Friday Shami Paneer

With the Royal Wedding tomorrow, my mind began to wander back almost ten years when hubby and I were in the 'Mother Country'. We spent 18 months teaching some very lovely little British kids and traveled the world while we were about it. We were staying in London when the Queen's mother passed away and saw how the Brits came out in droves, so I can only imagine what a Royal wedding will do to the locals. This lovely paneer recipe was actually picked up in a Sainsbury's(a local London grocery store) weekly recipe ideas book. Hubby and I ate this particular one on many occasions and really enjoyed it. This is quite a mild curry and is so easy to prepare. If you've never tried paneer before it's a great introduction to this particular cheese.

Prep 20 minutes.
Serves 4

Put 1 medium onion, 2 garlic cloves and 15g fresh ginger in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. (Alternatively, you can grate or finely chop) Heat 2 tbsp veg oil or ghee in a frying pan and cook the onion mixture with a generous pinch of saffron threads until golden. Add 1-2 tsp curry powder and cook until fragrant. Cube the paneer into 2.5cm pieces and fry with the onion mixture. Meanwhile use the same food processor to whiz 150ml of single cream, 1-2 skinned tomatoes, and a half teaspoon of salt. Add to the pan with 4 Tbsp of water and 1 Tbsp sultanas (optional). Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp garam masala just before serving. Serve with some basmati rice and garnish with toasted almonds.

This is a very delicate curry that even the kids will enjoy as it's not too hot. Have fun!!

NB: You can find Paneer Cheese in the deli section of the supermarket, it's a Lemnos brand and hangs out with the feta cheese.

Curried Lentil Soup

This is for all my dear vegetarian friends. This recipe is so tasty and so easy to prepare you almost feel a little bit guilty.... Not really! I am on this cleansing diet at the moment and lentils is one legume(?) that is very good for you in many ways. To prepare for this make sure you add some Tikka paste (Sharwoods) to your grocery list and some light coconut cream. This soup keeps for up to a week in the fridge and is great for a quick lunch or dinner. I added some brown rice to add texture and bulk for a more filling dish. Enjoy!!

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup tiakka masala curry paste
270ml can light coconut cream
400g can diced tomatoes
2 x 400g cans brown lentils, drained, rinsed
3 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock. (I just used 1 massel stock cube and added the water)
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
pappadums, to serve (optional)

1 Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in curry paste. Cook stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes or until aromatic.
2 Stir in coconut cream. Cook for 1 minutes. Add tomatoes, lentils and stock. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium. Cover. Bring to a gentle simmer.
3 Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until hot. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Stir through parsley.

Enjoy!!