Paneer masala with green peas and Potatoes

The secret of making paneer unvieled!!! It turned out to be quite simple, and the secrecy around it that I presumed was much like the Coca Cola Secret formula.

Prepared this myself. This was just manufactured, just off the Assembly line ;-)
I prepared it with inspiration from Atabela.. Muchas Gracias Jen!!! Thanks to Jen , and Jen, it turned out better than the available in the Diary.. Also thanking "Mydhaba" who linked this great preparation I wouldn't have found otherwise..
WIP--- Just Cut, and the texture was just perfect...
Fry just till this brown.. Is it golden brown?
This was what it looked like when I fried the potatoes and peas in the usual masala mix. Work in progress!!

And.....Here you go!! Howzzat, I have another picture if this don't look too good.. Me is tired after all the cooking... Will post the preparation details by the midnight Indian time..... Ricky Bhai!! Its for you!!

And people!! the Indibloggies Awards are out, and guess what? One of the Foodbloggers won the best new indi Blogs award... My Congratulations to Meena.

About the recipe:

When I first read at mydhaba, how he got inspired to prepare paneer at home after seeing a post at Atabela's, the first thing that came to my mind was, is it that simple?

Well, if it weren't so simple, I won't be posting it.. This a bachelor's cooking blog right? And I can't afford to post difficult posts.... My recipes have to be simple and tasty. And preparing Home made paneer was as easy as any bachelor cooking recipe..and I was thoroughly surprised when it turned out tastier than the Market bought Paneer.. Oh, by the way paneer is Indian for cottage cheese. In fact this is the only indegenious Indian Cheese, I presume..

I boiled 1 litre of milk for the purpose..I boiled the milk in low heat( Low heat so that the milk don't spill, no use crying over spilt milk right?) till about 1/4 has evaporated...well only 3/4th or 3 quarters were left. Then I squeezed some lime juice. A few drops, and well the Milk didn't break!!!(solidify) Holy cow!! Was Jen of Atabela wrong? Was VKN wrong?? Shit!! the milk didn't turn part solid as the recipe say at Atabela's.....

I got worried, so i put out the heat and fired up the laptop instead and visited Atabela.com, and reread... There she had said, 3 TBS.. holy cow, 3 TBS of lime juice in milk, won't the paneer turn sour??? But nonetheless, I did as read. I put on the milk on boil again and squeeze about 3 TBS of lime this time and the milk curdled up suddenly.. Thank God, and....Thank you Jen!!

Turn out the heat again, and poured the contents or milk into a Vessel through a muslin cloth. Then I wrung the cloth hard with the mixture inside to squeeze out excess water......and when I open the cloth, I got the first Picture above..... Well textured and looking very paneer...
And it wasn't sour as I feared..

I cut them into cubes(pic-2) and then fried till golden brown(pic-3) in 3 TBS oil. Then, I kept it aside.

• In the same Pan with about 2 TBS oil remaining, I put 1 tsp of cumin seed and put finely chopped onions( 1 onion)..and two green chillis sliced in halves(for flavor)
• When the onions are transparent, I added 4 cloves garlic and half inch ginger both crushed together..
• Now I added one poatato cut into half inch cubes, and half a cup of green peas, and one tomato finely chopped.
• I added half tsp of cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander seed powder, half tsp Chilli powder, and turmeric to your measurement-half tsp should do.
• Cover and cook till potatoes are done in low heat.
• Add the paneer and fry together for 5 minutes, add salt.
• Add one and half cup of boiling water.

I didn't add any other masala and I hate garam masala, but if you like garam masala, you may sprinkle some at this point. When gravy becomes thick, garnish with coriander/cilantro and serve.

Enjoy....

If only I could prepare chicken from eggs.....lol