Recipe of the month: Lasooni Methi Paneer

I have enough errands to run today to make my head spin so I'm not going to ramble. Instead, I'm going to cut to the chase and tell you how I came about making this curry.

Me and a few of my cousins are part of a WhatsApp group called 'Masterchefs'. Pompous eh? Well, we figured, since no one else is going to bestow that title on us in the foreseeable future, we might as well do it ourselves 😂 We are a bunch of women and (a few) men from my mum's side of the family who are passionate about cooking, share tried and tested recipes and useful kitchen tips, discuss our culinary successes/failures and basically bond over everything food-related.

So one day, a recipe for this Lasooni Methi Paneer was given the thumbs up by one member of our group. I don't know if you have noticed but I already have a legit Methi Paneer recipe on my blog which happens to be my mum's version. I tried this one out anyway. Why you ask? (I'd tell you even if you didn't ask 😝). Three reasons folks - 1. Everyone got busy trying it out and posting their results to the effect that my curiosity got the better of me 2. I happened to have a bunch of fresh methi leaves in the fridge at the time 3.The methi paneer on my blog consists of a delicate cashew and cream based gravy with the predominant flavour of methi as opposed to this curry which is a coconut milk-based gravy with the predominant flavour of garlic and subtle hints of methi. I figured both versions were quite different from each other so no harm done checking it out.

I modified the recipe from the original source a wee bit since I felt the amount of garlic in the recipe was too much. Yeah I know the word  'lasooni' refers to garlic and believe me, I'm all for garlic but I was slightly worried that it would get too overpowering (and cause our neighbors might think we were under attack from an army of vampires). I also added some sweetness to balance the flavour of the gravy. The outcome was pretty good and I would definitely be making this curry again. But to state the obvious - if you are not big on garlic then this recipe is not for you. 

That's all you lot will be hearing from me today. Go on scoot...check out the recipe below 😊

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Lasooni Methi Paneer

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4

Recipe category: Side dish/North-Indian

Recipe level: Easy

Recipe source: Adapted from here

Ingredients:

10 + 2 cloves of garlic (the big kind)

2 cups paneer/cottage cheese cubes

2 medium-sized red onions, roughly chopped

1 large ripe tomato, diced

1/2 cup fresh/frozen methi leaves (fenugreek), roughly chopped 

200ml coconut milk

1 cup water

4-5 birds eye green chillies, chopped

Salt to taste

Up to 1 tsp sugar, Optional but recommended (adjust according to taste)

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

5 tbsp oil

1 tbsp butter

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Place the cottage cheese cubes and let them roast till golden on at least two sides. Once, done, set them aside in a bowl of warm water.

2. Add another 2 tbsp of oil in the pan. Add roughly chopped garlic (10 cloves) and chopped onions. Sauté them well until they lose raw smell and onions turn translucent. 

3. Add the tomatoes and green chilies and fry until the tomatoes turn soft. Add in the fenugreek leaves and turmeric and cook for a minute. 

4. Blend the sautéed mixture using a small amount of water if required (I used half a cup of water). 

5. Add 1 tbsp oil into the pan. Add the garam masala into the hot oil. Add the pureed mixture, salt & sugar. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble.

6. Add the coconut milk and mix well. Add the golden cheese cubes and let them simmer in the curry for few minutes

7. Add extra coconut milk or water (if required) to adjust the consistency of the curry. I added a half cup of water and cooked the curry on low heat until the desired consistency was reached

8. Sauté the remaining two cloves of garlic (chopped) in a tbsp. of butter and drizzle over the curry

9. Serve hot with rice or rotis

Notes (taken from the original source of the recipe):

• You can also use kasoori methi (dried fenugreek) in this recipe. Only 1/8 cup is required since the flavor is stronger than fresh leaves.
• Cook the garlic-onion mixture well before blending to remove any trace of raw smell.
• For a vegan version, replace paneer with roasted tofu and use vegetable butter for the garlic drizzle.

Cheers,

Megha