Wild Mushroom and Paneer Pilaf with Urad Dal

Modern Spice by Monica Bhide is quickly becoming a favored cookbook in my kitchen. And best of all, Ms. Bhide includes lots of recipes for paneer cheese! I've been meaning to post this recipe for a while now, but better late than never. The first time I made it, the pictures turned out muddy, so I was loath to share until I could properly capture this pretty dish.

I served this delightful dish with Indian-Style Beet Salad with a Yogurt Dressing

Wild Mushroom and Paneer Pilaf with Urad Dal

2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil or butter
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 small clove of garlic, minced
14 grams of dried wild mushrooms
3 cups of fresh wild mushrooms, such as portobello, oyster, cremini or shiitake, sliced
2 green chilies, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder or crushed red chilies
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
2 teaspoons of dried fenugreek leaves
1 cup of white basmati rice
1/2 cup of urad dal
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
2 1/2 cups of water
400 grams of paneer cheese, cut into cubes or mashed
parsley or cilantro for garnishing

In a small bowl, soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid, chop the mushrooms and set aside.

Rinse the rice and urad dal well. Soak the rice and urad dal in 2 1/2 cups of water, including the mushroom soaking water, for about 20 minutes.

Heat the oil or butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic and stir and fry for roughly 5 minutes. Increase the heat slightly and add the dried mushrooms and fresh mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to release their liquid and the liquid evaporates.

Reduce the heat to medium, and then add the green chilies, turmeric, cayenne, chili powder, coriander and fenugreek, stir and add the rice, urad dal, along with the soaking liquid and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover and cook for roughly 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, fry the paneer. Heat a tablespoon or so of butter or oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the paneer and fry, stirring often, until the paneer is golden brown.

Fluff the rice with a fork. Transfer to serving plates and top with paneer and garnish with parsley if desired.

Serves 4 - 6.

Other recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen you will be sure to enjoy:
Paneer Mushroom Masala
Shredded Paneer with Tomatoes, Chilies, Mushrooms and Chickpeas
Chickpea Vindaloo

On the top of the reading stack: Great Masters: Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian

Audio Accompaniment: Laughing Stock by Talk Talk

My regular readers will know how much I love paneer, so I am sharing this dish with Tasty Appetite, who is featuring paneer for this month's Letz Relishh.