Monday, May 14, 2007

the Quintessential Paneer

Paneer!
The word is enough to conjure images of luscious varieties of food that can be churned up using the Quintessential, indispensable delight of a curdled milk! It is well revered, so much so, that no punjaban worth her salt will ever be caught without a huge chunk of it in her refrigerator, or at the least the phone number of a dairy selling fresh paneer nearby on her speed dial :)
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Right from amazing appetizers like Paneer Pakoda, Paneer Tikka Masala, Chili Paneer...
To extraordinary entree's like Shahi Paneer, Matar Paneer, Paneer Bhurji.......
Not to forget the beautiful breads like Paneer Kulcha, Paneer paratha, paneer stuffed puri...
And delightful desserts like Ras Malai, Paneer Mawa Cake.....
Can you ever have enough of Paneer :)
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I wanted to make a Paneer dish which stands out on it's own and is not guzzled down by tons of gravy, so here it is, Paneer Puri! It's all paneer, no additives like onion, coriander leaves or any such. . .
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Fine threads of paneer are seasoned with spices and stuffed into a wheat flour dough to get Puffy Paneer Puri! This is a paneer lover's delite, Mind you this ain't for the faint hearted, it has paneer and it is deep fried :)
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Here is how I make Paneer Puri
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1. Knead 2 cups wheat flour with salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and ajwain(oregano) to a stiff dough.
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2. Grate 1 cup paneer. Mix in salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, chat masala & ajwain(oregano). Yes this has a double dose of ajwain, in dough as well as in the stuffing! All the spices are added as per individual taste.
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3. Roll the dough into a small puri and stuff with about a teaspoon of the stuffing. Bring back the dough up the edges and roll again to get a puri. Make sure there are no cracks in the puri. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
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4. Deep fry the puri till it puffs up and crisps to a nice golden color.
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5. Enjoy Paneer Puri with or without pickle, or with a steaming cup of tea, like I do :)
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So what is your favorite paneer dish? would love to know :)
the Quintessential Paneer is my contribution to Nupur's A-Z for 'Q' :)

65 comments:

Sharmi said...

Awesome looking paneer puris. such a beautiful creation. will try out for sure. Yummy yum with tea!!

Unknown said...

Hey, this one looks really good!!! Thanx for the recipe :)

Suganya said...

Paneer puri!......Never tried this before......I love it a lot....

sunita said...

I've never had paneer puris ...I absolutely adore paneer though...

bee said...

ok, richa, what's happening? musical comes hee and says something in punju, then trupti starts her gujju monologue, you go elsewhere and speka ni twsitde ngelshi.

how many languages do you speak? you can speak manipuri at my blog, you know. i won't mind.

FH said...

"P" on this Monday?! It's "Q" this week Richa!!:D

But Paneer Puris rock.Looks very puffy and yummy.Lovely.I will try this.I don't have Paneer now,got to make some.Thanks:))

FH said...

OH!!! I got it now,it's Q for Quintessential!!!Haha!!

Anonymous said...

paneer puris...oh my...I must have lived a sheltered life...never tried these before...interesting...thanks for sharing

Lata said...

I never thought about these before. I am a great paneer fan and I make one dish every Sunday for my brother. I will definitely try this. Thanks for sharing.

Swapna said...

Those look great..We buy frozen Paneer Parathas here and they taste great with pickle..Thanks for the recipe

indosungod said...

Panner Poori, that is something new. Rich I suppose?

musical said...

Hey Richa, P for Punjaban and P for Paneer, oh wait! Q for Quintessential Paneer :)). Lovely ji, lovely. i would love to try this! better still, you make some for me, and i make the chai :-D.

Bee, word is that Richa is learning Malyalam and Tamil, oh, hold on, may be she already knows 'em :)

Richa said...

thanks sharmi. I'm so happy you liked this creation of mine, do try it with tea and trust me you will quite enjoy it.


thanks ramya. do try this whenever you get a chance.
enjoy

Richa said...

thanks sukanya! do try this, you will like the paneer threads in the puri, it is YUM! glad you liked my recipe.
enjoy

thanks sunita! good to know you love paneer, this is surely a must try for paneer lovers. so do u have a paneer block in ur fridge right now :)
enjoy

Richa said...

hey bee, i speak the language of food :) i don't know about manipuri, but panipuri suits me better
ha!ha!ha!



hey asha, how did you miss the BIG 'Q' ? glad you liked my puffy paneer puris, do make the paneer soon for these puris.
enjoy

thanks dilip, glad you liked the recipe.
enjoy

Richa said...

thanks lata! so paneer puri it is this sunday, right?
enjoy

thanks swapna, do try it. yes i've tried that frozen paratha that you are talking about.
enjoy

thanks isg. well it is not that heavy, it is just like eating puri with paneer bhurji without the onion etc. give it a try :)
enjoy

Richa said...

haanji musical, punjabiada' paneer te hona hi haega :) paneer di te galle kuch aur e'
changa thuannu pasand aya.
definitely make the chai and mae paneer puria banania :) anyone who makes tea for me gets lots of good wishes from me, love my chai :)
hope thuadda wknd changa siga.
hugs

Bong Mom said...

You are a genius -- I didn't catch on the "Q" part till now :)
For "R" we have Ravishing Paneer Puris, thats how they look

TheCooker said...

Darn it! KOS (kid over shoulder) saw this post.
This weekend the cooker will be a frycook.

Roopa said...

wow stuffed puris that too paneer! awesome recipe Richa and you have got it for Q ohhhh.. great! i am still thinking and getting no where.. thks for the recipe!

Cynthia said...

I've never had paneer :(

archana said...

Very creative idea.How do you get such novel ideas?
The puris are looking yummy,'the threads of paneer',I can already imagine the taste. Nice entry for Q.
Tujhi tomato puree chi tip me karoon pahili. Mast ahe. Tyamulay ek pan drop waste nahi zala. Thanks. Ashich ajoon tips saang.

Richa said...

thanks sandeepa, 'blush', you are too kind with ur words. this paneer puri is so tasty & can make a good lunch with pickle & dahi or a snack with chai.
enjoy!

cooker, the kos had good taste! looks like he also has good patience, i mean to wait till the wknd for this, must be one well behaved kid :)

thanks roopa, your words make me smile. do try it. as for ur contribution for Q i'm sure you will come up with one yummy dish :)
enjoy

cynthia i've given the process to make paneer in my earlier post, check it out here:
http://asdearassalt.blogspot.com/2007/04/lauki-bharwa-readers-delite.html

DEEPA said...

Just excellent one ..cannot think of it ..panner puris's wow!!!tasty and yummy

sra said...

Hi, is this an innovation or traditional? I've seen paneer jalebis being sold here the last few years. Is that popular or is my halwai being innovative?

Coffee said...

See...... I am not the only one questioning about your knowledge of language or where do you belong. :)

Were you late for last week and so changed the name from P to Q ?? ;)

Great dish!! Very innovative. :)

Sig said...

Richa dudette, Q for Quitessential... aren't we getting cuter by the day? :)

Sig said...

I can't spell today, blogger should have a spell checker for comments, don't you think? :<(

Viji said...

Richa, This looks yummy. Nice version. Viji

Sig said...

I really didn't mean to go crazy with comments here, but forgot to mention how good those puris look,

I was so proud of my girl Richa for coming up with the clever Q dish, forgot to comment on the dish itself... I swear I am stopping now... :*)

Nupur said...

Lovely! Thanks for participating, Richa!

TNL said...

Avi mast recipe tari pasej hoy! you go girl.

loved this idea for my kids especially! they love this stuff.

trupti

Sia said...

LOL @no punjaban worth her salt will ever be caught without a huge chunk of it in her refrigerator, or at the least the phone number of a dairy selling fresh paneer nearby on her speed dial :)
u made me think here...am i faint hearted or not? ;) ha ha ha... i am still laughing reading ur comment on punju and paneer;)

Saju said...

Those puris are look soooooooo tempting, I can't wait to try it.
saj

Saju said...

Those puris are look soooooooo tempting, I can't wait to try it.
saj

Anonymous said...

The puris look so tasty and its such a nice creation. wonderful richa.

Jyothi said...

Hi Richa, paneer puri's, looks yummy and very tempting....nice pics. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.

Kribha said...

I'm crazy about paneer and this dish is a perfect treat for me. Loved the puris. What a perfect color? Lot of hugs for posting this.

Richa said...

thanks archana, hi puri try kar, chaha barobar ekdum mast lagtey :)
good u found my tip useful, me almost roj ek tomato chunk vapartey.
enjoy

thanks deepa, glad u liked them, do try.

thanks sra, there are so many such varieties that are cooked up in individual homes, not sure if they can be categorised as traditional, it is more of an improvised item i wud say. paneer jalebi now that gets my attention :)

thanks coffee. P ke Q su farak padey che? bas khavanu aney maja karvanu :)
enjoy



thanks viji, do try.

Richa said...

hey sig, all those wonderful words are making me blush :) you do not have to limit urself to a single comment, keep 'em coming :)
not sure about the 'Q'uter part though ;-)


thanks nupur, glad you like it. you really pushed me for this one heh!heh! thanks for this wonderful event!!!!


hi trupti, look who's talking? hu tara pasey thi itla saras recipe sikhu chu :) do make it for kiddos and let me know how they enjoyed it.

Richa said...

thanks sia! LOL! u and faint hearted, don't think so, a stuff master can never be stuffed enough!! definitely try this stuffed puri, need your expert taste analysis on this :)
btw what's ur fav paneer dish?

thanks sajeda, do try and let me know. ur words made me smile.
enjoy


thanks dee, for ur nice words. glad u liked it.

thanks jyothi, it sure is tasty, glad u liked the pics. do try it sometime. do visit again.

thanks kribha, great to know u too love paneer, welcome to the paneer lovers meet :) what is ur fav paneer dish?
let me know when you try it.
hugs to you as well.
enjoy

amna said...

My simple recipes portal is up and running. The first few entries are already up. Do check them out and send in some of your own :)

http://simplecookingportal.blogspot.com/

Mandira said...

one paneer dish, that is too tough. Can I pick one from each category :) the paneer puri looks delicious.

Anonymous said...

How innovative Richa! I too cannot get enough of paneer. Thanks for the new recipe.

swapna susarla said...

wow richa
i never tried this one.very interesting.

Latha said...

Wow they look so picture perfect! Never hard of them or made them. Will definitely give them a shot !

Cynthia said...

Richa - thanks the for paneer recipe, gosh it really is simple to make. Will try it soon.

Question, since I may not use all of it at once, do I store it in the fridge or freezer? Also, how long does it keep once in the fridge?

Menu Today said...

Hi,
Nice presentation!!!!!!! Lovely puris I am taking one. Thanks for sharing,

Richa said...

thanks N, congrats on the portal!

thanks mandira, you can pick the whole array if you like :)

thanks hema, so you too are a paneer fan, do try this!
enjoy

thanks swapna, glad you liked it.
enjoy

Richa said...

thanks latha! sure do give it a try, kiddos love it as well.
enjoy

you are most welcome, cynthia.
I try to use it within 4-5 days if stored in the refrigerator, if frozen can be stored for a longer period. try a small batch to begin with and see how you like it.
enjoy..

thanks menutoday! sure go ahead, you are most welcome :)
enjoy

Chinni said...

Paneer Puri...this one looks good...ill try it.

Anonymous said...

Never tried paneer puri but ya cottage cheese paratha and naans..may be i should try my hand on it..

looks really beautiful... fluffy and crispy

Arts said...

Wow.. Looks awesome! :)
IS this same as "fried mini paneer parathas"?? Coz I make paneer parathas same way except for frying part!

Richa said...

thanks chinni, sush & arts, glad you liked it. do lemme' know if you do try it.
arts - this paneer stuffing is very versatile, can be used as a stuffing in puri, paratha or even toast :) enjoy

Prema Sundar said...

Hi Richa,
Have tried beetroot and spinach pooris but never heard of paneer puris.. Good recipe and the puris look very nice just like the name of the dish(????).

Rachna said...

richa, my hugest apologies for not coming across this blog, you got such amazing recipes here and im so hungry looking at the paneer puris... oh man i want some now with my chai.... thanks so much for dropping by...

Richa said...

thanks prema, glad you liked the recipe, do try it when you get a chance.

thanks dumela, you are too generous with ur words! blush!
come on over and will make paneer puri for you!
see ya around!

Raaga said...

This is similar to the biscuit roti that I make... I must try :)

Shella said...

The puris look delightful. Never tried these out, am sure they taste wonderful.

kavi said...

excellent! Made them last night and they turned out awesome. Thanks!

Richa said...

thanks kavi!
aren't they yum :) glad u enjoyed them and appreciate the feedback.
thanks!

Tototo said...

Hi,

wow what a collection of different dishes.Recipes collection from punjab. Blogs help in bringing all lands together.

I too have started posting recipes.your blog is really inspiring.

Toto
Guide to Indian Recipes

Deepa Kuber said...

love this too

FewMinute Wonders said...

wow! these puri pictures make me want to grab a few and pop into my mouth.Delicious.

Roochi said...

you have a lovely name for your site and an inviting header pic. Its so nice that you have your own kitchen garden.