raisins / chopped nuts

Now that we know the basic Shondesh recipe,lets add a crunchy touch to it- Pista Shondesh....

I used :

Homemade paneer from 1 Liter milk .Make sure that the whey has been completely drained out.
Powdered sugar / castor sugar - ¼ cup [Increase if you have a sweet tooth]
Coarsely powdered pista nuts – less than ¼ cup
Chopped pista nuts to garnish

1. In a pan put in paneer and sugar.Mix well.Heat the pan on low flame and gently cook the paneer mixture for a couple of minutes. The paneer should not change its color. Take care not to overcook it else the color will change and become crumbly.
2. Remove from heat and transfer to a flat surface.
3. Knead well for sometime while its still warm. You know that you have kneaded enough when the dough doesn’t split on the edges when rolled into balls.If you want to get it done fast, put the paneer mixture in a mixie jar and blend for a couple of minutes till it is creamy.Do not add water / milk to blend.Its very easy and quick.
4. Shape the dough - you can use a mould or just shape into balls.
5. Gently roll the shondesh over the coarsely powdered pista nuts.
6. Serve garnished with chopped pista nuts.

There is another way that you can make this. Mix in the powdered nuts after removing the paneer from heat. In this case you just have to shape it and serve garnished with pista nuts.

Either way you prepare it, there is not much difference in the taste. Store in the refrigerator. But I don’t think you will have leftovers. It going to disappear the same day you make it!

Note :

Use fresh homemade paneer for a good texture and delicious taste. The Shondesh prepared from the store brought paneer will not taste as good as the ones prepared with fresh paneer.




Bon Appetit...

Ras Malai

I though I will share this extremely delicious and easy to prepare Rasmalai here.We made this for this months edition of Indian Cooking Challenge.Rasmalai is a traditional sweet from West Bengal,India and also a favorite in Bangladesh.

Rasmalai is made using paneer /Ricotta cheese and this paneer can be homemade or you can buy these from the store.The paneer is cooked in sugar syrup and then simmered in milk flavored with cardamom,saffron and an array of nuts.So you bet it will be delicious.

It is usually served garnished with nuts like slivered almonds and pistachio but I served it with grated chocolate.

Take a look at the yummy dessert before I proceed to the method...


Now for the step by step guide to make this delicious dessert at home.

I used:

Milk-1 liter + 3/4 liter
Lemon juice from half a lemon
Sugar -a little less than half a kilo
Maida /All purpose flour[APF]- 1 teaspoon
Cardamom-2 pods,crushed
Saffron-a few strands,soaked in a tablespoon of warm milk
Powdered nuts-2 tablespoons

1.Heat 1 liter milk in a vessel and bring it to boil.

2.Switch off the flame and squeeze out the juice from the lemon.

3.It will curdle immediately,else add more lemon juice.Let it stand for 10 minutes.


4.Strain.


5.Put the paneer into a vessel and wash a couple of times with water.

6.Transfer the paneer onto a cheese cloth and squeeze out excess water.

7.Tie the cloth and hang it so that the whey drains out completely.It took almost an hour.

8.The whey water is very nutritious .So do not discard it.Store it in the fridge for later use.[See note at the end of the post]

9.After the whey has drained completely, here is the paneer ready to be used.

10.Add the maida[APF] to the paneer and knead for 15 minutes.Knead well else it may break when dropped into the sugar syrup.

11.Make small balls.



I got 15...

12.In a pressure cooker,take 2 cups of water[approx-400ml] and add half the sugar.

13.Once the sugar dissolves,put in the paneer balls and pressure cook for 2 whistles / 10 minutes.


14.The paneer will be double the original size now.

15.Heat the 3/4 liter milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and add the remaining sugar, nuts, saffron, cardamom and simmer till it reduces to 3/4th of the original quantity.


16.Remove the paneer from the syrup and squeeze them gently to remove excess syrup.Flatten them lightly.


17.Drop them gently into the reduced milk mixture.


18.Simmer for 10 minutes.Remove from heat.Let it cool,refrigerate and serve!!!


Isn't it pretty easy.I finished the actual procedure in an hour.The waiting time was 1 hour for the whey to drain.My nephews who love this dessert[as much as I do!] were eager to taste it and they were totally taken in by the taste!!!They want me to prepare this again!!!I am so glad it turned out perfect in spite of the fact that this is my first try...

The chilled Rasmalai was way better than the ones I used to have outside.It does make sense,after all, its home made!!!

Note:

The whey that we get when milk coagulates is rich in nutrients.It can be used in a plenty of ways.All you need to do is store it in the refrigerator and

• Use it to prepare chapathi/Roti use this water to make the dough.
• It can also be used instead of lemon juice[as a starter] the next time you make paneer.
• Use it as a soup base
• Add a pinch of salt and drink it up.
• Use it while preparing baked goodies.
• Use it in milkshakes instead/with milk.