Tomato Paneer - Simple Flavorful #kidseat

It is hard to not keep track of dishes your kid loved to eat. Makes into this list this recipe readily. I picked this from a cooking show recently and I knew immediately that it was going to be good.  Bonus, this was really simple to cook on a weeknight.
This goes really well with both rice and roti.

What you need
Paneer
Tomato puree from 3 tomatoes and 1 tomatocut into cubes
Ginger
Green Chili
Cumin powder
Shahi Garam Masala/ Garam Masala
Kasori Methi
Butter


1. Mix 3 tbsp of flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Cut the paneer into cubes. Soak into warm water with salt. If the paneer is  homemade and fresh, you can skip soaking. But it helps the store bought paneer cubes to soften and absorb more flavor through soaking. After soaking for about 10 minutes, coat the paneer cubes in the flour.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable/canola oil.  Pick up the paneer cubes and shake of excess flour, add to the oil. Fry them lightly and take out when brown spots start to appear. Don't overcook.

3. Puree 3 tomatoes in a grinder. Due to low stock of tomato I used a can of diced tomato and made a puree. No doubt it saves time. But nothing beats fresh produce.

4. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and pour the tomato puree, leaving about a spoon of puree in the grinder. Add a pinch of salt in the pan and start frying. Adjust the temperature to ensure puree does not stick to the vessel. As you fry this, grind an inch of ginger with the rest of the tomato and add to the frying pan.

5. Cook this for a little bit and add 1.5 tsp of cumin powder, salt and turmeric to your taste. You can add chili powder if you like. I didn't because little one can't eat that spicy yet.

6. Let it cook for another couple of minutes and add the tomato cubes. Add 2 tsp shahi garam masala powder. I roasted the whole Shahi GM mix and ground to powder. If you don't have Shahi GM, you can use regular garam masala and a pinch of nutmeg powder.

7. Add salt according to your taste and 1 tbsp of sugar. The sugar nicely balances the tartness of tomato and adds a wonderful color. Keep stirring as the mix thickens. Add little bit of warm water as needed. But it should not become watery.

8. Add 2 tbsp of Kasori Methi by crushing between your palms. Time to add the paneer cubes now. Mix everything well and let them cook for couple of minutes. Paneer should not be cooked for long time, else it becomes hard. Sprinkle little bit of cilantro or coriander leaves if you like.

9. Taste the gravy and adjust salt as needed. Top it off with a dollop of butter and it is ready to serve.



10. Enjoy with hot rice or chapati.