Paneer Khurchan

INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 250 grams Paneer (cottage cheese)

• ▢ 90 to 100 grams onions or about 2 medium onions or ½ cup heaped sliced onions

• ▢ 150 grams tomato or 1 large tomato or 2/3 cup chopped tomatoes

• ▢ 1 large green capsicum (bell pepper) or 100 grams capsicum or ½ cup chopped capsicum

• ▢ 1 inch ginger – julienne

• ▢ 1 or 2 green chilies – slit

• ▢ 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala or add as required

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)

• ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder or cayenne pepper, add as required

• ▢ ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)

• ▢ ½ teaspoon Cumin Powder (ground cumin)

• ▢ ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) – crushed

• ▢ 1 tablespoon low fat cream (optional)

• ▢ 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves for garnish

• ▢ 1.5 to 2 tablespoon oil

• ▢ salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

preparation

• Slice 250 grams of paneer into batons or strips about 1.5 to 2 inches.

• Chop all the veggies. Slice the onions thinly. Chop the tomatoes and cut the capsicum in small cubes. 

• Slit the green chilies & julienne the 1 inch ginger. Reserve a few ginger julienne for garnish.

making paneer khurchan

• Heat oil in medium to large iron tawa. Don't use non stick pan. You can also use thick bottomed iron or steel kadai.

• Add the sliced onions and saute them till they turn translucent on medium-low heat stirring often.

• Then add the capsicum cubes and chopped tomatoes.

• Keep on sauteing and stirring them for about about 7 to 8 minutes on a low heat.

• The tomatoes need to get softened and the capsicum just about cooked.

• Then add the spice powders – turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, a generous pinch of asafoetida and salt as required.

• Stir the spice powders very well with the sauteed onion tomato capsicum mixture.

• Add the slit green chilies and ginger julienne. Stir and mix.

• Then add the paneer strips.

• Stir and mix very well. Increase the heat to high. Note that the paneer will leave moisture once you mix them with the rest of the masala base.

• With a spatula, align and place each paneer strip touching the tawa, so that they are cooked evenly as well as get bit golden from the base.

• Cook for a minute and then scrape the paneer strips from the base. Reduce the heat if everything starts to get brown quickly

• Turn over and let the other side get browned a bit.

• Again scrape and stir. Keep on scraping if you see the paneer or onion-tomato bits getting stuck on the tawa. A note is not to cook too much as then the paneer would harden and become chewy. The scraping as well as flipping has to be done quickly.

• Switch off the heat. Lastly add 1 tablespoon low fat cream or light cream and crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves). The cream is optional and if you don't have just skip it.

• Stir and mix very well again.

• Add chopped coriander leaves and mix them. You can also garnish with coriander leaves instead of mixing them.

• Serve paneer khurchan hot or warm sprinkled with some lime juice and the reserved ginger julienne, along with some chapatis, tandoori rotis or naan or plain paratha.

NOTES

• The amount of spices can be altered to suit your taste buds.

• I suggest to make the dish with fresh paneer. I always recommend making your own paneer.

• Use any neutral flavored oil. For a richer dish you can add butter or ghee instead of oil.

• For a spicy paneer khurchan increase the amount of green chilies.

• It is best to serve this dish hot or warm. On reheating the paneer will get cooked further and won’t taste good as they will become chewy and rubbery.

• Use a big-size skillet or tawa to accommodate the ingredients easily while sauteing. Also the paneer strips should be placed in a single layer while cooking the dish.

Tawa Mushroom

• ▢ 200 grams white button mushrooms or 2 cups chopped or sliced mushrooms

• ▢ 1 cup tomatoes – finely chopped, or 2 medium to large tomatoes, 175 grams

• ▢ ⅓ cup onions – heaped & finely chopped or 1 medium onion, 60 grams

• ▢ ½ cup capsicum – finely chopped, (green bell pepper) or 1 medium capsicum, 80 grams

• ▢ 1 green chilli chopped, you can also add 2 green chilies

• ▢ ½ teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste

• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter – salted; or swap with oil or unsalted butter

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

• ▢ ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder

• ▢ ½ to 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder

• ▢ 1 teaspoon Pav Bhaji Masala or add as required

• ▢ ½ cup water

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)

• ▢ ¼ cup coriander leaves

• ▢ salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place a heavy medium or large tawa or griddle on the stovetop. First heat it on a medium flame. When the tawa gets hot, reduce the heat to a low.

• Add 2 tablespoons butter. You can also use oil instead of butter.

• Add ajwain (carom seeds) and cumin seeds. Sauté for a few seconds. Ajwain gives a good aroma in the dish.

• Next add the finely chopped onions.

• Stir and begin sauté on a low to medium heat, till the onions are softened and turn translucent.

• Then add ginger-garlic paste. Sauté until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic dissipates.

• Now add the finely chopped tomatoes and chopped green chillies. Mix well and then lower the heat.

• Cover the onion-tomato mixture with a lid and cook on a low heat for 4 to 5 minutes.

  Do check once or twice when the tomatoes are cooking, just to make sure that the mixture is not sticking on the tawa.

• After 4 to 5 minutes, the tomatoes would have softened.

• Using a veggie or potato masher, mash the tomatoes once they have softened.

• You don’t need to make a smooth mush of the tomatoes. Just roughly mash the tomatoes.

• Next add the finely chopped capsicum. Mix very well.

• Sauté the capsicum for 2 to 3 minutes on a low heat.

• Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, kashmiri red chilli powder and pav bhaji masala.

  If you do not have pav bhaji masala, then add ½ teaspoon garam masala and ¼ teaspoon dry mango powder.

• Mix the spice powders very well with the onion, tomato and capsicum mixture.

• Next add the sliced or chopped white button mushrooms.

• Stir and mix the mushrooms. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

• Season with salt as per taste. Mix again very well.

• Add ½ cup water and mix again.

• Cover the mushroom mixture with a lid. On a low heat simmer until the mushrooms are tender and cooked well.

• It will take about 10 to 12 minutes for the mushrooms to cook. Do check a couple of times and if the water looks dried up, you can add some more water.

• If there is too much of gravy or water in the dish, then cook until all of the water evaporates.

  This tawa mushroom masala is dry to semi-dry dish with no gravy.

• Next step is to add coriander leaves and kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves).

• Mix very well and saute for a minute. Turn off the heat.

• Serve with roti or bread or as a side dish with dal-rice.

NOTES

• You can add the ground spice powders less or more according to your preferences.

• Skip carom seeds and kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), if you do not have them.

• Substitute pav bhaji masala with ½ teaspoon garam masala and ¼ teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder).

• Instead of tawa, you can also cook the dish in a shallow frying pan or a kadai (wok).

• You can also use cremini or portobello mushrooms instead of button mushrooms.

• Instead of butter, use oil in the recipe. 

Karela Fry

• 250 gram bitter gourd (karela or kakarakaya or bitter melon) – tender and fresh

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)

• ▢ ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder or cayenne pepper

• ▢ ½ teaspoon Cumin Powder (ground cumin)

• ▢ 1 teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)

• ▢ 1 teaspoon fennel powder (ground fennel)

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala

• ▢ 1 pinch asafoetida (hing), optional

• ▢ ½ or 1 teaspoon dried mango powder (amchur powder)

• ▢ 1 tablespoon gram flour (besan) or chickpea flour

• ▢ 2 tablespoons oil

• ▢ salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparation

• Rinse the bitter gourd for a few times in water first.

• Slice the karela into thin round pieces.

• You can lightly peel the skin if you want, before you slice them. But if the peels are very thick, then remove them.

Making karela fry

• Heat oil in a frying pan or kadai.

• Add the karela slices and sauté on low or medium-low heat till the slices are lightly browned. This takes about 8 to minutes, keep stirring in between.

• Now, add all the dry ground spice powders and salt.

• Stir and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes more on low heat.

• Lastly, add the besan (gram flour) and sauté for some minutes or till the rawness of the besan goes away. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes.

• Garnish with coriander leaves.

• Serve Karela Fry with dal-rice, kadhi-rice or sambar-rice.

NOTES

• To reduce the bitterness, rub some salt in the bitter gourd slices evenly. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes and then gently squeeze the slices to extract the bitter juice. Later rinse the slices in fresh water. Drain very well, dry with a kitchen towel and follow the recipe.

• Bitter gourds seeds are considered to be toxic, so you can opt to remove them before using in the recipe. 

• Use fresh, tender, green bitter gourd and not the ones which are wilted or ripened. The ripened ones will be yellow colored inside with red seeds.

• The tang from the dry mango powder helps in balancing the bitter taste. If you do not have mango powder, drizzle some lemon juice once the bitter gourd slices are cooked. 

• Adjust the ground spices and seasonings depending on your taste preferences.

• This recipe can be halved or doubled or tripled easily.