Three words. ALMOND CRUSTED PANEER. I’d choose this dish over chocolate ganache cake any day, and I LOVE cake. My dear friend Yudhika Sujanani [www.yudhika.com] introduced me to this treasure while I was shooting her book Memoirs – my go to book for beautiful savoury and sweet Indian recipes. I love vegetarian food, but this paneer needs an elevated Vegetarian label, like Japanese Kobe beef to meat eaters, this is the ultimate vegetarian meal for me. Yudhika has agreed to share her recipe with us , you will thank me later.
Almond crusted Paneer ©Yudhika Sujanani
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
Paneer, made with 4 litres of milk
Salt, to season
50g flaked almonds
Sunflower oil to drizzle
Marinade:
60ml chickpea flour
10ml Indian rub
20ml red chilli powder
2,5ml turmeric
5ml ajwain seeds [carom or lovage]
10ml garam masala
5ml ground black pepper
60ml fresh cream
50ml yoghurt
5ml crushed garlic
Method:
Place the spices, chickpea flour, yoghurt, cream and garlic into a bowl. Stir well until the marinade is smooth. Place a piece of baking paper onto a roasting pan or baking tray. Drizzle with a little sunflower oil and spread two tablespoons of the marinade over the paper. Place the paneer on top and coat in the remaining marinade. Season with salt and gently press the flaked almonds over the marinade. Drizzle with sunflower oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 deg C for 12-15 minutes or until the paneer is golden brown. Serve hot with a chutney of your choice.
