I recently spotted bags of grated paneer on the shelves in certain supermarkets and it occured to me that this would be a really quick and easy ingredient to cook for a Meatless Monday.
I figured I could use it either like mince, or just adapt a standard paneer recipe for a dish with a different texture experience.
Unfortunately, Amazon caused me a huge problem that evening, so I spent a lot of time on the phone trying to sort it out and so when I had to stop to cook dinner, I wasn't in a great frame of mind, and I hadn't had a chance to do the research I had intended for this meal, so I was somewhat cooking by the seat of my pants, as it were! Anywway, it was a tasty and successful meal, but I recommend fiddling with the spices to suit your preferences if you would like to, or adding condiments like mango chutney or a spicy sour pickle to layer the flavours.
You can easily eat this with rice, but I had planned on a higher protein, longer lasting carb, so I made a quick yoghurt flatbread which I've seen all over social media and have been tending towards recently. Both recipes are below.
I recommend making the dough for the bread first, then leaving it to rest and making the curry. Then when the curry is simmering, divide, roll and cook the breads.
The curry is suitable for Jain Hindus as it is, but if you want a more traditional curry flavour, feel free to add chopped onion and garlic in at the beginning before cooking the spices.
Grated Paneer Curry
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- half tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
- half tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- half tsp chilli flakes/crushed chillies or 1 green chilli, chopped
- a bag of grated paneer from the chiller OR 1 block of paneer, grated by hand.
- a cupful of frozen peas
- half a tin of chopped tomatoes OR 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped.
- Tamarind paste or sauce
- tomato puree (optional)
- 1 tsp ghee or veg oil
Method
Heat the ghee or oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. After about 30 seconds, when they are starting to fizz and become fragrant, add the turmeric, salt, pepper and chillies and stir fry briskly.
Add the grated paneer after about a minute and turn the heat up and stir and mix until all the paneer is declumped and well mixed. There should be no pockets of white and it should be freely loose. Continue to cook with less stirring so the paneer starts to get a little sizzly in places.
Add the tomatoes and the peas, and a splash of water if needed. Mix well, cover with a lid, lower the heat and leave to cook for 10 - 15 minutes or more. The tomatoes should break down.
When that time is up, stir in some tamarind sauce and the tomato puree to taste. You may wish to add a little more salt if necessary.
Social Media Yoghurt Flatbreads.
260g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
2 TBS olive oil
200g plain yogurt.
Method
Add the flour, salt, baking powder and olive oil into a bowl, followed by the yoghurt and mix until you have a shaggy dough.
Turn the dough onto a board or surface and knead for 3-5 minutes until smooth.
Cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 or 8 equal balls.
On a lightly floured surface or board, roll each ball out into a thin flatbread about 6 - 7 inches in diameter.
Heat a dry frying pan or tawa over a high heat and cook each flatbread until puffed up and lightly charred on one side.
Flip and continue cooking on the other side until done. Butter if wished and stack in a tin or keepwarm dish until all the breads are done. Serve warm.
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