Shahi Paneer - saying thanks to all the beautiful blessings in life with a royal dish

As I pass the empty room, I stop to look in and assess the damage of 4 days. To my surprise, there are no soiled clothes on the floor, bed is pretty much made and no used cups, plates on the bed side table either. My phone charger that didn't belong to me for the last 4 days has been put back in its rightful place in the study. It reminds me of the countless mom-daughter fights we have had, me telling her to be responsible, keep the room clean and her telling me to either not sweat (when she was in good mood) or telling me to stay off her room (if she was tired). I no longer have to do that nor engage in unnecessary battles with her. Sometimes the very changes you wished for end up being the things you wish had stayed just the way they were for longer :-(. She hugs me before heading out and says, "I will be fine amma!" as if she read my mind. The little girl that was here just a little while ago seems grown up, she no longer gives me a reason to tell her to pick up after her, or be the constant reminder nagging her to do things. I count this to be one of the greatest blessings in my life though I sure wish the baby phase continued on forever..or for a long time atleast :-)

Thanksgiving is behind us already which means there are only a few days left for the rest of the year to come to an end. Feels like I started 2016 only recently :-). The joy of going to the airport to pick her up is already replaced by the melancholy of the house when we return home after dropping her off. She will get busy with school, finals and friends and we will get busy with work and other activities and we both start counting the days until the next break when she would be home. Until then, I reminisce the time we had together this past weekend. The 4 days of holiday was good and all three enjoyed the much awaited time with each other and also get some good rest. Flora heartily joined us for the eats and the snoozes though if you ask me she doesn't need the snooze any more than she already has :-). And food, oh yes there has been plenty in the last days, I cooked more than I had in the past month or so and in the name of feeding the famished college student, the parents also enjoyed some yummy and great food :-), no complaints from anyone.

Thanksgiving is definitely a tradition for us, both interms of the food and what we do (or don't do :-)) during the 4 days. I don't have to plan, don't need to invent anything for the lunch as our menu is set. We do a brunch that lasts us for the entire day and as usual, we had our masala dose, roasted sweet potatoes and cranberry chutney. I made the cranberry chutney in a very typical Andhra pachadi way this time and it tasted delicious and very flavorful. I have a couple variations of the chutney on the blog but if you are interested in this particular version, let me know and I will be happy to post that as well. The masale dose with the potato stuffing and the various chutneys on the side and inside along with roasted sweet potatoes made us feel stuffed for the entire day without needing anything for the most part.

I had got a pie pumpkin with plans of making something with it but just didn't get there. The pumpkin still sits in the corner beckoning me to make something, so look for some new pumpkin recipe on the blog soon if I continue the cooking enthusiasm and feel adventurous than usual (or I might end up falling back on the tried and tested favorites that are already on the blog :-) and won't post anything new). So the morning after Thanksgiving, I wanted to keep it simple, easy and tasty and ended up making this shahi paneer with some of DD's favorite peas pulav. The richness of the shahi paneer complemented perfectly with the simple and toned down peas pulav I had made. We enjoyed it hot and fresh for lunch, warm and well marinated for dinner :-). Yep cook once and eat twice is the mantra especially when there is so many tiny, little, medium and big sized containers already in the refrigerator full of left overs.

Ever since DD grew up to be a college girl, it seems like the parents live for the days between the holiday breaks :-(. I usually ask DD what she wants to eat whenever she is heading home for holidays. She has a bunch of favorite amma made food and is game anyday if I make from that list, but I feel like I make the same dishes every time if I don't plan ahead. Having eaten the dorm food for weeks at length, she is happy to eat anything I make when she is home (a huge change from before she went away to school and used to nitpick every meal :-(). Paneer is one thing she has some access to at school as every time they head out to enjoy some Indian food outside the campus, paneer dishes are always ordered as they are everyone's favorites and also pretty decently made in the places they go to. She loves paneer in most forms and I wanted to make something with it this time since the last two breaks she was home, it never made it to the menu.

Paneer is probably one of the universally loved ingredients especially for people from the Indian sub continent. This humble ingredient finds its way to numerous north Indian dishes and always seems to take them a notch higher than if they were to be devoid of paneer. Personally I am not fond of paneer or any kind of other cheese (! I know, I have had a hard time explaining this to many people in the past), I spoon the gravy liberally when we order a paneer dish while eating at a restaurant leaving the paneer pieces to BH and DD who are happy to gorge on amma's share too. So we don't waste food and it works out for everyone. This is what I do at home as well when I make a paneer dish. If you are looking for some of the favorite recipes with paneer, my versions of the dishes are right here on the blog at palak paneer, paneer butter masala, paneer tikka masala and mutter paneer. A new addition to the paneer family on the blog couln't be anything less than royalty, could it? so here is shahi paneer today. I used help from store bought paneer this time since the days around Thanksgiving were hectic and I didn't have thee time to make it at home.

Shahi is royalty, kingly :-). This dish is made rich with cashews and cream (I cheated a little as usual since we don't need to be that 'shahi' anyways :-)). The texture of the gravy is smooth and silky, the ingredients are ground into a very fine paste before they are combined. This is an easy way out to putting together a resturant grade shahi paneer without toiling infront of a hot stove trying to saute raw onion and tomato paste for a long time until they are well roasted. If you are looking for a short cut without any compromise on the taste, this recipe is for you. I found it originally on a you tube channel by chef Vikas Khanna. Cooking them with spices until soft not only gives you a head start on cook time (you don't have to saute onion & tomato paste until fat oozes out from the side) but also ensures that the aroma from the spices are captured in the gravy and held secure there. Adding honey is the chef's touch, I would have added a spoon of sugar to cut the sourness of tomatoes but honey made perfect sense as it added the sweetness and also aided the silky smoothness of the gravy. This is a perfect accompaniment for a bland rice (such as jeera rice or plain steamed rice) and for roti/naan.

Paneer Trivia: 
Cottage cheese is an easy and understandable term when you are trying to explain paneer to a person whom you are trying to introduce to Indian cuisine. Though cottage cheese and paneer and used interchangeably, they are not the same. The process of paneer making ensures that all the whey is removed by keeping the curdled milk under weight for a couple of hours where as cottage cheese is hung up and retains some whey in it. Also usage of paneer is mostly in cooked dishes while cottage cheese is consumed in its raw form. Paneer is extremely easy to make at home and best consumed within a couple of days of preparation. So how do you explain paneer to a novice (that understands cheese ofcourse?) - it is curdled milk and similar to fresh farmer's cheese :-)

Cheese for vegetarians: 
I was reading a book recently and it had a description of how cheese was made in the pioneer days. I never had paid a lot of attention to the note that said 'no animal rennet' on the paneer packet before but now understand that cheese was made with animal rennet in the olden days and the practice continues today. There are plant based rennet available and if you are a vegan or a vegetarian who would like to avoid animal rennet, you just have to make the choice. A rennet is essentially an enzyme that curdles milk and helps separate into solid curds and liquid whey. Plant based sources of the enzyme include fig leaves, melon, safflower and ofcourse by the fermentation of the fungus.

What do you need to make Shahi Paneer? 
Recipe source: Chef Vikas Khanna
6 Oz paneer (roughly a cup & half of cubed paneer)
5 medium tomatoes (4 cups chopped)
3 medium onion (3 cups chopped)
1 inch piece cinnamon
2-4 cloves (adds to the heat)
1 black cardamom
2 green cardamom
2 byadagi/Kashmiri red chilies (this gives the authentic orange-red color)
10-12 cashews
1 inch piece ginger
2 cloves garlic (skip if you don't like garlic)
1 Tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 Tsp honey
1/2 Tsp red chili powder (use a mild, bright colored variety like Kashmiri)
1 Tsp kasoori methi
1/4 Tsp garam masala powder

How do you make Shahi paneer?

• Take a big cooking pot, add chopped tomatoes, onion, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, red chilies and cashews into it along with 1 cup of water and 1/2 tsp salt. 
• Let it cook down covered on medium heat for about 20 mins until tomatoes are mushy and onions are soft. 

• Switch off and let it cool. 
• In the meantime, wash, peel ginger and crush it into a fine paste along with garlic.
• Cut paneer into pieces of desired shape and size and keep aside until ready to use. 

• Remove the black cardamom (I feel the taste is very pronounced when ground into paste) and take the remaining contents of the pot to a blender and grind into a very smooth paste.
• Heat a kadai on medium heat, return the ground paste to it along with the ginger-garlic paste and let it start to get a few bubbles on top. 
• Reduce the heat to low and add milk while stirring the gravy continuously. 
• Let it cook for another 4-5 mins or until it starts to boil again. 
• Add the red chili powder, garam masala powder, crushed kasoori methi and salt and mix well. 

• Adjust the consistency if you desire with additional milk and taste test to adjust any dry powders to your liking. Let the gravy come to a gentle boil. 
• Add the paneer pieces and mix lightly, let it cook for a minute or so before adding the honey and switching it off. 

• Cover and let it rest for atleast 15mins before serving it. 

Notes: 

• Make sure you get the paneer out of the freezer a few hours before you need to use it in the recipe especially if it is store bought. The block needs to be soft enough to cut into pieces or you will end up fighting with it and breaking it into crumbs. 
• Bring milk to room temperature or warm it for a few seconds before adding to the gravy. The tomatoes in the gravy can curdle if you add refrigerated milk directly to the hot gravy. 
• This is a thick, creamy gravy, do not add a lot of water (one cup used while boiling the tomatoes and the milk provide sufficient quantity of liquid). 
• The flavor of cardamom is very pronounced when you first start the gravy (also the reason but mellows down after the addition of spice powders, milk etc. 

Paneer Tikka Masala - Vegetarian favorite from restaurants reconstructed at home

Disclaimer: Long chitchat and longer recipe :-), read at your convenience risk:-)

Claimer(Is that a word?): You really don't want to miss this recipe if you are a fan of paneer dishes :-))

I blink, it is the beginning of a new week, next time I blink I am already into the weekend, or so it seems. Memorial day came and went, the long weekend was filled with a flurry of activities. With 2 little girls grown up(almost) and heading out to a new phase of life at colleges of their choice, a little kid who has turned into a dashing young man on the threshold of entering married life, as a family we couldn't ask for more. Exciting, happy and busy times all around. I am looking forward to finishing up next work week and heading out for the short vacation to celebrate our nephew's wedding. India, here we come :-).

I don't know about you but I block all craving for home until I know for sure there is a trip close by but as I near the timeline, it gets tougher and tougher not to think, dream about home, family and everything else :-(. I am right now in that phase where every waking moment (and ofcourse the sleepy moments) is flooded with thoughts about meeting everyone back home in a week. Keeping in tune with the thoughts, I am feverishly cooking loads of Indian food, more than my usual and being light headed as I am now, all my caution for health(ier) food goes out the window :-). Indulgence is the mantra for now. Here is one such recipe, rich in flavor, taste, colors..

I have a friend at work who bakes delicious food and is a foodie like me. We sometimes bring dishes to work, exchange recipes and all that. She loves Indian food and recently went to a restaurant in town and was raving about the chicken tikka masala she had and wanted the recipe to try at home. Being a vegetarian, I told her that I would get her a good tikka masala recipe soon and she could replace the veggies with her choice of meat. Indian cuisine has crossed borders, broken barriers and reached remotest parts of the globe that would have been unimaginable a generation or so back. While major credit goes to enterprising Gujjus, Panjabis, Udupi chefs, there is something unmistakable in the cuisine itself that seems to give it the sustainability to stand unbroken in unfamiliar settings and the adaptability to morph while retaining its heart & soul.

Recently I read an article of a study by chemists from IIT, Jodhpur that put a mathematical formula on why Indian food is so delicious. Apparently Indian cuisine in stark contrast to most other cuisines in the world, combines ingredients that do not have any overlapping flavors. The recipes mix these ingredients, retain their individuality and hence produce a burst of flavor when tasted. You can read the article here if you are interested. Today's recipe is a proof of coming together of complex flavors, coexisting to make a tasty dish. There is the tang of yogurt, bitterness of roasted fenugreek leaves, smokeyness of the hot mustard oil - seemingly incompatible but work their magic in the pot.

When my search for a good great tikka masala recipe began I literally found thousands of them all over the blogosphere. Some looked authentic, some claimed authenticity. I was looking to get a delicious taste without the dish being laden with butter. I use my oven generously for many of the Indian dishes but I also completely understand it is not a replacement for a tandoor so most dishes cook to perfection sans the smokey flavor that the tandoor imparts. Though many of the recipes online looked appetizing I finally zeroed in on this from celebrity chef Harpal Singh Sokhi. This one is for you M and thank you for nudging me towards trying this recipe, it is a keeper.

The truth of it all is there is no one dish or recipe that can be termed 'Indian' and expect to see it being eaten all over India. The flavors, preparation, ingredients keep varying as you move from region to region within India. Granted there are similarities and the underlying principles (Ex: eat khichdi/pongal in the winter because it has black pepper that keeps the body warm) are same because of the age old wisdom, but you will not find an authentic paneer masala in a South Indian home as you will not find the variety of dosas in a Punjabi home. For me, this variety is what makes life and Indian food interesting :-). I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this recipe, I will leave it to my good Punjabi friends but I can definitely vouch for the 'can't have enough' taste of this dish.

What stands out in this recipe is the usage of mustard oil which really brings in the smokey flavor in this recipe. I did a major cut on the heavy ingredients (butter & cream) and a few other tweaks to suit our palates yet the dish turns out super mouth watering. I used the left over marinade in the sauce which made it more delicious and also added a little bit of roasted gram flour to the marinade which I think added to the nutty flavor overall. Mustard oil is not something I use regularly but had a little bit left over from the avakkaya amma made earlier in Spring. If you do not have mustard oil in your pantry, please head out to your nearest store that has mustard oil and buy a bottle of it. It is totally worth the effort and you will be glad you took the extra effort. Go ahead and use butter & cream if you'd like, this is a really yummy dish as is and doesn't need (according to me :-)) any further enhancements.

While paneer is the most favorite of things for DD & BH, I don't personally enjoy it so much, just a personal peeve with the texture. I know lot of my Indian and non Indian friends will look at me as if I was a weird species but when it comes to food, each to her (or his) own. Enjoy what you like.  I added whole lot of paneer in the recipe for the rest of the family at the same time added a bunch of veggies too so I could enjoy the flavors. The only problem with this deliciousness is that the family wasn't very thrilled to wait until the masala was done and we added the grilled veggies in it as they were eager to eat the paneer tikka (without the masala) as it was like appetizers. The marinated veggies and paneer taste absolutely yummy without the gravy too. So if you are looking for popular finger food for a party, here you go..

This recipe is a little time consuming unless you follow the pattern, get things ready in advance and cook simultaneously. I have tried to separate ingredients and the method so it is easier to consume and execute. Hope this helps.

What do you need to make Paneer Tikka Masala? 
For the Tikka: 
3 cups cubed fresh paneer (I used a 12oz packet)
1 cup cubed onions (I prefer red onions)
1 large tomato (use a fleshy variety)
1 green bell pepper (or use other colors if you like)
2-3 Tbsp oil to shallow fry

Marinade: 
1 cup yogurt
1/2 Tsp lemon/lime juice
2 Tbsp besan/gram flour
1 Tbsp oil (use butter for a heavier/calorie dense version)
1/4 Tsp ajwain
1 Tsp kasoori methi (dry fenigreek leaves)
1 Tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 Tsp garam masala powder
1 inch piece ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
3/4 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/8 Tsp turmeric powder
2 Tbsp mustard oil ***

Tikka Masala: 
1 large onion
2 large tomatoes
1 inch piece ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
1-2 green chilies
8-10 cashews
1 Tsp kasoori methi
1 Tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 Tsp garam masala powder
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp milk (use cream for a heavier/calorie dense version)
1 Tsp cumin seeds
1 Tsp salt

How do you make Paneer Tikka Masala? 
Preparing veggies & paneer for the Tikka: 

• Cut paneer into 1X1 inch pieces, keep aside
• Chop onion into cubes, separate the layers
• Cut tomato in quarters, reserve the seeds & pulp, cut into pieces.
• Deseed & cut green bell pepper into cubes
• Note: Keep the size of all the vegetables roughly the same and a tiny bit bigger than paneer. 

Preparing marinade: 

• Wash, peel and crush ginger & garlic into a coarse paste using a mortar & pestle or a blender. 
• Take a large bowl, add yogurt, salt, red chili powder, garam masala powder, kasoori methi crushed, lemon/lime juice, ginger & garlic paste 
• Whisk it with a spoon or fork until homogeneous. 
• Heat oil in a pan, add besan & crushed ajwain into it. Roast on medium heat until you get the nutty aroma of besan. DO NOT LET THIS BURN. 

• Add this to the yogurt mixture. 
• Heat mustard oil in a pan until it starts to smoke, switch off & add turmeric powder. 
• Pour this over the yogurt mixture and give a good mix until everything blends together. 

• Important: Taste the marinade at this stage and adjust any spices, salt etc. 
• First add the bell pepper pieces, and coat them with marinade. Add onions followed by tomatoes and give a swirl so everything is coated. 
• Finally add paneer pieces and gently mix into the marinade. 
• Make sure all the pieces have a chance to absorb the flavors from marinade. 

• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let it rest for atleast an hour. 
• Either shake the bowl or using a spoon, gently mix the ingredients a couple of times to ensure infusion of flavors. 

Grilling vegetables: 

• After an hour or so of marinade, veggies will be ready to be grilled. There are a couple of ways to grill them - you can do the stove top pan or a grill pan, use the oven or if you have a tandoor, go for it. 
• Pick a piece of paneer, push the center through a skewer, add a layer of onion, bell pepper and tomato. Keep alternating until the end of the skewer. 

• Heat your pan or grill pan until the surface is very hot, add a few drops of oil and place the skewer on top. (You should hear a sizzling sound as you place the wet vegetables, don't start with a cold griddle or pan)
• After a min, rotate the skewers and let the other side get a nice brown coating, repeat on all 4 sides. 
• If you do not have skewers, just lay the marinated veggies and paneer pieces on the surface of the hot tava and using a gentle hand, keep turning them over until they develop the grill marks and soften up a bit. 

• Remove skewers from the pan and keep aside. 
• If you are impatient (like my family was) or are looking for a snack/appetizer, you can start munching on the grilled paneer & veggies at this stage, they taste heavenly delicious.

Preparing Tikka Masala: 

• Soak cashews in water for 30-45 mins. 
• Blend cashews into a fine paste with 2 Tbsp milk. Reserve this paste until ready to use. 
• Finely chop onion and keep aside. 
• Roughly chop tomatoes and puree them, keep aside. 
• Crush & make a paste of ginger & garlic. 
• Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. 
• Add cumin and let it sizzle. 
• Add chopped onion and salt. Let onions brown on medium heat. 
• Add ginger-garlic paste at this stage and let it cook for a couple of minutes. 
• Add pureed tomatoes and let it cook for 10-12 minutes on medium-low heat. This is an important step and take it patiently for the best flavor. 

• Once almost all the liquid has gone and tomatoes & onions look like a paste with oil glistening on the sides, add the cashew paste, increase heat and continuously stir until it gets absorbed into the paste (1-2 mins)
• Add the dry powders - red chili powder, crushed kasoori methi, garam masala. Mix them in, taste and adjust if needed. 

• Add any remaining marinade along with 1/2 cup of water to, let it come to a boil. 
• Add the grilled paneer and vegetables into the gravy, give a gentle stir. 

• Switch off, serve hot or warm with rotis or naan.

Notes: 

• Go slow with the onions & tomato cooking for the sauce. This needs to be done in medium heat and until the raw smell and flavors turn into delicious cooked taste. 
• Be liberal with the use of kasoori methi in the sauce. 
• Do not discard remaining marinade, its addition in sauce just takes the dish to the next level :-)
• Add all little charred bits of bell pepper, onion etc scraped off the pan and do not discard. 
• For the Tikka masala, the vegetables should be cooked just enough so they retain their crunch and not become mushy. 

Kalakand - Perfect sweet for celebrations

There was (is?) a bakery/sweet shop in Rajajinagar I block in Bengaluru called Eishwarya sweets, he had an upstairs kitchen where he prepared fresh, delicious sweets and savories. I had tasted kalakand for the first time here with BH. The store has morphed a lot and the last time I saw, it still was on the same street, but looking very different and modernized :-). I also like the kalakand you get at Asha sweets in Malleswaram, Bengaluru (very close to the famous Malleswaram 8th street), it is a narrow, small shop always crowded and has one of the best kalakand I have tasted. Years back during my IISc days, I used to get rasgollas packed in earthen pots and take it home to Mysore for my little nephew. I visited the store with daughter & a friend last summer and fell in love with their delicious Badami haalu (almond milk).

Kalakand is BH's favorite sweet, and we usually end up getting some fresh kalakand along with other goodies every time we visit India. The simplicity of the sweet is in the number of ingredients it uses - just two if you don't count the lemon/lime juice for making the paneer. The process is time consuming but the end result is extremely gratifying. There is not much chance you will miss the consistency like the traditional burfis, so it is a beginner friendly recipe. The milky richness makes it a perfect dessert for any occasion.

So here goes a perfect bite of Kalakand to wish BH many many Happy returns of the day as he turns another year wiser & older. 

What do you need to make Kalakand? 
6 cups whole milk for paneer
6 cups whole milk for the khova
Juice of 1 lemon/lime
1 cup sugar (adjust if you like it more or less sweet)
chopped unsalted pistachio/slivered almonds for garnish (optional - I didn't use it)

How do you make Kalakand? 
Making Paneer:

• Take 6 cups of milk in a thick bottom pan, bring it to boil.
• Add the lemon juice and let the milk curdle. 
• When you see milk & whey separating in the pan, switch off the stove and let it settle for 2 minutes. 
• Pour the curdled milk into a cheese cloth (I used a new thin white towel) and let the water drain away.
• Wash the mixture by running water on it to remove the lemony flavor, squeeze the cloth tightly and hang it for about 5 minutes. 
• Crumble the paneer and keep it aside.

Making Khova:

• Take 6 cups of milk in a thick bottom pan on medium heat. 
• Frequently stirring the milk to ensure it doesn't burn, until it reduces to about 1/3rd of the original quantity. 
• Keep breaking the layers of milk that forms at the top and mix it in. 
• The process took an hour and half for the quantity I made today. 

Making kalakand:

• When the khova is ready, add the crumbled paneer and sugar.
• Frequently stir on low heat until all the water content evaporates. It took 15 minutes for the quantity I made today.
• Pour into a plate in a thick (atleast an inch) layer and spread it evenly.
• Garnish with nuts, I didn't do it as we like the pure taste of the milk with no make up.
• Let it cool completely before cutting into pieces. I made 12 pieces of 2X2X2 inches.

Tips:

• Use whole milk for the rich taste.
• If you like the hint of lemon juice in kalakand, skip washing the paneer with water.
• Do not take short cuts and use store bought paneer in this recipe. The dish gets the tasty glow from fresh paneer. Actually making paneer is a very fulfilling experience and I hit that high note every time I open the cheese cloth and see the perfect ball of paneer staring at me :-), take a look at it below..