Paneer Burji

It’s raining events in food blogging world,and almost every blogger is probably spending most of her/his time in sorting out recipes that fit for an event ,cooking them,clicking,and posting…..Phew…..loads of work!But who’s complaining?As long as praise and awards keep coming,bloggers won’t get tired. Isn’t it?

This time i came across Susan of foodblogga,and immediately started searching for a recipe that would do justice to both the blogs i.e it should be something  calcium -rich- ingredient based and should be the one that is regularly cooked in a sindhi Kitchen.So finally i  freezed my search on this Paneer dish,which is very popular among sindhis and its calcium rich too.

I would like to take this opportunity to share some of the less known things about “Healthy bones”.Though much is talked about vit D,and calcium being the strongest factors for strong bones,very less is talked about some less significant but important elements like magnesium and copper.According to WHFoods ,  an essential component of many enzymes, copper plays a role in a wide range of physiological processes including iron utilization, elimination of free radicals, development of bone and connective tissue.  Copper is also necessary for the activity of lysyl oxidase, an enzyme involved in cross-linking collagen and elastin, both of which provide the ground substance and flexibility in blood vessels, bones and joints. Numerous health problems can develop when copper intake is inadequate, including iron deficiency anemia, ruptured blood vessels, osteoporosis, joint problems such as rheumatoid arthritis etc

Another element is magnesium which is also vital for healthy bones. About two-thirds of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones. Some helps give bones their physical structure, while the rest is found on the surface of the bone where it is stored for the body to draw upon as needed.

So if we start dissecting the ingredients for this recipe called”Paneer burji”,we can see that it has Paneer or cottage cheese which is a known calcium rich dairy product (approx 400 mg of calcium per 100 gms of paneer).secondly cashewnuts(paste /grinded/pounded) used here are good source of copper and magnesium …0.76 mg and 89.05 mg respectively ,per 35gms of cashewnuts.This recipe also calls for use of milk which again is an excellent source of calcium ,approximately 300 mg of calcium per 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) .Besides tomatoes,fenugreek leaves also contribute to calcium content of this recipe to certain extent.Well…. if name of butter,milk,cashew paste rings alarming bells in your weight conscious ears,u can omit any of these,and this paneer will still taste amazing.

Since i m not a certified dietician,i might be wrong in many of my assumptions and calculations and suggestions .I would like susan to review this one and let me know if my findings are inaccurate or irrelevant.

Well healthy or not……but one thing i m sure,it does taste heavenly.So enjoy !

Ingredients:

• Paneer or cottage cheese 250 gms
• Onions 2 small
• Tomatoes 2 medium sized
• Green chillies 2-3
• Bayleaf  1
• Salt as per taste
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tspn
• Garam masala powder 1/4 tspn
• Cashew nut paste 2 tspn
• Kitchen king masala less than 1/4 tspn
• Kasoori methi(dried fenugreek leaves) 1/2 tspn
• Oil 2 tspn
• Butter (optional)
• Milk 1/2 cup

Method:

• Take 2 tspn of oil in a kadai or pan,and add chopped onions and a bayleaf(omit it if u dont need very spicy stuff)
• Saute onions on medium flame(have patience),this way onions will impart sweet taste to the dish
• After onions turn light brown,add grated/pureed tomatoes and mix well
• Add chopped green chillies,salt,turmeric powder,garam masala powder,and grated paneer(grate it ,DONOT crumble it)
• Now add all the MAGIC ingredients of this recipe ……Cashewnut paste(just boil 4-5 cashews in one cup of water for 1-2 minutes,cool and grind it to paste.or alternatively u can use grinded powder or pounded powder of cashew nuts),kitchen king powder and kasoorimethi ,a dash of butter,and 1/2 cup of boiled milk
• Mix well and let it cook on high flame for few seconds ,but stirring very frequently,so as to avoid sticking of paneer to the bottom of pan
• Now lower the flame and let it cook for few minutes ,if needed add few spoons of water
• Cook till oil separates out from mixture.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy this lip smacking paneer delight with rotis,naan or phulkas