Paneer Tikka Masala

The amazing restaurant taste in a low-oil home-style version. Well, I had learnt this recipe from friends’ moms and Chef blogs here and there and adapted it the TIME STARVED HEALTH CONSCIOUS BONG style J

I know this is a multi-stage recipe, but may be managed in 30 minutes. Just follow my process.

Enjoy!

Need

Paneer (cottage cheese) 250 gms, cut into cubes

Green bell pepper (capsicum) 1 large – diced

Onion 1 large – diced into large chunks and leaves (layers?) separated roughly

Green chili – 2-3 slit lengthwise

The tandoor marinade: Take a bowl and mix the following ingredients in it:

3 tbsp hung yogurt

1 tbsp mustard oil

1/2 tbsp ginger+garlic paste

1 tsp shahi garam masala powder

¼ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder

¼ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp sugar

Salt – to taste

The masala: 1 large onion – chopped

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp ginger+garlic paste

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chili powder

1 tsp roasted and crushed Kasoori methi

1/3 cup whole milk (or fresh cream)

½ cup hot water

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Salt and sugar to taste

Mustard oil

Preparation:

1.    Preheat the oven at 180 degree Centigrade and mix the marinade

2.    Dice the onions and bell pepper and toss into the marinade to coat well

3.    Now dice the paneer and gently add to the marinade coating well and making sure that the delicate paneer doesn’t crumble

4.    Pop the paneer tikka batch into the oven and bake for 6 minutes

5.    Meanwhile chop the onions and tomatoes and slit the chili – in case you’re using fresh ginger garlic paste (which I highly recommend), make it now

6.    Heat oil in a large enough wok and add the cumin seeds. Now add the chopped onions with a tsp of sugar and sauté until golden brown.

7.    Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for 2 more minutes

8.    Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook until tender

9.    While the tomatoes are cooking, check the paneer. Put the oven to the GRILL mode and let the tikkas cook for another 3 minutes, or until the veggies are tender and the paneer is a light gold in color. Take care to not overcook the paneer. It will go rubbery :p

10.                   Now return to your masala wok and add the dry spices and kasoori methi and cook for 2 minutes

11.                   Add the  hot water and incorporate into the masala mix

12.                   Now add your grilled paneer tikka mix. Remember to add the yummy grilled marinade, if any J

13.                   Add chopped cilantro and the warm milk (or cream). Mix well and turn off the heat.

Enjoy your paneer tikka masala with fresh rotis or paratha ….. yummylicious!!

Necessary Bengali Spices

বাঙালী মশলা পাতির খুঁটি-নাটি 

Here’s a list of Quintessential spices that must be present in any Bong cooks spice cabinet.

Cumin – Jeera

Common chonk/phoron for many North Indian recipes.

Nigella/ Onion seeds – Kalo Jeera/ Kalaunji

Perfect to cook many simple Bengali recipes. E.g. I use it for my jhinge posto, macher jhols. Phoron nigella with chopped green chili for that unmistakeable Bong aroma J

Poppy seeds – Posto

Fenugreek – Methi

Coriander seeds – Dhania / dhone

Mustard seeds – Shorshe

Fennel seeds – mouri

Add mouri bata aada bata (fennel seeds paste and ginger paste) to boiled split urad dal and you have the authentic KALAI dal J

Dried red chili – Shukno lonka (gota)

Turmeric powder – holud/haldi

Asafoetida – hing

Dhone-jeere gunro – Dry ground cumin and coriander seeds

Adds texture to simple jhol preparations.

e.g. dhone jeere guro, aada bata (ginger paste) can make any watery macher jhol taste and feel sumptuous.

Bay leaf – Tej pata

Cardamom (green and black) – choto and boro elach

For your garam masala cuisine or for the essential Bengali payesh

Black pepper - Gol Morich

That should be enough to get you through any Bong recipe. A few blends, e.g. Garam masala, bhaja masala, etc. may be chalked out of the above too…you’ll find many such spice blend recipes in this blog (under label: “bengali spice mix”)

Note: Spices MUST be stored separately in air tight containers. No tying up with rubber bands and no storing all spices together in fancy spice chambers. The aroma is the essence of any Indian spice…. :)

Shorshe Bata (Bengali Mustard Paste)

Shorshe or mustard seeds come in different hues and sizes. The black or brown ones are more popular in Bong cuisine…the notorious macher jhal recipes more often than not use the traditional bangali shorshe bata.

Please please never ever use kasundi (Bengali mustard sauce), or Dijon mustard, or English mustard in Bong recipes that are asking for shorshe bata. You’ll get a tart after taste that’ll so clash with the whole recipe. It is very simple to make your own shorshe bata at home. Here’s how:

Soak mustard seeds for 4-8 hours. Grind to a paste in your wet-dry grinder with green chili, salt, and a sprinkle of water. THIS my friends will yield the authentic Bong shorshe bata.

[The soaking is necessary if you are using an electric grinder]

If you find shorshe recipes too tough to digest, mild it out with ½ posto (poppy seeds) instead. So take posto and shorshe in equal quantities, soak 4-8 hours. Grind with chili and salt.

Alternatively, you may strain the 1^st variant (no posto version) with some more water and throw away the mustard husks. These are a bit tough on your tummy.

Enjoy!