Punjabi tadka: Paneer pasanda

India has long been witness to a number of invasions. Be it the Greeks, Turks, Afghans, French, Portuguese and of course the British are some of the invaders, who plundered the wealth of our nation. Over the centrues these invaders also brought with them, a number of culinary delicacies to share making the Indian cuisine perhaps the most varied cuisine in the entire world.

Mughal cooking is famous for its use of combination of ground masalas giving a unique texture to its food. Mughlai cuisine provides a collection of dishes that are acclaimed all over the world like pulav, kormas, naans, biryanis and many paneer dishes. The gravy is heavy and rich most of the time because of the use of dry fruits, ghee, butter and heavy cream. These ingredients give a silky smooth texture to the sauce or gravy and enhance the taste of the dish.

Paneer pasanda is one such exotic and delectable dish from the Mughal cuisine which will end up making you only want more. Pasanda is a Urdu word which means ‘liking’. This dish is a popular North Indian and Pakistani vegetarian dish, derived from a meal served in the Court of the Moghul Emperors. This dish is rich in protein and low fat making you crave for it over and over again.

In this dish, the paneer is sandwiched with pleasant spices and then cooked in a delicate gravy reflecting the dish’s flavour and blend. Pasanda is a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut milk, and almonds and is heavily seasoned with cumin, kasuri methi and rest. but  milder in comparison to most Indian dishes making it palatable to most westerners. 

Things you would need: For filling: 400 gms of Cottage cheese (Paneer) cut and grated, 18-20 Cashew nuts roasted and coarsely ground, 18-20 raisins, freshly chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chillies, 1 cup maida, 1 cup cornflour

For the gravy: 2 medium onions roughly chopped, 1 inch piece of ginger, 3-4 garlic pods, few coriander leaves, 5-6 Kashmiri Mirch, 1 tbsp poppy seeds paste, 1 tbsp almond paste, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 cloves, an inch of cinnamon, 2 tbsp watermelon seeds,

Oil for shallow frying + 2 tbsp, 1 cup tomato puree, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 tsp sugar, salt to taste

So how do we cook this:

Paneer sandwich: Cut paneer into triangles. Slice the triangle pieces up until the three quarters. Please do not cut in the end. For the stuffing, in a mixing bowl add grated paneer, raisins, freshly chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chillies, roasted cashew nut coarse powder and mix all of them well. Put this sweet and tangy stuffing in between the slit triangle paneer pieces and keep aside. Take equal quantities of maida and cornflour, add little water and form to a batter. Coat these stuffed paneer pieces with the batter well and fry them it slightly golden brown. Keep the aside.

Soak the poppy seeds in a little water for 1 hour and grind into a smooth paste. Grind all the contents of gravy together with a little water. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and add the gravy and cook it on low flame till the raw smell of onion disappears and the oil leaves the edges. Now mix in the tomato puree and cook for further 2 minutes on high flame. Add about a cup of water if the gravy is thick. Let the gravy simmer for a few more minutes until the fat separates. Simmering is an important technique especially for making curries/gravies as the spices get cooked and blend with each other on low heat. Cover and cook till the raw flavors are gone. Check for seasoning. Add pinch of sugar, kasturi methi powder, and little cream to make it rich. Add the fried paneer to this and cook it for a while in low flame. The dish is ready to be served. To give a little sourness to the dish you can also add amchur powder.

It works wonders when served with Naan or Zafrani pulao.