©2003 Ashy Macbean
My friend Anil showed me how to do this. He runs the Park View guest house in Bharatpur, a town in Rajasthan, Northwest India. Most people, including myself, go to Bharatpur solely to visit the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, which is one of the best places in India to see birds, especially water birds. The park consists of a series of shallow lagoons criss-crossed by good paths which make it easily accessible by bicycle. There are hotels close to the park gates which offer guide services and bicycle and binocular hire. Add to this that Bharatpur is only 4 or 5 hours from Delhi by train or bus and you've got the most easily visited national park in India, well worth a visit even if you're not particularly interested in birds.
I just got a call from the Rajasthan tourist development corporation saying my cheque was in the post. No, I'm only kidding, but I will be expecting a substantial discount from Anil on my next visit for divulging the following information. I'm going to tell you that, from all the restaurants lining the road towards the park, Anil's serves the best food. I first met Anil just after new year in 2001 and I was staying in another hotel where the food was rather grim. I was cruising the strip looking for something better when Anil made me an offer I couldn't refuse - If you don't like the food, you don't have to pay for it. I paid for my meal gladly and returned the following day. The manager of the hotel at which I was staying (which was rather good apart from the food) got a bit sniffy because I didn't eat there and on my next visit I looked for somewhere else (not Anil's place because I don't really like sleeping and eating in the same place if there's a choice - I find it a bit claustrophobic). Unfortunately the owner of the hotel I chose also developed an attitude when he realised I wasn't spending money in his restaurant. I guess it's a bed at the Park View next time, if it's still open. Business hasn't been good in Bharatpur the past few years (which explains the long faces on the hotel owners) and Anil reckoned he would be chucking it soon if it didn't get better.
The last time I saw Anil, he cooked Kashmiri dum aloo for me on the first evening. It was delicious. When we were sitting chatting after the meal, I asked him if there was anything special in the park this year. 'Yes,' he replied, 'no water!' Well, at least on that occasion I had more than one reason to visit Bharatpur. Anil offered to show me how to cook paneer butter masala the following day and this is my version of it (you can see some photos of us in the kitchen here).
Ingredients
70 - 100g of paneer
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
A 2cm piece of peeled root ginger
2 or 3 tomatoes
1 tsp. of coriander seeds
A few black peppercorns
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
A small piece of cinnamon stick
Half a tsp. of red chilli powder
1 tablespoon of desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons of yoghurt
1 tsp. of vinegar
A pinch of dried methi
Salt
Vegetable oil
A blob of butter or margarine
Half a tsp. of garam masala
Chop the onions finely and put them to one side. Do the same with the tomatoes. Heat a frying pan but don't put oil in it just yet. When its hot, roast the coriander, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon for a few seconds then grind them with a pestle and mortar. Put some oil into the pan now, add the onion and stir. Chop the ginger and garlic, throw them into the mortar and smash them up well with the spices. Add the cardamom pods and chilli powder and give the mixture a light bash. The onions should be soft by now so throw the spice mixture into the pan and stir it around. After a minute or so, add the tomato and the vinegar, stir and leave it to cook until the oil starts to separate out from the sauce.
Thin the sauce with a little water and add the coconut, yoghurt, salt and methi. While the sauce is returning to the boil, grate about a third of the paneer and cut the remainder into cubes. Thin the sauce again if you think it needs it then add the paneer. Simmer gently until the paneer cubes are heated right through.
To serve, pour the mixture into a shallow bowl and dot a few
pieces of butter on top. Sprinkle with garam masala and it will look lovely.
This is quite a rich dish and can be served with plain boiled rice or bread.
Like most Indian dishes, however, it's best served thali style with maybe some
spicy potatoes, dhal, spinach or whatever and everyone gets a little bit of
everything on their plate.