Paneer Chettinad

Paneer is a type of cheese from milk. Paneer by itself has less flavor but has the capacity to absorb flavors well. This dish unlike most paneer dishes is done with both North Indian and South Indian spices. The flavors are very different and interesting. It goes very well with chapathi, roti, kulcha or pulao. I got this recipe from here.  The key in getting the best in this recipe is the fresh masala. This dish is not commonly found in restaurant menus, but this recipe is so flavorful and also simple – this one is a keeper.









Ingredients
Paneer - 200 grams (cubed)
Onion - 3 (chopped)
Tomato - 2 (chopped)
Ginger - 2 inch piece (grated)
Garlic - 6 cloves (grated)
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Curry Leaves - 10
Salt - 1 1/4 tea spoons
Oil - 3 table spoons
Red Chili - 6
Coriander Seeds - 1 1/2 table spoons
Fennel Seeds - 2 tea spoons
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch piece
Poppy Seeds - 2 tea spoons
Black Peppercorns - 6
Coconut - 1/4 cup (grated)
Water - 1/2 cup to 1 cup (add slowly)
Coriander Leaves - to garnish
Cashew - 5 + 5

Method
Heat a tawa and add a table spoon of oil and arrange the paneer and shallow fry them until golden. Remove and keep in warm water and set aside
Dry roast coriander seeds, cashew (5), fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, poppy seeds, red chili, black peppercorns and coconut
Grind it to a powder and then add little water and grind to a paste
In a pan add 2 table spoons of oil and add the cashew and sauté until golden and add onion, salt and curry leaves and cook until the onions are transparent.
Add ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds and add the tomatoes and once the tomatoes are cooked and mushy, add the flavorful grinded masala paste, turmeric powder.
Add water and cook for a few minutes until the raw flavor goes off and oil floats on top
Add the paneer pieces and simmer for around 5 minutes
Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves

Points to note (about Paneer from Wikipedia) - It is of Indian origin often referred in the Vedas dating back to 6000 BC. Unlike some cheeses in the world, the making of paneer does not involve rennet as the coagulation agent,^[1] thus making it completely lacto-vegetarian and providing one of the sources of protein for vegetarians
 

Sending this to my own guest host event Know your Dairy – Cheese, Jagruti’s page, Cooking with spices - poppy seeds, Anu's page, Sumee's Simply Sides, Serve it Boiled, Kirthi's page, Dish it out - Ginger and Garlic,  Healthy Food for Healthy Kids-Paneer, Nithu's page