Helsinki has an Indian market and we do get a lot of Indian spices and condiments. But one thing I really missed is paneer. I enquired at a few shops and found that they do not import it as it's shelf life is low. I tried with a few variants of cottage cheese but the cheese would either melt in the pan or was extremely expensive. I even ended up cooking masala cheese once, which I used as a spread for bread :).
To cut the long story short, the paneer had to be made at home.
For the paneer we need:
- High fat milk 1 litre
- Lemon juice 1 table spoon
The process :
Heat the milk in a non stick pan. When the milk comes to a boil add the lemon juice to it. Milk starts to curdle. Take the milk off the heat and set aside for a while. Notice that the milk has curdled /split. Now strain the milk in a clean cloth.
Hang the strained remnants in the cloth until all the water has drained off. Once the paneer has dough like consistency, make a lump of it and place something heavy on it so that the excess water is drained off. The paneer can now be removed from the cloth and flattened and stored(refrigerated) in an airtight container. This can be used anytime. 1 litre of milk makes around 175-200 gms of paneer
To make Paneer Masala we need
For the Masala:
- Onions (large, diced) 2 Nos
- Tomato (large, diced) 1 No
- Green chillis 2 Nos
- Ginger 1/2 inch
- Sunflower/canola oil 1 tspn
Heat the oil in a pan, add the diced onions and fry until they become transparent, add the tomatoes , sliced green chillies and sliced ginger. Make sure the tomatoes are not too cooked.
Blend the contents to make a puree and keep aside
For the curry :
- Paneer cubes 150 gms
- Cumin seeds (jeera) 1 tspn
- Dried red chilli 1 no
- Ginger garlic paste 1 tspn
- Turmeric a pinch
- Corriander powder 1 tspn
- Chilli powder to taste
- Salt to taste
- Sunflower/canola oil 2 tbsp
In a non stick pan, add some oil and fry the paneer cubes until golden brown.Keep aside. I usually brown the paneer on side so that it is crisply to eat, but most people would like it if it is golden brown.
Add very little oil to the pan and add cumin seed and red chilli wait until they splatter and add the ginger garlic paste, and paneer cubes. Stir for a few seconds, add the puree and a little water. Stir in the salt , chilli powder, corriander powder and turmeric. Cover the pan and leave thecurry to simmer for a while. Keep stirring in between. Take off the heat after 4-6 minutes. Paneer masala is ready to eat.
Tastes great with Nan/roti/rice.
