My 63rd recipe, "Paneer Puff", a perfect Tea time snack. Who would not love to have a hot puff. The buttery and flaky crust and the super delicious paneer stuffing made this one of my favorite snacks to have while in India. But, again the same old story. After moving to US, though I was able to get a wide variety of pastries, frankly more than I ever knew existed, I did not find this Indian puff variety anywhere here.
I never tried making it on my own, since I thought that it was a long and laborious process. It is indeed a long process to make a puff pastry, however when I found a pack of ready to use pastry sheet in the frozen section of my supermarket, I was super excited. Ever since I have been making this paneer puff on a regular basis. A wonderful puff with not so much of an effort. This Paneer Puff reminds me of the puff I used to enjoy at Cake World. 😉
Paneer Puff
Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Puff
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- 2 large Onion (Finely sliced)
- 1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
- 1 medium Tomato (Finely chopped)
- 1 tsp Salt (Adjust per taste)
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder (Adjust per taste)
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 ½ tsp Garam masala powder
- ½ tsp Jeera Powder
- 200 gms Paneer (Small cubes) *Vegans can replace with firm tofu
- a generous pinch Kasuri methi
- 6 Puff pastry sheets (*The pack I used was with No eggs and butter.)
- Olive oil - For brushing
Instructions
- First, thaw your puff pastry until it comes to room temperature and becomes soft, for about 30-45 minutes. Cut the paneer into ¼ inch small cubes and keep it immersed in warm water for about 10 minutes.
- Mean while heat a pan with oil, add the fennel seeds. Once it starts changing color, add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the ginger-garlic paste and saute until the onion changes to dark brown in color. Onion should be nicely caramelized, but take care not to burn it.
- Now add the tomato, salt and saute until the tomatoes turn mushy. Follow it with the listed powders (Red chilli, Garam masala, Coriander, Jeera) and give a quick stir. Add about ½ cup of water, stir and turn the flame to low-medium. Cook until the water completely evaporates.
- By now the raw smell of all the powders would have gone. Drain the paneer from water, add it to the pan and saute for 2 minutes. Take a pinch of kasuri methi, crush it in between your palms and add to the paneer masala. Give a quick stir and turn off the flame.
- Leave the prepared paneer masala to come to room temperature. We will move on with puff folding.
- Pre heat the oven at 375 F. Take the baking sheet, line it with butter paper or grease it with butter/oil. Place the puff pastry over them as shown in pic. Wet the edges with water so that it would stick while folding.
- Now take a spoon full of prepared paneer masala and place it at its center. Fold the pastry to form a triangle shape by joining two opposite edges. Seal the edges by pressing with your thumb. .
- Repeat the same process for other pastry. Finally, brush the top with melted butter/ olive oil, which will give the puff a bright golden brown after baking.
- Bake them in the pre-heated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the puff changes to golden brown. Check at regular intervals to avoid burnt puffs. Once done remove them from oven and let them get cooled for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot as a tea time snack with ketchup.
Notes | FAQ
Submitted this recipe to Remmy's Kitchen First blog anniversary celebration and giveaway.
Nitha says
Looks lovely. Definitely going to try this.
Thanks for sharing.
revifood says
Thanks Nitha for stopping by. Sure, do leave your feedback after trying.
Deepak Nanda says
i m very happy to say that i joined ur block ....and give whole updates which r related to ur greatful receipe .
.
revifood says
Thanks Deepak. Thanks for joining and for your nice comments.
beulaharun says
Looks so yummy! One of my favorite tea time snack!
revifood says
Thanks Beulah .