Paneer Biryani + Spicy Martha

Paneer Biryani

I had a bunch of leftover rice from the other day and thought it would be a good time to make some biryani. I had only ever made shrimp biryani, but thought I would keep up with the vegetarian theme, and do some paneer biryani.

Use: 14 oz package of store-bought paneer
Do: Sauté the paneer cubes in 1 tbsp of ghee (or butter or canola oil). Once they start to brown, remove with a fork or slotted spoon, leave as much of the ghee or oil behind in the pan.

Use: 2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, several curry leaves

Do: Fry in the remaining ghee, adding more if needed.

Use: 1 medium onion, several cloves of garlic, several hot peppers, a hunk of ginger, all finely chopped.

Do: Add the aromatics once the seeds start of pop. Toss in a bit of salt, cover, and fry until the onions are soft.

Use: 1 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp chile powder, 1 tbsp cumin powder, 0.5 tbsp coriander powder

Do: Mix in the powdered spices and fry for another minute.

Use: 3 medium-sized tomatoes

Do: Toss in the chopped tomatoes, a bit of salt, and cover, allowing the tomatoes to cook down.

Use: 2 handfuls raw cashews, 1 handful raisins, about 0.5 cups of plain yogurt.

Do: Incorporate the cashews, raisins, and yogurt, and cook for a minute or two.

Use: 2 cups of cooked rice

Do: Incorporate the cooked rice into the mixture. Once it is fully mixed, and the paneer, stirring gently to avoid breaking up the paneer. Enjoy!

Spicy Martha

I decided to make a slight modification to the super chocolate cookies I made the other week by adding a bit of pasilla chile pepper and topping with a bit of cayenne.

The pasilla comes dried, so the first step is to reconstitute by soaking in water. Once they seem nice and soft, dry them off a bit and then chop.

I basically just incorporated the chopped pasilla into the melting butter and chocolate stage of the original recipe. Here is a visual version: