Musical Cooking - Paneer Tawa Masala

Weddings in Bombay are a barometer of the city's love for food. On an average guests might commute for an hour after work to reach the venue, stay for about thirty minutes, then travel another hour or two to get back home; but they will still enjoy dinner to the hilt!
It's no wonder then that reception menus are often not only delicious but also creative.

At my cousin's wedding some five years back, the most popular dish was a mixed vegetable fry prepared entirely on the 'tawa' (griddle). A man stood in front of a huge griddle with vegetables laid along it's corners. He had a gravy sizzling on the tawa and then added to it the vegetables requested by the guest. After mashing and sauteing them all together in a noisy display, he swept the blend up with his spatula and plopped it on their plates with a flourish. Hardly surprising that the little nook drew all the crowds!

The dish is called Taka Tak Bhaji, after the rhythmic sound the cook's spatula makes on the griddle; or (the less charming in my opinion) Tawa Bhaji. It can also be made with chicken, shrimp or my choice today, paneer.

PANEER TAWA MASALA/ TAKA TAK (Cheese in tomato gravy)
(adapted from the book 'Prashad' by Jiggs Kalra)
(serves 2)
1 cup paneer*
1-2 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp ajwain
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2-3 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
3/4 cup tomato gravy*
1/2 tsp garam masala
finely chopped cilantro to garnish

Crumble paneer coarsely. Heat ghee in a pan and add ajwain. Saute on medium heat until they begin to crackle.

Add onion, ginger-garlic paste and chillies. Saute until the onion turns limp. Add the spice powders, stir and then add paneer. Mix well.

Finally add the gravy and saute until everything is well blended. Turn the heat up and saute (bhuno) till all moisture dries up (work those arms!).

Sprinkle garam masala and finely chopped cilantro. Serve hot with roti or naan.

Tomato Gravy -
My favorite recipe is from the book but it is a long and intimidating process, so I modify it for quick results -
In a stockpot add three tomatoes, 2-3 slit green chillies, 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder, 3 cloves, 3 green cardamoms and 1-2 cups of water.
Simmer on low heat until reduced to pulp. Your kitchen will smell divine at this point :-)
Let cool, then discard skins, whole spices, chillies etc.
Mash pulp and strain into another pot. Bring to a boil. Add salt to taste, kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) and cream as desired. (If gravy is too sour adjust with honey.)
I find this gravy very versatile. So I make a large quantity, freeze it and use as required in dishes like matar paneer, vegetable korma, gobi ka kheema etc.

* The original recipe uses paneer cubes and also has more paneer to gravy ratio
** If you don't have time to make the gravy from scratch use canned tomato puree and flavor it with spices