Mushrooms in a Cottage Cheese (Paneer) Gravy

It is always a struggle for me whenever I have vegetarian guests over for dinner along with non vegetarians and the biggest challenge is to make something different with the regular vegetarian options that we commonly have. I had pinned this recipe from a fellow blogger and a very experienced chef, Jaspreet ji, but never really got around to making it. Last weekend I finally gave it a try for a vegetarian friend and it was an instant hit and was savored even by the non vegetarians !! I did a few changes to the recipe to adapt to my taste and it was such a delightfully yummy and different dish to serve your Vegetarian guests!!! 😊

So here it is, Mushrooms in a Paneer gravy/sauce!!

Ingredients 

12-15 whole mushrooms (or as per your requirement)

200 gms paneer crumbled (I used homemade)

3 medium onions

3 fat cloves of garlic

1" piece ginger  

1 tsp cumin seeds 

2 tsp Kashmiri Mirch powder (non spicy)

2 tsp Roasted Coriander powder 

2 tsp Roasted Cumin powder 

2 tsp Garam Masala powder 

2 tbsp Cream 

Salt to taste

Fresh Coriander chopped 

Oil (usage is upon your discretion) 

For Tomato paste

2 medium Tomatoes blanched, skinned and pureed with 2-3 Kashmiri Whole Chilies  soaked in warm water

4 fat Garlic cloves minced

Oil (again use as per your discretion)

Salt to taste

Direction 

Start with the mushrooms. Wash and clean the mushrooms nicely in tap water and wipe them dry. Keep them on a slotted bowl/plate so that the excess moisture dries out. 

Now start making the tomato paste. Heat oil in a pan and add the minced  garlic cloves and sauté for a minute. Now add the tomato puree along with salt. Cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the oil leaves the masala. Keep it aside.

Make a smooth paste with the onions and ginger and garlic and keep aside. 

Take the same pan where you prepared the tomato paste and add some more oil. Add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Now add the onion paste and sauté. Keep stirring until golden brown. Now add the dry spices along with some water and mix well. Cook until oil leaves the masala. Now add the tomato paste and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Now crumble the paneer with hands and mix into the masala (keeping aside some paneer for garnish). Mix well and stir for a couple of minutes. Add water (I added about 1/2 cup as the mushrooms will also release some water) to liquidize the gravy. Now add the mushrooms and keep on low heat for 7-10 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked and shrunk in size. 

 Remove from flame and mix in cream. Stir nicely and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with green coriander and a little crumbled paneer. Serve hot with Rice or Roti.