Mushroom Paneer Grilled sandwich

Mushroom Paneer Toasts with Tomato sauce

Cottage cheese is high in calcium and protein. And mushrooms are high in protein and Vitamin A. When paneer is mixed with mushrooms it makes excellent filling for toasted sandwiches.  Breakfast should never be taken just because it has to be taken; a nourishing, nutritious, less oily breakfast is the apt way to start the day. Healthy yet tasty,light yet filling and nutritious, these sandwiches are very good for breakfast, snack as well as lunch box of school going children. So next time you want to give pleasant surprise to your children just make these crunchy juicy mushroom paneer sandwiches and serve in breakfast or pack them in their lunch box.

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 30 min.

Servings: 8 – 10 Sandwiches

Ingredients Required For Making Mushroom Paneer Toasted Sandwiches:

• 1 Bread

• 250 gm. Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

Paneer

• 8 – 10 Large mushrooms

Mushroom

• 1 Small Onion

Onion

• 4 -5 Cloves of garlic 

Garlic

• 1 Green Chili

Green Chilies

• 1/2Teaspoon Red Chili Powder

• Salt to taste

• 3 – 4Tea spoon Olive oil / Butter or any cooking oil

Directions For Preparing Mushroom-Paneer Sandwiches:

    Step1. Making Filling of Mushroom and Paneer:

• Wash and towel dry Mushrooms.

• Crush the mushrooms to small pieces.

• Cut Paneer to pieces.

• Mash the paneer pieces.

• Cut onions finely.

Finely cut Onion

• Cut garlic finely.

Cut Garlic

• Cut Green chili finely.

• Tale 1 ml. oil in a wok and heat

• When hot lower the flame and add finely cut onion.

• Cook with continuous stirring for 2 min. (the color of onion should become transparent)

• Add finely cut garlic and cook for just one min. with regular stirring.

• Add mashed paneer and cook for a 2-3 min.

• Add crushed mushroom and bring the flame to high.

• Mix nicely and cook for 2-3 min. with continuous stirring.

• Add

• Salt

• Green chili

• Red chili powder

•  Mix nicely

• Bring the flame to high and cook with continuous stirring for 1 min.

• Remove from gas and take out in a bowl and allow it to cool. (The mixture of filling should be removed just when the mushrooms start leaving water in wok)

Mushroom - Paneer filling for sandwiches

Step2. Making Sandwich:

• Sprinkle 2-3 drop of oil on both side of sandwich toaster.

Toaster heated with 2 drops of olive oil on each section

• Heat the sandwich toaster.

• Take a slice of bread on a plate and scoop 2-3 tea spoons filling on it.

• 

Bread Slice with Mushroom Paneer mix

• Place another slice on it.

Second slice put to cover the slice with Mushroom Paneer mix

• When the toaster is hot then place this sandwich in a toaster.

Sandwiches of Mushroom Paneer mix kept on hot Toaster

• Toast for 2 min.

•  Open the toaster and sprinkle 3-4 drops of oil, close the toaster and toast again.

Sandwiches being toasted

• Toast the sandwich till brown and crisp from both sides. (It should take 5 min.)

• Take out hot mushroom-paneer sandwich and serve with tomato sauce.

Mushroom Paneer Toasts with Tomato Sauce

Tips:

• After adding mushrooms cooking should be done on high flame.

• Do not cook for too long after adding salt.

• Do not mash mushrooms, crush them to small pieces.

• If you find mushroom juices coming out too much add make crumb from one slice and add to the filling. (1 /2 tea spoon stored dry bread crumb can also be added)

• The toasted mushroom paneer sandwiches taste best if made in olive oil or butter.

Suggested Variations:

• Onions and garlic can be avoided and replaced by 1 tea spoon cumin seeds.

• Oregano / basil/parsley can be added to the filling to give different flavor to the sandwich.

• Finely cut coriander leaves can be added to the filling.

Finely cut fresh coriander sprigs

• Instead white bread brown bread or multi grain bread can be taken to increase the nutritive value of sandwich.

• For oil less sandwich, use nonstick toaster.

• Edges of bread piece can be cut. The edge pieces can be sun dried and made to crumbs and stored in dry container for future use,

Anar kali/अनार और पनीर की सब्जी (A preparation of Cottage cheese with Pomegranate juice)

Anar Kali

Anar (Pomegranate) is a delicate and exotic composite fruit having red or brown from outside and partitioned from inside by thin yellow membrane. Inside each chamber of the fruit, red juicy little fruits with hard seed inside are present. These fruits of Pomegranate are rich in calcium, iron and vitamins.  Anar Kali is the preparation of paneer in Pomegranate fruit juice. An extremely tasty and easy to cook this preparation of cottage cheese provides lots of nutrition without adding fat content to your diet.

This preparation of paneer is to be made fresh and consumed. If it is prepared and kept for later use then the beautiful pink color of gravy changes to dull pink color. So make it fresh when you want to serve to your family and guests.

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 30 min

Servings: 4 large servings

Ingredients Required For Making Anar-Kali:

• 250 gm. Cottage cheese.

Paneer (Cottage cheese)

• 250 gm. Ripe Red Pomegranate

• 10-15 Almonds

Almonds

• 10-15 Pistachios

Pistacios

• 1 large Onion

• 1 Tea spoon Thyme

• 1/4Tea spoon Turmeric powder

• 1 Tea spoon Red chili powder

• Salt to taste

Direction For Making Anar-Kali:

• Cut onion very fine.

Finely Cut Onions

• Cut Almonds long and thin.

Almonds cut to long and thin pieces

• Cut Pistachio Long and thin

Pistachios cut to long and thin pieces

• Cut Paneer to 2-3 cm pieces.

Paneer (Cottage cheese) cut to pieces

• Take the out the fruits of Pomegranate.

• Grind the Pomegranate fruits in the mixer-grinder.

• Strain the juice from the solid of the seeds.

• Discard the solid, cover the juice and keep it aside.

Fresh Pomegranate juice

• Juice can be taken out by the help of juicer also.

• Take oil in a thick bottom wok and heat on high flame.

Oil being heated on high flame

• When the oil is hot reduce the heat and add finely cut onion to the oil and cook till the onion pieces start getting light brown color.

Finely cut Onion added to hot oil and being cooked on low flame

Onion after  3 min. of cooking on low flame

Onion after 5 min. of cooking on low flame

Onions cooked to light golden brown color and ready for Almonds to be added (7-8 min. low flame cooking)

• When the onion starts getting golden brown add Almond pieces and cook for one min. on low flame with continuous stirring.

Almonds added when the Onion becomes light golden brown

• Add Pistachio and cook for one min. with continuous stirring.

Pistachios added to Onion and Almonds mixture

• Add paneer pieces and mix nicely.

Paneer added to shallow fried onion and nuts

• Cook on low flame for 2-3 min. with continuous careful stirring.

• The paneer pieces will change the texture and the color of paneer will start gaining light golden color.

Paneer mixture ready for Pomegranate juice to be added

• Add the juice, bring the flame to high and cook for a min.

Fresh Pomegranate juice added and cooked for min.

•  Add Turmeric powder, Red chili powder, amchur, thyme and salt.

Amchur,Kasoori methi,Turmeric Red chili powder and salt added

• Mix nicely and let it come to boil.

Just after giving one boil

Discoloration started due to boiling for 3 min.

• Switch off the gas.

• Take out in a serving bowl and garnish with sprigs of fresh coriander.

Anar Kali

 Tips:

• Make this dish fresh, keeping it in for long time will cause discoloration of the gravy to dull color.

Discoloration due to keeping for 2 hrs and then reheating

•  Do not add too much chili powder as this preparation is meant to be slightly sweetish.

• Add salt after all spices have been added.

• Take out the juice of pomegranate while cooking the paneer with nuts and onion. This will make sure the color of juice to retain its wonderful pink color.

• If boiled for too long discoloration will occur.

Discoloration started due to boiling for 3 min.

Suggested Variations:

• Turmeric has got very high medicinal value that is why all Indian recipes will have turmeric as an ingredient,but if you prefer to avoid yellow ting to the gravy then turmeric  can be avoided, this will make sure the color of gravy remain pink.
• Kasoori methi can be added instead of thyme.
• Oregano / basil can be added instead of Thyme.
• Cashew and raisins can also be added along with almonds and pistachios before paneer pieces are added.

• Finely cut green chilies can be used for garnishing along with coriander sprigs.
• If thyme or basil is added instead of kasoori methi then avoid coriander sprigs for garnishing,else the flavors will become too overpowering.