PANEER BAHAAR

When we talk of vegetarian delicacies in India, the first thing that comes to our mind is Paneer or cottage cheese. And the most common avatars of paneer are Paalak Paneer (paneer curry with spinach), Shahi Paneer (rich creamy paneer curry made with the paste of cashew nut, watermelon seeds & cream) as well as Matar Paneer (paneer curry made with peas). Although I love all these varieties of Paneer delicacies, I thought of trying to come up with another variety. This recipe that I'am sharing with you today has a lot of dry fruits in it. And I think this goes better with naans & chapatis rather than with rice.

PANEER BAHAAR

INGREDIENTS:

250gm Paneer/Cottage Cheese, a handful of Dry Fruits (cashew nuts, almond, raisins, dry coconut pieces, dry dates), Puree of 1 large Tomato, 4Green chilies, 1tsp Red chili powder, 1tsp Turmeric powder,  1tbsp Poppy seeds, 1tbsp Watermelon seeds, 1tbsp Fennel seeds, 1 tsp garam masala powder (cardamom, cinnamon & cloves), ½ cup Milk, 10-12 Grapes, 3Bay Leaves,  3tsp Sugar, 1tbs Corn-flour, Salt to taste, Cooking oil, 1cup Water, 2tsp Rose water,.

PROCEDURE:

Roast poppy seeds in low flame. Make a fine paste of poppy seeds, watermelon seeds, fennel seeds & green chilies. Blend the dry fruits into a coarse paste. Mash the paneer, & add 2 tsp of the dry fruits paste, corn-flour, ½ tsp salt & 1 tsp sugar. Take small portions of the mixture & make small balls. Mildly press the balls in between palms to get a flattened round shape. Shallow fry them like kababs until both the sides are golden. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the Bay leaves & ½ tsp garam masala powder. Drop in the tomato puree & cook for a minute. Then add the mixed seeds paste, salt, turmeric & red chili powder. Cook the masala for 3-4 mins. Add  milk & water, & bring it to a boil. Finally add the dry fruits paste, grapes cut into halves, few raisins, small dry coconut slices & 2 tsp sugar. Follow them up with the paneer balls, & cook for another 2 mins. Lastly, sprinkle rose water over the curry. Garnish with coconut powder. Serve hot with chapatis, naans or rice.

PS: Cherries can also be used instead of the grapes. It would give a better color as well.