Sweet Green Peas and Fresh Indian Cheese in a Fragrant Tomato Sauce Recipe

6

Ingredients

1 pound whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
3 cloves garlic
1 1/8 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
1 piece cinnamon stick
6 green cardamom pods
5 cloves
12 black peppercorns, 12-15
4 dried red chilies
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 red onions, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 piece gingerroot, 2" piece; peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 pound tomatoes, finely chopped
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 cups water
1 pound frozen petite peas, unthawed
1/8 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat oven to 450. Spread ricotta evenly into a 9" bread pan and bake until lightly browned on top, firm but not dry; about 40 minutes. Let cool then cut into 1" squares. Reserve half and freeze or chill the remainder for another use.

2. Heat in oil in a saute pan and brown on all sides. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

3. Combine garlic and 1/8 tsp cumin seeds in a spice grinder and grind to a paste. Place oil-peppercorns in a deep pot. Cook, stirring, until cinnamon unfurls; 1-2 minutes. Add chilies, 1 tsp cumin seeds, coriander and bay leaf. Cook until seeds turn golden brown.

4. Add onions and salt; cook until onions are a uniform golden brown; 10-12 minutes. If onions begin to stick, add a bit of water.

5. Add ginger and cook 3-4 minutes. Stir 1 tsp water into garlic paste; add to pot and cook until water has evaporated, 1-2 minutes.

6. Add coriander-cayenne and 1 tbsp water. COok until mixture begins to dry out and sticks to the bottom of the pan; about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until they begin to dissolve; about 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat and cook until tomatoes have completely melted into the sauce and oil is starting to pool around the onions, 2-3 minutes.

7. Whisk yogurt until smooth. Whisk in a bit of sauce then return to the pot. Add water and peas. Cover and cook until peas have thawed; 4-5 minutes.

8. Fold in paneer and garam masala. Cover and simmer gently another 3-5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

Notes: This was really delicious - my major issue with it is that at the end you're left with things that you can't bite into - like cloves, peppercorns, coriander seeds … and it was hard to eat around them or to remove them prior to eating. I used the whole bit of paneer - actually used light ricotta, so probably didn't get as much. I loved this method of making paneer - and it was delicious. Also used canned tomatoes, which was just fine. Really very delicious.