Monday

Paneer in hot garlic sauce

I love garlic and it always amazes me to the amount i use in my food. The reason i am amazed is my mother never has or will use garlic in her cooking. I remember my sis and me going crazy and adding tons of garlic in our cooking when my parents would go out of town sometimes leaving us for a day or when they would go to attend a wedding and we could cook at home. We would first beg my amma that she allow us to use garlic in her kitchen..so that would mean crying, whining and cribbing..yep! it was that hard to get her to relent ;) and relent she would :D. Then the day would arrive...my sis would cut all the veggies and prepare some great food and go ballistic with garlic...when my parents would come home..their heads would be reeling ;)

When Sunita announced the spice for the month and it was garlic..i knew it would be really easy to prepare and really no thinking ;) We were in the mood for Chinese and i wanted a departure from the manchurian saga and so decided to make paneer in hot garlic sauce. The original recipe asked for Tofu...but i had only baked one..so i made this with paneer.

I got this recipe from Nita Mehta's Vegetarian Chinese. As usual i made changes and subbed or deleted things i did not have on hand..feel free to do the same.


Ingredients:

200 gms paneer - cut in cubes and soaked in warm water (if using tofu..do not soak)
Peanut oil - 2 tbls
Garlic - 1 whole head (about 20-25 cloves)
Red Chilly flakes - 1 tsp. (u can use 2 dried red chillies,broken to bits)
Chilli paste - 1 tbls
Ketchup - 4 tbls (i used maggie hot and sweet...yum!)
Soy sauce - 2 tbls
Rice-wine vinegar - 2 tbls
Pepper - 1/2 tbls
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Bell pepper - 1 cup (diced small)
Water - 1 cup
Cornflour - 2 tbls + 1/2 cup water
Spring Onions - for garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Mash the garlic with mortal and pestle. It should get to a smooth paste. Add about 1/4 tsp. of salt to ease the process of mashing.

2. In a wok or large pan, add 2tbls of oil, saute the garlic and the red chilly flakes.

3. When the garlic changes color, add in the red chilly paste,soy sauce, ketchup,pepper and salt. Cook this for a few minutes in medium heat. Then add the vinegar and bell peppers and cook for a couple more minutes. Then add a cup of water.

4. When the water comes to a boil, reduce heat and add the cornflour mixed with 1/2 cup of water, increase the heat to medium and let the whole mix come to a boil and thicken up.

5. Add the paneer (that has been soaking in warm water) by squeezing it gently and let the gravy simmer for 2-3 minutes.

6. Take it off heat and sprinkle spring onion greens if you have any on hand. (I did not have them on hand...am sure u all guessed it whilst looking at the photo!)

7. I would serve this with chinese fried rice. I served these with noodles...i don't think the gravy hit the spot with the noodles.

Note:

1. Do not add too much salt thru the cooking process, as the soy sauce has enough.


This is off to the talented lady who mesmerises me with her posts, photos and food! Sunita who blogs at Sunita's world and is hosting Think Spice - Garlic.

47 comments:

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

hey, thanx for dropping by my blog n leading me to yours! You have a lovely one too... and the paneer in garlic sauce looks gr8!!!

Prema Sundar said...

looks delicious Rajitha...The pic has tickled my tastebuds. Have bookmarked it. will surely try it out sometime with tofu.

amna said...

wow! paneer in a chinese dish. lovely!!! that gravy sure is tempting.

Sig said...

Awesome sauce... I know what will go well with this sauce :p

Sreelu said...

Rajitha, looks great yaar.pic looks good too

sra said...

That looks really professional, Rajitha. You could have put tofu in it and entered it as your own entry to WBB too! I bought something for WBB yesterday but dunno what to do with them - that needs another chat, I think.

Srivalli said...

Looks very appealing, and great colour to the dish!

EC said...

Garlic sauce sounds good...good variety to the usual gravy for paneer

sunita said...

Rajitha, now I just need a spoon to lap up that yummy dish...thanks for sending it over sweetie.

Suganya said...

Another Indo-Chinese creation, tasty indeed. The sauce sounds very simple.

FH said...

Garlic is my fave too, my ajji eats few raw garlic everyday with her lunch!:D
Indian garlic is way better than US ones. Love the color of Garlic sauce Rajitha, great entry!:)

Richa said...

now u r talking :) garlic sauce...yummmmmmmmm :)

Finla said...

Wow that peneer dish is looking delicious

Swaroopa said...

cool recipe!! will give it a try...happy new yr, dear.

Padma said...

Garlic has always soothing taste when added to any soup..and I agree with Asha that Indian garlic is far better in taste than the american one, may be becoz of its size...

Thanks for ur warm welcome message on my blog and wish u & ur family a very happy new year!

TBC said...

Rajitha, that looks gorgeous! I like the color of the sauce too.
Have to make this when I get a chance.:-)

Rina said...

who can say no to Paneer and garlic Raji..Love to try this combo..

Laavanya said...

That looks so good Rajitha. I intend to try this very soon. Love the fact that there's no frying involved like manchurians.

Namratha said...

Wow, that looks awesome dear.....I too love anything Garlic, I can't imagine cooking without it!! I've bookmarked this one, and will surely try it the next time I make or buy paneer :)

Mansi said...

that's a nice flavorful combo!

AnuSriram said...

Wow... looks delicious... Nice recipe. Thanks for sharing.

Sagari said...

very nice and new recipe rajitha looks delecious

Pooja said...

great recipe. hubby loved paneer, this is going to be addition to paneer recipes in our kitchen.
thanks for sharing... Picture looks great too :) .
-Pooja

Rachel said...

That looks just lika a dish served at a restaurant! Lovely presentation.

Seena said...

I love paneer dishes and this is tempting!
It has been a habit of adding garlic in everything..:)

Rajitha said...

ramya- thnks!

prema - i think tofu is more suited to be honest..

nags - he he..i know!!

sig - la la la la (closing ears and shaking my head ) ;D

sreelu - thnks re..where are you girl..long time no post!!

sra - r u a sweetheart or what..hell ya! this will be a great subject for the chat ;)

srivalli - thnks!

easy - i was a bit surprised at the color too...

sunita - love to participate in ur events girl..

suganya - it was simple..not a person to make complicated stuff!!

asha - my friend's dad would eat raw garlic too..u are right about indian garlic..i think they pack a better punch!

richa - ha ha..

happy cook - thnks

swaroopa - a very happy new year to you too girl!

padma - the indian garlic is very potent!! thnks for dropping in padma and a very happy new year to you too :)


tbc - thnks yaar...but put tofu instead of paneer..it is better..

rina - thnks girl :)

laavanya - i think the frying part was the reason i chose the recipe..i love to deep fry but apparently my eyes do not like to see the after-effects ;)

nammu - make it with tofu..it is better

mansi - thnks girl

anu - thnks

sagari- thnks

pooja - i love paneer too...but i feel tofu is a better ingredient for the dish..my opinion :)

rachel - ah! you are too sweet :)

seena - same here...but i cannot bring myself to add it to south-indian food :(

Seema said...

Nice one Rajitha.. It looks so good..No frying like manchurian.. It a sure try then!

Cynthia said...

The next time I make paneer I am going to do this - have it garlic sauce. Thanks for sharing the recipe and idea.

Susan said...

I always have paneer in the fridge and am always looking for quick new ways with it. Great idea to soak it in warm water b/4 use to soften it up. I haven't made fresh paneer yet, so what I use definitely needs softening!

Swati said...

A very nice Paneer dish entry....the garlic story is the same at my house..but realy like its flavour so do manage it sometimes in my cooking!!

Swati said...

A very nice Paneer dish entry....the garlic story is the same at my house..but realy like its flavour so do manage it sometimes in my cooking!!

KayKat said...

Delicious. I always like the chinese twist to desi dishes - especially paneer ones.

More garlic just makes it merrier :)

Nupur said...

That looks mouth-watering...and oh so garlicky!
I am so dependent on garlic that it would be tough to live without it, but I do know that there are whole communities like the Jains who avoid garlic.

lakshmi said...

ref to my post on tawa bread - yeast makes a whole lot of difference - trust me - during the fermentation process the dough undergoes a complete change in terms of both texture and taste. so you must must try it :D

Thanu said...

Rajitha, ..this picture of paneer in garlic sauce is so mouthwatering!! Nice andf unique Combo..Thanx !

Rajitha said...

seema - i am scared of deep frying..with the calories and all..so tried this one..

cyn - thnks:)..but try it with tofu..it is better

susan - same here !!..

sugarcraft - glad to know someone else with similar exp...

kaykat - ha ha..i know..ur doggy is so cute

nupur - it has become a sort of necessity for me too..i only do not use garlic in tamil and palghat dishes..just can't do it!!

lakshmi - ha ha..i read and forget..that pic got me drooling..

thanu - i was a bit sceptical about the paneer with garlic..but it completely transforms in this dish!!

Raks said...

That would really aste great and nice entry for the event!

Daily Meals said...

Looks awesome Rajitha!

remya said...

wow!!! LOVE THAT COLORFUL SAUCE...GUD IDEA IN USING PANNEER IN CHINESE....I TOO LOVE GARLIC...A MUST IN ALL MY DISHES

Bharathy said...

So long, no visits!..had been busy responding to my dear readers and missing a few of my favourite sites!..
My children love paneer in anything!and that sauce is lovely!!..Love the dish..:)

Siri said...

Dear Rajitha, Thank you so much for such a sweet comment on my blog dear..:) and this paneer dish is sure to be a crowd pleaser.. will try soon!

Hugs,

~ Siri

Jayashree said...

Did u say a whole head of garlic??? Girl, u REALLY do love this spice, don't u???

DEEPA said...

Awesome sauce ...Paneer and garlic awesome combhination ...Excellent entry ....

Laavanya said...

Rajitha, Thank you for such an awesome recipe!! I just made this with tofu and the bowl has been licked clean. As per your suggestion, I served it with fried rice.. YUMMO! Will post pics soon.
Have a great weekend :)

Raaga said...

this one's a keeper... my hubby puts onions in everything because while growing up, onions and garlic were not used in their kitchen... and to think his family treats mine as more orthodox... we muttai eating brahmins that we are :-)

Kribha said...

Paneer, Garlic and spicy sauce. All my favs. I can imagine how it would have tasted. Looks great rajitha.

Anonymous said...

Lovely combination of paneer and garlic sauce. Can we add each other in our fellow bloggers - http://365daysveg.wordpress.com

--Priya