This month onwards I am participating in the Magic Mingle event hosted by Kalyani of SizzlingTastebuds. The ingredients for this month are Pudina & Paneer (Mint & Cottage Cheese). Honestly this recipe is a fluke. Was trying a curry and ended up with a starter (wink).

My mom-in-law and hubby tasted it and asked me from where did I take this recipe! They just loved it (smiles)!

Ingredients

• 100gms packed Paneer (I used Gopaljee)
• 1/2 cup fresh Mint leaves
• 2 Tea spoon Chat Masala
• 1 1/2 Tea spoon Red Chilli powder
• 2-3 Green chillies
• 1/2 inch piece of Ginger
• 1 medium size Onion
• 2 Table spoon (slightly sour) curd
• 2 Tea spoon Salt
• 4 Tea Spoon Coriander powder
• a pinch of Asafoetida (Hing) powder

Preparation Steps

1. Cut the paneer into 11/2 inch long pieces
2. Sprinkle Chat masala and red chilli powder  over paneer pieces and roll them so that the entire piece is coted with layer of spices
3. Let the paneer stay coated in spices for 1/2 an hour
4. Grind Mint leaves, ginger, onion and green chilli in a grinder
5. Add 1/2 table spoon oil to a non-stick pan. Let the oil heat up.
6. Add hing and then immediately add the mint paste to it.
7. Stir the paste for a few minutes till the time it becomes completely dry
8. Remove the paste from stove. Add curd to it and mix well.
9. Places pieces of paneer in pan and press them so that the surface gets cooked and slightly crispy.
10. Turn upside down and do the same with the other side.
11. Add the paste to paneer and serve as a starter.

I love cooking, I loved it even more this time when I had to experiment/innovate and come up with something unique and delicious where the ingredients were pre-decided. It was really challenging and the dish turned out really yum and lip smacking!

Do you make any dish using Mint and cottage cheese. I would love to know and try it out…

Dear friends, please bear with the poor picture quality in this post. The usual camera has gone for repair and I clicked these from a stand-by so that work doesn’t stop!