Paneer marinated in lemon pickle (Paneer achari)

The thought of using a pickle as a marinade is new to me. I came across a recipe similar to this one in Neelam Batra's '1000 Indian recipes'. I have got hooked onto this book. Ms.Batra has a lot of homestyle recipes and since she lives in USA, she uses readily available ingredients too. Her collection of chickpea recipes in itself is worth getting the book for.



I make a lot of 'achari' this and that. But I usually use pickle spices like kalonji, fennel, ajwain etc. but not pickle itself. I tried this last night and it was fantastic. The paneer is marinated in lime pickle so that it has a light coating. Just let it marinate for an hour but if you let it sit for longer, it will be better.

Paneer achaari- serves 4

8 oz block of paneer- cut into small cubes
1-2 tsp lemon pickle (or rather any kind)

1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 large green pepper
2-3 green chilies, slit
1 inch ginger, cut into thin match sticks
salt
1/4 tsp amchur or a dash of lemon juice (optional)

for tadka:

a pinch of ajwain
1/2 tsp kalonji (nigella seeds)

Marinate the paneer cubes. You need to really use your hands to coat the paneer. Heat 1 tsp oil, add ajwain and kalonji. When they sizzle, add onion, ginger and green chilies. When onion turns golden brown, add pepper and let it cook till it becomes slightly soft. Add salt and paneer. Thoroughly mix. Cover and cook for 2 min or so. The dish is quite dry. Taste and add amchur or lemon juice if needed (I did not need more sourness).

Today, I served the left-overs on a bed of baby greens for an Indian style salad. Yum!