Of Ironies and Paradoxes

The irony called life,
Wrestles a wistful smile from me,
For that path I wished not to tread,
Was the only one I could see.


Alone,
I walk away from happiness,
Fear that yearn I shall,
In moments of tears.

Two-edged sword memories are,
For they slay the ghosts of darkness,
And makes us ache,
For the people behind them.

The paradox called life,
Stares me in the eye,
Makes me feel like a nobody,
And a somebody at the same time.

~ Shwetha

Uncharted Territory.Cooking Adventures - I

No, no, I have been cooking for quite some time but this would be the first time I would share my adventures on this blog. Why so late, you ask? Firstly, the food I cook is more of the homely sort- something that was conjured up in minutes to satiate hunger pangs or oddly timed rumblings. Secondly, I do not have the proper camera to capture the cooking process, all I have is a 5 MP camera on my cellphone. Thirdly, ermm... I do not remember.

I decided to set my doubts aside(as a part of my new resolution to suppress the Doubting Daves in me) and go ahead with one of my favourite and surprisingly easy to make dish. I present to you *drum-rolls background music* Paneer Makhanwala

Disclaimer: This dish is not meant for consumption for the fainthearted who cannot tolerate calories or wrinkle their faces on seeing excess butter. This Punjabi dish needs to be made in the spirit of its place of origin-excessive, rich and flavorful. Also, excuse the bad quality pictures, theya re all I could manage.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 200 gm paneer(cottage cheese)
• 7-8 cashewnuts soaked in hot water and later ground to a paste.
• 1 tbsp. Kasuri methi
• 1 an half tbsp. red chilli powder
• 1 tsp. pepper powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp. fresh cream
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2-3 tbs. cooking oil
• salt to taste
• sugar (a pinch)

Steps

First heat the oil, add the onions and cook on low flame until translucent brown.

Add the tomatoes and cook until soft.

Turn off the flame, let the mixture cool and then grind it into a fine paste.

Next, heat butter in a pan, add Kasuri Methi(rub them in your palm, releases the aroma better), onion-tomato paste, red chilli powder(I use it generously to offset the sweetness of tomato and cashews),pepper powder, cashew paste and stir well. To make more gravy, add hot water to lighten the consistency. Lastly, add fresh cream and stir well.

Once the oil starts leaving the sides, add the paneer, salt, sugar and mix well. You can also add tomato puree for some tang but I like it spicy. Make sure to stir lightly beacause the paneer breaks up easily.Cook till it starts bubbling,then turn off the flame.

Voila! The dish is ready. Serve hot with phulkas or butter naans. Bon Appétit!