1001 Easy Microwave Paneer Curries

Click the image on the left to view the cookbook.

This cookbook lists 1000 microwave Paneer curries, greatly simplified, so that a first time cook can easily cook them.  10 different types of paneer is combined with ten different bases and 10 different flavouring techniques to create a thousand different recipes.  These recipes are graded from easy to tough – 000 being the easiest and 999 being the toughest.

 Paneer types :

Column 1 lists the 10 different types of ‘paneer’ as listed below : 

0.:    Plain Paneer can be used in many curries, but it has the tendency to fall apart on prolonged cooking.

1.:   Crumbled Paneer is used in dry or gravy based curries called Burjis

2.:   Achari Paneer  is paneer marinated in a spicy pickle. This is then used in a curry.

3.:   Marinated Paneer  is paneer soaked in the basic marinade of yogurt and spices for an hour or more.

4.:   Stir fried Paneer holds its shape well on cooking.

5.:   Flavoured Paneer  is paneer prepared with a variety of flavouring agents.

6.:   Exotic Paneer  is made from a variety of milk from other mammals.

7.:   Tofu   is made by curdling soya milk . A variety of tofu is available and firm tofu can be used in place of paneer.

8.:   Grilled/ deep fried  Paneer, with its crunchy exterior and a soft interior, provides the curry with an interesting texture.

9.:   You can also experiment by using any non melting cheese ( like the halloumi or the Hispanic cheeses like queso panela, Queso Manchego etc). You can also use any combination of the above types of paneer. A variety of vegetables or pulses can also be cooked along with paneer. 

For explanation of bases and flavouring techniques, please see 10 simple paneer recipes and  100 Paneer recipes. And that’s my submission for MEC, hosted by Ramya for her event Protein rich foods.

 Model Recipes : For detailed recipes, check out these  recipes from my fellow bloggers.

Shahi Paneer, 
Paneer Burji,
Paneer Makhanwala
Paneer Jalfrezi

1001 Indian Paneer Curries

This cookbook lists 1000 Paneer curries, greatly simplified, so that a first time cook can easily cook them.  10 different types of paneer is combined with ten different bases and 10 different flavouring techniques to create a thousand different recipes.  

The Paneer types :

This column lists the 10 different ways types of ‘paneer’ as listed below : 

0.:    Plain Paneer can be used in many curries, but it has the tendency to fall apart on prolonged cooking.

1.:   Crumbled Paneer is used in dry or gravy based curries called Burjis

2.:   Stir fried Paneer holds its shape well on cooking.

3.:   Achari Paneer  is paneer marinated in a spicy pickle. This is then used in a curry.

4.:   Marinated Paneer  is paneer soaked in the basic marinade of yogurt and spices for an hour or more.

5.:   Flavoured Paneer  is paneer prepared with a variety of flavouring agents. Please see the 10 Panner recipes cookbook for preparation details.

6.:   Exotic Paneer  is made from a variety of milk from other mammals.

7.:   Tofu   is made by curdling soya milk . A variety of tofu is available and firm tofu can be used in place of paneer.

8.:   Grilled/ deep fried  Paneer, with its crunchy exterior and a soft interior, provides the curry with an interesting texture.

9.:   You can also experiment by using any non melting cheese ( like the halloumi or the hispanic cheeses like queso panela, Queso Manchego etc). You can also use any combination of the above types of paneer. 

For explanation of bases and flavouring techniques, please see 100 Paneer recipes. 

This is the final post for Siri's Say Cheese event.

 Model Recipes :

For more detailed recipes and great pictures, check out my fellow bloggers recipes below :

Mutter Paneer

Shahi Paneer

Paneer Jalfrezi

Methi Paneer

Paneer Makhanwala

Paneer Burji

100 Simple Paneer Curries

This cookbook lists 100 simple paneer curries. Paneer is first stir fried to prevent it from crumbling, and cooked with onions, tomato and spices. This cooked paneer is then combined with ten different bases and ten different  flavouring techniques to create a hundred different recipes.  The ten different bases are listed below : 

The bases :
0.: Onion  - An extra dose of onions is used as a base in the famous Dopyaza ( Double onion curry)

 1.: Cream is used as a base to cook up a mild, rich Muglai style curry, the  Muglai Paneer

2.: Nuts / Seeds Using nut paste and milk as a base is to cook up the royal Nawabi Paneer.

3.: Herbs -  Mint / coriander is blended to a paste in which paneer gets cooked.

4.: Yogurt is cooked until dry and is used as a curry base in the Kashmiri cuisine. The easier version listed here uses drained yogurt to reduce the cooking time.

5.: Coconut milk. is widely used as a curry base in all the coastal cuisines and it is combined with paneer in this recipe from Goa.

6.: Tomato is a widely used curry base across the country.

7.: Spinach is used as a base to cook  up the famous Palak Paneer.

8.: Boiled pulses are cooked along with Paneer to cook up Paneer Dhansak, from  the Parsi cuisine. 

9.: A mixture of these bases can also be used. For example, in the last row of the table, the recipe number for Paneer butter masala reads as (016)5. The numbers (016) indicate a combination of bases 0,1 and 6. That is, the base is a cup of a mixture of onion paste, cream and tomato puree. Take equal proportions of each to make a cup of base, but actually the exact proportions do not matter.  Similarly, you can mix up your own combinations of bases or flavouring to create unique curries.

The flavouring techniques :

10 different flavouring combinations are listed in the cookbook. Most of these are North Indian flavourings, as paneer is chiefly used in North India. 

0.: Butter  is all the flavouring you need for a simple Paneer curry.

1 & 2.: Garlic & Ginger - A few garlic cloves or a bit of ginger, though simple, lend a complex flavour.

3.: Panchphoran. The Bengali spice mix is used across East India to flavour a variety of curries.

4.: Cumin - Ginger- Garlic is the basic North Indian flavouring.

5.: Spice powders  are simple to use and are handy to cook up a spicy curry.

6.: Cloves – Cinnamon is the basic Muglai flavouring.

7 & 8 .: Fried & Ground spices,  Roast & Ground Spices  are used across North India

9.:  Experimentation time ! You can try using fusion flavourings like Soya sauce / Stir fry  sauce or European herbs like oregano / thyme / rosemary or use a combination of the flavourings listed above. Paneer would taste great with any flavouring, or with none at all !

This is the second of three posts for Siri's Say Cheese event. 1001 Paneer recipes follow....

10 Simple Indian Paneer Recipes

This cookbook lists 10 simplified Paneer recipes. The principle is simple – Paneer is stir fried first to prevent it from crumbling and this cooked paneer is flavoured in a variety of ways to give a range of recipes listed below :

1.:     Paneer Burji  is crumbled paneer stir fried with onions and tomatoes.

2.:    Paneer butter masala   is paneer chunks cooked in a blended paste of stir fried onions and tomatoes, with a large dose of butter.

3.:   Pepper Paneer Bhujia  is paneer cooked in a spicy blend of crushed pepper and onions.

 4.:   Pudina Paneer  is cooked in a mint – chili paste.

 5.:   Paneer Palak Bhujia  uses stir fried spinach and tomatoes.

 6.:  Paneer Pineapple Chaat served as a starter, is cubes of paneer and pineapple, lightly spiced and speared on toothpicks.

 7.:   Muglai Paneer uses a rich paste of nuts and milk to cook paneer.

8.:   Paneer Dopiaza  uses a double dose of onion paste.

 9.:   Handi Paneer  is paneer cooked with spiced yogurt.

 10.:  Goan Paneer Curry uses coconut and a large array of spices to cook up a unique curry.

This is the first of three posts for Siri's Say Cheese event. 100 Simple Paneer recipes and 1001 Paneer recipes follow....