Paneer Tawa Masala

If you have a set of unexpected guests are you want to make something which is quick, but delicious, this recipe is solely dedicated to you.. This semi dry preparation of paneer can be had not only with indian flat breads, but also with simple bread toasts, brown bread or even with dinner rolls. 

This is a one pot recipe, which is made in tawa, which is used to prepare Indian flat breads or even dosa. The entire recipe is made in the tawa, which makes it unique in taste from other paneer dishes, eventhough the ingredients and preparation methods are same. 

For preparing this Tawa Paneer Masala, you will need Paneer, Onion, Tomato, Capsicum, chillies, Curd, Fresh cream, Kasuri Metghi, some spice powders and coriander leaves. This recipe can be prepared in less than 20 minutes. Make sure you use a medium or large size tawa, so that the gravy won't spill out while cooking. 

You must definitely prepare this in a tawa for its taste and consistency (tawa is shown below with step by step pics). You must not use any other pan to prepare this tawa paneer masala recipe. 

You can add or skip the cream and curd part. But I feel it tastes better when we add some cream and curd. You can even add either of these.

I have a few recipes in this blog, which are made in tawa. They are;

Whole Wheat Tawa Naan
Mushroom Tawa Masala
Tawa Idli

Serve this with any Indian flat bread or just with plain bread or buns. Garnish it with some coriander leaves and squeeze the fresh lime juice before serving. Accompany some onion rings and serve hot!!

Ingredients

• Paneer - 1 big bowl, cubed
• Butter - 1 tablespoon
• Ginger - 1 inch, grated
• Garlic - 2, grated
• Onion - 2 nos, finely chopped
• Tomato - 1 no, finely chopped
• Capsicum - 1 no, medium sized, finely chopped
• Kasuri Methi/ Dry fenugreek leaves - 1 tsp, crushed
• Yogurt - 1 tsp
• Fresh Cream - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - To garnish, finely chopped.
• Salt - to taste
• Turmeric powder - a pinch

Spice powders:

• Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala/ Kitchen king masala - 1 tsp
• Pav Bhaji masala- 1 tsp
• Aamchur powder / Dry Mango powder - 1 tsp

Method

• Heat Butter in a tawa and add the onions.

• Now add the green chillies, ginger, garlic, salt and turmeric powder. Cook until the onions are transparent and raw smell of the ginger and garlic disappears.

• Add the finely chopped capsicums. saute until the capsicum is well cooked

• Add in the tomatoes and and keep sauteing until the tomatoes are really mushy.

• Add all the spice powders one by one and mix well.

• Take a potato masher (Or use the back of a tumbler) and mash the gravy well.

• Add curd. Mix well. I had some paneer crumbs, I added even that in this stage and gave it a good mix.

• Now pour a teaspoon of fresh cream to this.

• Finally, add the paneer pieces and gently mix in the gravy. If you feel the gravy is becoming too thick, sprinkle some water. Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes and then turn off the heat

• While serving, squeeze some lime juice, garnish with coriander leaves and onion rings. 

• Serve hot with any Indian flat breads. I served with Whole Wheat Tawa Naan

No Yeast Whole Wheat Tawa Naan

Helllooooo everyone!!

Its a loong loong gap!! And I wasn't able to continue my blogging as before. But now, I am very happy that I am back here and will start updating this every now and then. Thanks for all your concerns. It really means a lot to me and I definitely missed you all..

So, obviously I have a lot and lot in my to do list for this blog, which will be done one by one. And, as so many of the requests are still pending, I will finish them first.

Today, I am going to show you how to make a yeast free whole wheat garlic chilly and coriander tawa naan. Among different varieties of Indian breads, naan has become one of the favorite among all. It is said to be the king of flat breads.

As said, this recipe has no yeast, also no eggs and is prepared using 50% whole wheat flour and 50% all purpose flour / maida. I have also realized that without this 50% maida, the naan come out really flat, and the texture and taste is not that impressive. If you opt to prepare this using whole wheat flour alone, you will need to add the yeast, instead of baking powder and baking soda.

This naan is made in an ordinary tawa, but tastes as same as the one made in oven or in tandoor. The texture is amazing, which is light, crispy and soft inside.

Just in order to make it more flavorful, I added a few chopped garlic, chillies, coriander leaves and onion seeds (kalonji). You can even keep this plain without adding all these extra toppings. But, I kind of like to include these and make it even more delicious. You can have this naan with any curries of your choice or even with dal.

Without any delay, I am going to proceed with the recipe for this Whole Wheat Garlic Chilli and Coriander Tawa Naan.

Ingredients

For dough

• Whole Wheat flour - 1 cup
• All purpose flour - 1 cup
• Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Oil - 4 to 5 tsp
• Baking powder - 1 tsp
• Baking soda - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste

For the topping

• Garlic - 1/4 cup , minced
• Chopped coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
• Green chillies - 2 or 3, finely chopped
• Onion seeds - few

For cooking the naan

• Tawa
• Melted Butter

Method

• Combine all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well using a wired whisk. 
• Add oil and yogurt. Add enough warm water and knead it to a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should be absolutely sticky. So, do not go crazy and add more flour to it. Smear some oil on the dough and knead it again. Cover and keep aside for an hour or so.
• Now, take the dough and add as much flour as to make it a soft and non-sticky dough. Make sure it should not be hard. It should be soft. Knead it well again.
• Divide the dough in to lime sized portions, make balls and keep aside for 10 minutes.
• Take one dough ball, dust it with some flour and start rolling it using your rolling pin to form a thick circle.
• Now, sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves, chillies, garlic and onion seeds. Make sure you don't make it more spicy by adding more chillies.
• Using the rolling pin, just tap on the surface of the rolled dough, so that the toppings just stick in. Gently roll them and make it thin, but not very thin. Just as we roll for roti.
• Heat the tawa and grease it with some butter or oil. Place the rolled dough on the tawa. The side which has the toppings should be facing upward and the flat side should be in the base.
• In a medium heat, close the lid and let the bubble form on top. When you see the bubbles, sprinkle some melted butter and flip it the other side. 
• Sprinkle some melted butter. Cook on both the sides on a medium-high heat, until it attains a golden brown colour on both the sides.
• Serve hot with any curries of your choice.