Acahri Paneer Pulao

We usually like to make something special for our Friday lunch every week. Because Fridays for us is a sacred day, and it is mainly a family day for us since our weekend falls on a Friday.

Generally in most Muslim families here, Friday lunch is the family re-union time because we all assemble after our Friday prayers and have our meals together. Post meals we relax and then gear up to face the weekend evenings either outdoors or catching up with friends or shopping. Sometimes dining out also. They are the most relaxing evenings for the week.

That is why I am always looking for new rice dishes to try out for our Friday lunch. I usually accompany our rice dish with either salads, sea food or poultry or meat and sometimes eggs to make the meal look a bit elaborate.

Recently I tried out a Pickled dish to spice up our Friday menu with the big flavors of homemade Indian Pickle. Added cottage cheese to the pickle marinade to sober the flavors slightly. You can also use store-bought pickle for a more spicy flair.

The recipe doesn't call for frying the Cottage cheese cubes. Want it extra crispy? You can fry them if you like till it is golden brown, delicious, and as crispy as you want it!

For more variation, you can throw in some vegetables and fry them till crispy to make this dish look more colorful.

This basic, top-rated rice recipe is a great way to get started for a spicy weekend.

INGREDIENTS:

For The Achari Marinade:

1 1/4 cups paneer (cottagte cheese) cubes
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 cup whisked curds
1 tbsp readymade green chilli pickle
 Salt to taste

Other Ingredients

3 cups cooked rice
1 tbsp oil
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
2 cardamoms
Salt to taste

For The Garnish

1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

HOW TO MAKE:                      

For the Achari paneer marinade:

1) Heat the oil in a kadhai, add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, nigella seeds and fennel seeds. 

2) When the seeds crackle, add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and switch off the flame. Add the curds and mix well.

 3) Add the green chilli pickle and salt and mix well.Add the paneer cubes, mix gently and keep aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

For the Rice:

 
1) Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the cinnamon, cloves, caraway seeds and cardamom

2) When the caraway seeds crackle, add the rice and salt, mix well and cook on medium flame for 1 minute, while stirring continuously. Add the marinated paneer, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

3) Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.