Paneer Tamatari...

I am an occasional participant in a community in Orkut...known as "Mrs.Telugu Inti Adapaduchulu.."...It is a community for Telugu-Speaking married women all around the world...created and maintained very well by some very close friends...(K & S...Thanks Gals)...

Anyways a few days back, there was a recipe contesteld for the members of the community and I happened to be one of the participants...The Theme was using just one ingredient in this case a vegetable, namely "TOMATO" and this was to be used in the form of a Curry (cuisine can be anything...)...

So I used very simple recipe but to make it special, I have changed the way it is prepared. The Recipe is a fusion of traditional Mughalai Cuisine and the ever popular Italian Cuisine…When I say that many will probably not understand why but the following recipe will tell you why…This Curry has a perfect Tomato Gravy that captures all the tanginess of this lovely vegetable/fruit, but the added feature is oven roasted bits of Tomato that enhance the flavour even more…The other spices and a little cream are added to add volume to the gravy and mellow the flavour Paneer and Green Capsicum are added to go with the gravy but any vegetable can be added as per liking….

So here's my Recipe for that Contest...

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sized Tomato (diced to 1cm pieces) & 2 Medium Sized Tomatoes (cut into quarters)

1” (inch) Cinnamon Stick or Curl

2 Whole Black Peppercorns 2 Cardamoms (Elaichi)

1 Tablespoon Oil (use Olive Oil for a healthier version)

½ Green Capsicum (diced into 1cm pieces)

1 Teaspoon Ginger-Garlic Paste

1 Green Chilli (finely chopped)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Cream (fat free cooking cream)

150gms Paneer (diced into 1cm cubes)

Salt and Chilli Powder (as desired – I put ½ tsp of each in the gravy)

For Garnish:

1 Teaspoon of Fresh Cream (cooking cream)

Coriander Leaves (finely chopped)

Slithers of Capsicum

2 Paneer Cubes

Preparation Method:

1)Firstly Preheat oven to 180*C. Then on a flat baking tray place the diced tomato pieces of 1st tomato. Sprinkle a little Olive Oil over them. Cook them for 10 minutes in the oven till they shrink a little bit (a little like a semidried tomato but not as much as it).

2)Meanwhile also place the Paneer cubes onto another tray lined with foil (to prevent paneer sticking) and cook them along with the tomatoes to lightly toast them.

3)When the above two things are in the oven, cook the quartered tomatoes in a pot filled with just ¼ cup water. To this add the cinnamon stick, cardamom and peppercorn. Let it simmer on a medium flame for 10 minutes. Then blend these cooked tomatoes into a smooth puree along with the spices and ¼ teaspoon salt.

4)In a saucepan, heat the 1 Tablespoon of Oil and sauté the capsicum till translucent. Then add the Ginger-Garlic paste and chopped green chilli. Sauté them for about a minute.

5)Then add the blended Tomato puree and salt and chilli powder and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6)Finally add the toasted paneer, cream and oven-roasted tomatoes. Mix well and cook for 1 more minute and then take away from heat.

7)Serve hot garnished with a little chopped coriander and fresh cream drizzled over. (For presentation sake I used Paneer cubes and Slithers of Capsicum)

8)This curry goes well with Parathas or with Jeera Rice.

As the recipe using baking/ roasting when compared to frying/deep frying, it is naturally a healthier option. On top of it not much of fatty products like butter or ghee are used. Only a tablespoon of fat free fresh cooking cream is used so it is also not high in calories. The only other fat used is Olive Oil and it is less in cholesterol and in calorie content therefore making it a healthy option as well.

I won a Consolation Prize for the Contest...here is my Certificate of Appreciation from the Contest Organisers and Judges...Thank you once again TIA...:-)

I am Very Happy...that my effort was appreciated....

Hope this is another Recipe that sparks your Interest...Happy Cooking...:-)