Paneer Pasanda

Make way for the star of all recipes. This dish is what Shahrukh Khan is for movies or Sachin Tendulkar is for Indian Cricket (Alright, Sachin may get rusty now & then but he still is the Master Blaster!).

OK! I might have taken the analogy a bit too far, but what I mean is that just as a movie with Shahrukh in it, is least likely to flop (I admit this very grudgingly...), in the same way any meal with this dish is a sure shot hit with everyone. GM loves it, my guests have always given me compliments for this dish and I love making it because of these reasons :) I do have to keep in my mind not to repeat it with the same set of friends !

I don't remember where I got this recipe from but I stumbled upon it on the Internet search when I was looking for some good Paneer recipes. This was just after my marriage when I was in high spirits to start running my own kitchen. Of course my experiments in the kitchen were a regular happening earlier also but they were restricted to Sundays & Holidays. My mom was always happy to hand over the kitchen to me, a welcome break for her! But this was different and I was so excited that I wanted to try out everything at once. This was the first Paneer dish I made, so it has a lot of sentimental value attached to it as well.

The usual hype is that any Paneer dish requires a lot of preparation and/or involves elaborate cooking steps. But on the contrary I have found that it is very easy, simple & quick to make most of the Paneer items. For one, the cutting & chopping is reduced & also the cooking time is less as paneer need not to be cooked for a long time as with other vegetables such as potatoes.

So here it is, a simple & easy Paneer delicacy...

Serves 2
Ingredients

• 120 gm Paneer
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• 1-2 Green chili, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp Ginger paste
• 1/2 cup Cream
• 1/4 cup Curd
• 1 tsp Haldi
• 1 tsp Red Chili powder
• 1-2 tsp Garam Masala
• 8-10 Mint leaves (Pudina), finely chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tblsp butter
• milk as required
• salt

Method:
In a pan heat the butter. Add the chopped onions & saute until they turn translucent. Now add the Ginger Garlic paste, Green chilli and stir. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes sort of form a paste with the onions. Now turn off the heat and allow to cool.

Add the paneer cubes and all the other ingredients, except milk, and mix properly. Cover & keep for approx 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add the milk, turn on the flame & cook for approx 5-7 minutes or until it reaches the desired consistency.

Paneer Pasanda is ready to be devoured. Now what could be simpler than this?

For some reason this dish tastes better the next day. So I always make it in large quantities & we have it the next day as well accompanied by a Dal or raita.