Paneer Mutter / Paneer Peas in creamy tomato gravy / Paneer Matar / Paneer Peas Masala

Paneer Mutter / Paneer Peas in creamy tomato gravy / Paneer Matar / Paneer Peas Masala

 Decided to make some yummy paneer dish for the chappathis last night but I had in mind that it should not be a high caloric dish too...Also, after burning good amount of calories in the fitness center, its not a wise decision to have more calories for dinner. So, I made this Paneer Mutter in rich creamy tomato gravy using a Low Fat Paneer Cubes, less oil and with no ghee or butter, no cream at all...Initially I thought that I might have to compromise on its taste due to my customizations but the taste was amazingly good and tempted us to grab more chappathis. I also could enjoy the dish with no guilt at all. Please see my preparations and I am sure, my friends, you would also enjoy the same and eat with no guilt.

Ingredients

Low fat Paneer Cubes - around 20-25

Frozen Peas / Fresh Peas - 3 handful

Finely shredded Onion - 3/4th of a cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp

Ginger Paste - 2 tsp

Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp

Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 3 tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Sugar - 1 Pinch

Salt - To Taste

Kasoori Methi / Dried Methi leaves - 2 tsp

Cinnamon Stick - 1

Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

For the Tomato Gravy

Fresh Tomato - 4 Medium

Green Chilli - 1 Big

For the Cream Gravy

Almonds - 6

Pista - Just 1 ( For good flavour )

Cashew Nuts - Just 2.

Method

1. Make the tomato gravy paste first by grinding fresh tomatoes with a green chili and keep the puree separately.
2. Make the creamy gravy paste ready by grinding the nuts as mentioned above with little water.
3. In the non-stick kadai or any thick bottomed cooking vessel, add oil first. When it gets heated up, add cumin seeds followed by a cinnamon stick.
4. Add the Garlic paste, Ginger Paste and fry them till the raw smell completely vanishes.
5. Add the shredded onion pieces and fry along with them. When its fried enough, add the peas and all the powders except salt and fry them in the oil on medium heat for a minute.
6. Add the tomato gravy paste into the pan and mix them well. Allow them to cook with the lid covered for about 3-4 minutes.
7. Add required amount of salt, creamy gravy paste ( Nutty paste ) now and mix them well.
8. Allow them to cook for another 3-4 minutes on low flame.
9. Finally add the low fat paneer cubes into the pan and mix them uniformly.
10. Let them to cook with the lid convered for another 1-2 minutes. Switch off the flame.
11. Serve them after couple of minutes with hot chappathis.

Tips

1. NO NEED to fry the Paneer cubes.
2. NO NEED to add any ghee or Butter.
3. NO NEED to add any cream as you substitute them with a nutty creamy paste.
4. As we are making with less oil, keep in mind that all the contents need to be fried and cooked properly to get the desired consistency and taste.

Adhirasam \ Ariselu

Adhirasam or Ariselu, a traditional South Indian Sweet is one of the mandatory sweet included in the "Seer Bhakshanams" during marriages. "Seer Bhakshanams" are the sweets and savouries made by the bride's side and sent to the groom's side along with the bride after marriage. Also, its also made during some festivals too.. I made this Adhirasam \ Ariselu on the day of "Kartika Pournami" for prasadam. Though its my first try, it did not disappoint me at all and to my surprise, the Adhirasams did not drink that much oil too....Though i know the actual traditional method of making Adhirasam \ Ariselu, I wanted to make the process simpler this time. So I tried using Swad Rice Flour instead of  following the traditional way. This was a huge success to me as all the Adhirasams got over the next day itself, and my kids loved the Adhirasam and grabbed few on their own. After making these yummy Adhirasams, I realised that its a "No Big Deal" sweet surely and we can make and enjoy them at any time.

Ingredients

Rice Flour - 2 Cups

Jaggery - 1 Cup

Cardamom Powder - 2 tsp

Sukku Powder \ Dry Ginger Powder -  1 tsp

Oil - To fry the Adhirasams

Method

• Fry the rice flour for few minutes and keep it aside.
• Add the jaggery pieces or powdered Jaggery which comes to 1 Cup into a vessel and add a cup of water. Make the Jaggery Syrup carefully. The consistency of the jaggery Syrup decides the final outcome, so this process needs more attention.
• While making the Syrup, check to see whether the string consistency has arrived. Take a small amount and drop it on water in a container. It should float and you would be able to make a small ball out of it.
• Take out the syrup from the stove. Add the cardamom powder and Ginger powder to the syrup and mix it well.
• Slowly add the rice flour into the Jaggery Syrup without making any lumps. Mix the rice flour thoroughly with the Jaggery Syrup and keep it aside.
• After 3-4 hours, heat oil in the frying pan. When the oil gets heated, take a small ball of the Adhirasam dough, make a small round using your hand itself or on a plastic paper and slowly drop this into the heated oil.
• Allow the Adhirasam to get fried on both side equally. Then, drain the excess oil if any and keep the Adhirasam on a tissue paper.
• Continue the same process for the rest of the Adhirasam Dough. At a time, I dropped 4-5 Adhirasams into the oil and drained them. It depends on your kadai size and speed. You can drop more too if you have a bigger frying pan.
• Finally, arrange all the fried Adhirasams\Ariselu on a plate for Neivedhyam.

Tips \ Variations

Instead of rice flour, you can follow the traditional method of making the rice flour by soaking raw rice in water, drying them on a cloth and then grinding the semi wet rice into rice flour. By following this method, the Adhirasams would be much softer and tastier.  Next time, I am planning to adopt this method and try them out.

If you make the Jaggery Syrup as I mentioned above and take it out of the stove at the right time, these Adhirasams also would be a definite hit.