I’ve promised myself that I will cook something new that I’ve never cooked earlier at least 4 days a week. That can be quite a task, but interesting nevertheless. It’s amazing how the same ingredients in various permutations and combinations produce such a variety of dishes. Cooking is indeed an art where you discover new flavors and pleasures as you try out more.
Enough of poetry. Yesterday I eyed the things available at home to whip up something new. I had some cottage cheese (made out of curdled milk), some boiled potatoes, tomatoes and onions. Mental images of dishes flashed across my mind as in a Power Point presentation and finally I decided on Paneer Kofta (Dumplings of Paneer (cottage cheese) in gravy) Yumm!! I had always relished it in restaurants and wanted to make it sometime. A faded scribble in my much used recipe book promptly came to my aid and before I knew I was lost in the aroma of this delicacy. In the picture of the Paneer Kofta given, the Koftas (dumplings) are submerged in the gravy, so are not clearly visible.
Ingredients:
For Koftas ( Dumplings)
- 200 gm Cottage Cheese (Paneer)
- 2 Boiled Potatoes
- 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1/4 tsp Garam Masala ( Curry Powder- available in Indian stores)
- 2 tbsp Corn flour
- Oil for frying
For Gravy
- 4 Onions
- 4 Tomatoes
- 3-4 strings of Coriander/cilantro Leaves
- 1/2 cup Curd)
- 1/2 cup Cashew nut Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seed
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric)
- 1/4 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 tbsp Clarified Butter / Ghee
Method:
- Boil potatoes and peel them.
- Grate paneer and potatoes.
- Add salt, red chili powder, garam masala, corn flour and mix well.
- Make round balls (koftas) of this mixture.
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Fry the koftas in the oil till brown in color.
- Grind onion and tomatoes together.
- Chop coriander leaves very finely.
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Add cumin seeds and bay leaf.
- Add onion, tomato paste and cook it till brown, stirring continuously.
- Add curd, cashew nut powder, salt, red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala.
- Stir it continously for a minute.
- Then add 2 cups of water.
- Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes.
- While serving reheat the gravy and then add koftas to it.
- Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot
Preparation time: ½ hour
Serves: 2