The often ordered dish in restaurants and perhaps the only ‘tasty’ dish vegetarians eat , paneer or cottage cheese has a dedicated fan following in India at least. A product made from milk, it is used in several forms such as chunks,bhurji, fried, sautéed, barbequed, grilled, etc. Basically, paneer is an all-rounder when it comes to ways it can be eaten and tastes good almost in all these forms. Since it is eaten so much, you might think if its health benefits match up to its popularity status. And surprisingly, paneer is an excellent combination of taste and health..
My son just loves Paneer and he can eat it almost every day. I have to, therefore keep on trying variations in paneer recipes. There are so many paneer recipes I have tried, but this was one of the best recipe I have tried so far. Tawa Paneer Masala as the name indicates, In this recipe I have first marinated and grilled paneer on tawa or pan and then added it in a delicious onion tomato based gravy.

INGREDIENTS:

Paneer cut into rectangular thick slices-200gms
Onion- 1 small
Chopped Garlic- 4-5 cloves
Chopped Ginger-1 inch
Boiled tomato pureed- 2 medium tomatoes
Kasoori methi- 1 tsp.
Turmeri powder- 1/2 tsp
Deghi mirch or Paprika- 1 tsp( this imparts good colour)
Salt- to taste
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp. ( for marination)
Cloves-( 3-4)
Peppercorns- (3-4)
cinnamon stick- 1/2 inch
Big cardamom- 2
small cardamom- 4
lime juice- 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp.
Oil- 2 tbsp.

METHOD
1. In a bowl mix Paneer, paprika powder, 1/2 tsp Kaoori methi, ginger garlic paste ,lime juice and salt. Keep this in fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Now take a non stick pan and spray some oil on it. Keep The marinated pieces of paneer on tawa and grill on both sides till they turn golden brown. Take the pieces out in a plate and add little water in pan collect the residual masala and transfer in a bowl.
3. Now wipe off the pan with a paper towel and heat 1 tbsp. oil in it. Add cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamoms and roast for some time.
4. Add garlic, ginger and cook for some time. Then add onions and cook them till they become transparent.
5. Turn off the flame and take this mixture out in a plate and let it cool. On cooling, blend this mixture in a blender.
6. Now add the remaining oil in the pan and heat it. Put the onion garlic paste into the pan and cook for few minutes. Add tomato puree, residual masal ( step2) and all the spices. Cook till the mixture starts leaving oil.
7. Add Water and cover the pan with a lid, cook for 15-20 minutes on a medium flame. Then add the paneer pieces and cook for 5 more minutes. Turn off the flame and garnish with Kasoori methi powder and serve hot with Chapptis/naan/parathas or rice.

NOTES
1, You can add more or less water depending upon how thick gravy you want.
2, To make this recipe more rich you can add cream too if you want.