Tawa Paneer with a twist-Deviation from the usual recipe

I am back after a week’s hibernation. Although the short break taken for a quick gateway doesn't seem to be enough but as they say all’s well that ends well. It was a refreshing trip and spent some quality time with friends and family. We went to Mahabaleshwar with a very good family friend of ours.

With its mesmerizing valleys, placid lakes, cascading waterfalls, scenic locations, Mahabaleshwar gives shelter to various tourists’ destinations. Be it the lookout points with spectacular views of hills and valleys or the spiritual aura prevailing in the place, it is an ideal destination for any type of visitor.

It represents a perfect blend of natural beauty, modernity and old charm. It is easily reachable from Mumbai and Pune and it takes at least 2-3 days to explore the place as it has lots to offer. It owes it cool climate to the high altitude and evergreen forests.

Another high point of the trip was the local cuisine delight of strawberries with cream. This place is loaded with fresh strawberries and known for its cultivation. Being a foodie, I enjoyed strawberries in all forms possible… I bought some strawberry crush and squash for my pantry stock. I’ll try to use them for creating some mouthwatering dishes and watch out this space for some amazing recipes.  

Though i enjoyed my vacation but missed some of the interesting posts from my fellow bloggers. I’ll try to pace up and keep myself abreast with all that I have missed over the break.

Now I am out of my lazy phase. And to celebrate that, i made paneer tawa masala with a twist. This recipe is unique because of an unusual ingredient “Pao Bhaji Masala. I decided to marinate the paneer pieces with Pao Bhaji Masala and other aromatic dry spices. It enhances the flavor of the dish and it is an unusual take from the original recipe.

 This is a very easy recipe to make and worth making an effort to please your loved ones. . The curry was simply brilliant. It was divine to dunk a piece of phulka into the gravy along with a chunk of paneer. This is a kind of recipe that you can indulge in again and again without any guilt indulgence.

Serves: 4 people

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: Under 15 minutes 

           

Ingredients for the Gravy:

Paneer: 300 gms

Onion: 2 medium sized finely chopped

Tomato: 2 deseeded finely chopped

Grated Ginger: 2 tsp

Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds:  1 tsp

Cream or Malai-1 ½ tsp

Green Chillies: 2 finely chopped

Sabzi Masala: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil: 1 ½ tbsp.

Ingredients for the Marination

Pao Bhaji Masala: 2 tsp

Grated Ginger: ½ tsp

Caraway  seeds- ¾ tsp

Kasoori methi – 1 tbsp

Chaat Masala: 1 tsp

Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder: ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Hung Yogurt: 2 tbsp

Green Coriander Leaves: 3 tbsp finely chopped

Oil: ½ tsp

Method:

1.       Marinate paneer with all the ingredients mentioned above for marination. Keep it aside for half an hour. The pao bhaji powder used for marination enhances the flavor and also adds to the color of the dish.

2.      Once the Marination is done, heat a nonstick pan and shallow fry the paneer for 10-12 minutes on medium flame till they turn golden.

3.      Chop the onions finely and and heat oil in a wok. Temper the oil with cumin seeds. Then add onions and turmeric powder and sauté it well. Add grated ginger,green chillies , coriander powder and chilli powder and sauté it till the raw smell goes.

4.      After the mixture becomes dry, add finely chopped tomatoes and cook it well till it gets pulpy and nicely coated with other spices. Let the mixture get cooked till the oil is separated. Now add garam masala, sabzi masala, cream and salt. Let it simmer over medium flame for 5-6 minutes. If you find the gravy too thick then you can add milk which will give you a right consistency.

5.      Garnish it with Chopped coriander leaves and serve it hot with phulkas or parathas.