I woke up this morning with a longing for a lovely hot cup of coffee, as it was a cosy and cool start to a fresh day. So I waltzed into the kitchen and peeked into the milk pan, only to discover that the entire one litre of milk was curdled and staring at me. Well! There goes my day I thought, now fully awake wondering what to do –uhmm…definitely not coffee! Then it struck me I could make paneer –fresh home made paneer(cottage cheese)-and I had a few mushrooms which I could stir up with the paneer.
The combi worked out very different and yumm, so much so that my Hubby ‘n I enjoyed this dish as a filling with brown bread for breakfast and the leftovers were savoured by me and only me later on for lunch .That sure was a good kick start for a beautiful day .
So here’s the recipe for the yummy Cottage cheese and mushroom delicacy:
For the Paneer (For home made Cottage Cheese):
- Bring to boil 1 litre of milk and add 1 tsp of white vinegar to it and stir continuously for five minutes .
- Now allow this to cool; once the water separates strain out the water using a strainer or muslin cloth, after the water is completely drained out leave in muslin cloth for sometime .Now, your home made cottage cheese is ready.
Ingredients for the dish:
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 2 Onions (finely chopped)
- 2 Tomatoes ( finely chopped)
- 5-6 mushrooms (chopped)
- 3/4 tsp Jeera Powder
- 1/4 tsp Garam Masala/Curry Powder
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- Pepper powder or Chilli Powder (use as per spice required)
- 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
- 1 tsp Soya Sauce
- 1/2 Seasoning cube (Chicken or Veg)
- Chopped coriander/ cilantro leaves 0r dry pudina(mint) leaves for garnish
Note: I did not find the need to add salt, as the seasoning cube has enough salt content.
Method:
- In a pan, pour the oil and sauté the chopped onions till it turns pinkish.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir fry to ensure that the paste does not stick to the pan .
- Now add the chopped tomatoes and continue to sauté while adding the rest of the ingredients –turmeric powder, mushrooms, seasoning cube, jeera powder, garam masala (curry powder), pepper powder and soya sauce. Mix well until the raw masala turns into a lovely aroma of blended spices.
- Add just enough water (as mushrooms give out water), until mushroom is well cooked.
- Now add the cottage cheese/paneer and stir well for few minutes.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves or dry pudina(mint)leaves, now Your Paneer –Mushroom delicacy is ready to serve. Relish it with rotis or as a side dish with rice or even as a sandwich filling.
Preparation Time : ½ hour
Serves : 4
Handy hint: To keep cottage cheese fresh for long hours, soak it in vinegar and cover the bowl with a muslin cloth.