Pudina Paneer

This recipe came into being as a result of mint leaves sitting in my refrigerator that I desperately wanted to use :-) When I lived in Patna, we went to this really nice restaurant called "Maurya". Their food was fabulous at the time. I had a paneer dish there which contained mint, simply delicious! I thought of re-creating this and it honestly it came out very close to what I tasted decades ago in Maurya.

Serves 5

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup paneer
1 cup pudina (mint) leaves
1 cup yogurt
2 tbsp cashew powder
1 large onion chopped finely
2 small tomatoes chopped finely
1 inch ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp chaat masala (optional)
2 tbsp oil
1 cup water
Salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp sugar


Directions:

1. Add ginger, garlic, and green chilli in a blender with a little water and make a paste. Keep it aside
2. Add pudina, yogurt, and cashews in a blender and make a paste. Keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds, wait for it to crackle. Add chopped onion, sauté until it turns into a brown color.
4. Add the ginger/garlic paste created in step 1. Saute it for a few seconds.
5. Add chopped tomato, cover and cook on a medium flame until tomato is cooked.
6. Add coriander powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, and chaat masala. Saute it for 2 minutes on a medium flame.
7. Add 1 cup of water, cover and cook for about 2-3 minutes. The spices will all blend together.
8. Turn off the flame, and keep the pan on a cold surface.  Wait for about 2-3 minutes for the curry to cool down. Add the pudina paste created in step 2 to the mixture. Mix it well.
9. Add paneer pieces to the curry. Serve with rice, naan, or paratha.