Paneer Makhani Recipe

I don't make paneer makhani very often because of the calories, particularly since I started working out to lose the baby weight. But today I had an excuse: I had leftover cream from making a white peach macadamia tart (which I'll share tomorrow), a bucket of freshly picked tomatoes and a bag of cashew nuts in the pantry. 

I marinated the cubes of paneer prior to pan-frying them. The tangy flavor from the lemon juice, yogurt and cream balanced wonderfully with the sweetness from the tomato sauce. I didn't feel bad eating the dish because it was so good!

Paneer Masala Pizza (Indian Style Pizza Recipe)

I ventured into the world of fusion and decided to break the rules by making pizza with Indian toppings. I prepared a traditional paneer butter masala with a mixture of flavorful, bold spices. I used the spicy sauce as the primary flavor for the pizza. In addition, I sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese to hold everything together and finished it with fresh cilantro.

The trick to coming up with your own fusion dishes is to use one recipe as the “base” and then replace a key ingredient with something from another culture. The sauce and cheese used on pizza are perfect targets and paneer butter masala takes care of both. If you wanted to make it even more Indian, you could replace the pizza crust with a naan. It’s a great way to introduce new foods to kids in a way that’s familiar but fresh.