The clock chimes 6PM. A familiar feeling of uneasiness begins to raise its head in the pit of my stomach. It’s that time of the evening when I know my house help will approach me with that daily question I dread “Didi, aaj khaane me kya banaoo?” (This video pretty much sums up how I feel)
“Pata nahi!” I often want to scream in middle-aged angst, or “Kucchi bhi!” hoping this kind of response might actually, miraculously, yield some results, but after over a decade of dealing with the daily dinner dilemma, I know better. And so, evening after evening, I find myself gazing at the frosty interiors of my refrigerator, wondering what one could possibly whip up with a wilted looking cabbage or a dreary baingan, that is exciting appealing, nutritious and will make for a wholesome meal that my family might get enthused about on a weeknight.
It’s not always like this of course. There are days, even weeks, when I have it all planned beforehand. There are days when I am excited about recipes that I have bookmarked and am looking forward to try. I even have an excel spreadsheet with recipes ideas, grocery lists and meal plans that seek to make everyday meals a breeze. And yet there are phases when it all comes to nought. I find myself gazing dismally into my refrigerator, as the help hovers impatiently in the background, in a miserable food and ‘what to cook’ slump.
An idea is born…
And that is why, dear reader, I decided to create this series. This is precisely for those days when you ask the Universe, “What should I make for dinner tonight?” and the Universe throws back something uninspiring like “Oh, anything works”. So on those days, all you need to do is come here and pick a recipe that appeals to you (and whose ingredients are not too hard to put together). And voila, dinner is a breeze!
I’m kicking the first recipe of this series off with an absolutely brilliant paneer dish from the marvellous Hebbar’s Kitchen. I discovered this one by chance one bleary evening while scrolling through Instagram and made it the next day. The family was beyond thrilled and it’s now a part of the monthly rotation! This is one of those recipes that is so simple to put together, and when you have the dish ready it looks like you might have slaved over it for hours. It’s fantastic as a party dish even, and it will definitely get you out of those weeknight meal slumps. So let’s dive into it without further ado!
I have linked to the original recipe from Hebbar’s Kitchen below (she has a detailed recipe card with a video and everything) and have also put down my lazy girl’s and couldn’t be bothered to get all the ingredients in place version here:
Presenting: Chingari Paneer (ta daaaa)
(All ingredients are linked below in the original recipe from Hebbar’s Kitchen)
First, you whip up a sort of paneer stir fry. I swapped out the butter and used only oil. Sauté some kasuri methi and sesame seeds in a little oil. Then add cubed onion, capsicum and paneer and stir fry on high heat. Add haldi, red chilli powder and salt for spice. Garnish with some coriander and a squeeze of lemon.
Next, you make the gravy. This is the real masterstroke of this recipe; blending paneer with milk! No cream, no cashews or almonds, just easy-peasy paneer and milk that makes for a fantastic, thick, flavorful gravy. So start off by blending together some paneer and milk. In the same pan that you made the paneer, sauté some cumin and kasuri methi. Add some onion, ginger and garlic and sauté till well done. I skipped the chillies but you can add some in if you like to turn up the heat. Add in the milk-paneer paste, add some garam masala, jeera powder and salt. Cook till you get the desired consistency of the gravy.
Top the stir-fried paneer over the gravy and you are done! You can pair this with a nice daal tadka or with something more glamorous like a lehsuni chur-chur paratha. Guaranteed to liven up meal times and will leave you asking for more!
For the original recipe from Hebbar’s Kitchen click here. She has the complete detailed list of ingredients, even for doubling or tripling the original recipe as well, plus a video recipe, if you’d like to see.
So the next time you’re in a meal-idea slump, try this Chingaari Paneer and you will not be disappointed!