Paneer Paratha

Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. I love it's texture and the fact that it is so versatile makes it a popular ingredient in most Indian pantries (well, refrigerator!). It can easily be made at home, although I've never tried it once! I've seen videos of it being made on YouTube and have always wanted to try, but somehow the simpler option of getting a pack from the supermarket always wins the vote. There are tons of recipes with paneer, both savoury and sweet. I thought I'd post this recipe for paneer parathas as we had them for lunch yesterday. A friend of ours had made it for us once long ago and I tried it at home the very next day. It turns out really well and tastes very good. It's a great option when you don't want to make the usual rice 'n' dal or roti 'n' gravy, 'cos all you need to serve it is yogurt and pickle.

Now, the paneer is the star of the recipe. You've got to have the real deal - a block of good firm paneer. Yes, you could substitute it with cottage cheese, but no, you cannot use the cottage cheese spread thingy. This we learnt the hard way at our friends' place the other day. We thought we were smart and could get away with using the cottage cheese spread and I just have three simple words - IT DIDN'T WORK! But I did learn one thing though, we are glad to have such sweet friends who did not fuss and complain about the disastrous looking 'thing' that resulted but tolerantly ate it all. And thank God for small mercies, we were all fine the next morning!

Okay, so I was saying - firm paneer or cottage cheese, if you don't have it, make something else for lunch. Simple :)
Parathas are stuffed unleavened Indian breads.

Here's the recipe -

For the dough -

• 2 cups wholemeal flour
• enough water to knead into a soft dough
• salt to taste

For the filling -

• 1/2 a block of fresh paneer
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
  
• 1 tspn ginger-garlic paste
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander
• about a 1/4 tspn of - turmeric powder, cumin powder (jeera powder), amchur powder, red chilli powder (use more if you prefer it hot)
• salt to taste

Method -

• Make a soft pliable dough with the wholemeal flour. Cover and let rest for about 15 mins.
  
• In a large bowl, crumble the block of paneer, add all other ingredients and give it a good mix.
• Roll out the stuffed parathas as seen in the video.
• Slap it on to a hot skillet and cook on both sides with a generous smear of ghee.
• Serve hot with yogurt and pickle.

If you like this and are adventurous for more, try altering the recipe and make the filling with potatoes or cauliflower instead.