Chenna Kaju Palak
Chef Todiwala made the croquettes with boiled potatoes and stuffed the cheese with nut mixture. I am definitely going to try that next time. I am sure that it will make for a great appetizer with a dip. T his time, I just wanted to go with fresh cheese dumplings. Also, he used assorted nuts but I went with just cashew. This dish can easily be prepared with store bought paneer. You could grate the paneer to form the dumplings. But if you want the dumplings to be soft, you have to prepare fresh cheese.
Last year, my weekly meal plan helped me a lot. There was barely any food wastage and my refrigerator would get empty every Friday. I enjoyed the ritual. But then, life got a little chaotic and that meal plan board was hanging empty for several months. From last week, I started the habit again and I am already feeling amazing about it. Now, the meal plan always involves glancing through cookbook, blogs, food websites and of course, addressing my boy’s request. Here is a video to tell you how easy and quick it is to make the fresh cheese at home. As a kid, I never liked drinking milk and so, Ma would make fresh cheese (Chaana/Chenna), sprinkle some sugar on top and I was a happy bunny. Thankfully, Avyan still enjoys milk and I never needed to make Chenna at home. The store-bought paneer was good enough for paneer dishes. But when I was testing recipes for my cookbook, I made a lot of Chenna and completely fell in love with the process.
In our family, we love spinach and we love cheese. So, this meal made us very happy, including my little boy, who of course preferred the cheese dumplings more than spinach. Here’s a tip on how to retain that gorgeous green shade from spinach. Just add a pinch of baking soda when you boil the greens. Even after cooking the greens, the vibrant shade will be retained for several hours. Thanks to my friend Farrukh for sharing the tip. TRY MORE PANEER RECIPE
