I knocked on her window....K was sleeping, as usual. Her mom opened the door, she was expecting me ...she greeted me with a big smile and a hug. K is asleep, she smiled...but lunch is ready I have made your favorite paneer tikka with parathas (flat bread). K was is one of  my best friends from collage, she is from Punjab and her mom makes the bestestestest aloo paratha (flat bread stuffed in potatoes) ever, along with mango pickle and also the best paneer tikka.

I sat down to eat and k walked in lazily towards the dinning room..."no one ever calls me for lunch, I am hungry!" I was enjoying my third paratha....oh! fresh lassi with hot plain parathas and paneer tikka. I served some paneer and pushed it towards K...she stared at me ..."what has aunty made?" ...aunty here referring to my mother. K loved eating at my place as she could live on idlis and dosas ...while I could live on paneer, choley and parathas. We grew up eating together, when K was over we all knew, she would be staying for the next meal and same when I was at her place.

There are so many dishes I learnt from her mother...definitely learnt how to make paneer makhani, paneer tikka among others. This recipe is adapted from her recipe.

Spices are the soul of Indian cuisine. It is not a random mix of spices to give a spicy hot taste to the curry. Spices are roasted to give a nice smoky aroma - when you roast them you also release the essential oils and grind them so all the flavors are incorporated in one spice blend - the masala.

While seasoning, spices are bloomed in ghee (clarified butter) so as to release the flavors in ghee that will be mixed with the curry.

A lot of people mistake aromatically spiced to spicy - a curry can have spices but need not be spicy (hot) you can reduce the amount of chili and make the curry suit your taste buds.

Paneer Tikka Masala 

Ingredients

• 2 cups paneer cubed (home-made)
• 2 green and red bell peppers cubed
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 3/4 cup hung curd or Greek yogurt 
• 1 medium yellow onion 
• 1 medium tomato 
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 red chill (dried)
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

Spices blend 

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

1 tsp red chill powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp fennel powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp kasturi methi ( dried fenugreek leaves)

salt to taste 

If you are thinking of fat-free paneer ...don't !! Just don't ...you do not believe me - READ THIS