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Impress your sweetheart!

Want to win over your beloved with your culinary skills this Valentine's Day? Go right ahead with this recipe from the Crowne Plaza Surya hotel's executive chef. Called Hasrat-e-Husn, it is specially made for this day.

HASRAT-e-HUSN

Ingredients

16 slices of Paneer* (31/2" x 21/2" x 1/8")

30g/1 oz flour

30g/1 oz cornflour

Cooking oil to deep fry paneer

The Filling

15g/1/2 oz pistachio (blanch for 3-4 minutes, cool and peel)
15g/1/2 oz almonds (blanch for 3-4 minutes, cool and peel)
15g/1/2 oz chilgozey/nejey/pine nuts
Chuaara/dried date (reserve overnight in milk)
8 munakka/sultanas
30g/12 oz pomegranate
30g/1 oz paneer* (grated)
5g/1/2" piece ginger (finely chopped)
4 green chillies (seeded and finely chopped)
1g/3/4 tsp shahi jeera
1.5g/1/2 tsp black pepper (freshly roasted and coarsely ground)
Salt
0.25g/1/2 tsp zaafraan/saffron (sun-dried and finely ground)
10g/21/2 tsp melon seeds
4.5g/11/2 tsp narial ka braada/kopra/desiccated coconut
3g/1 tsp khus-khus
Desi ghee to fry

For the gravy

75g/6 Tbs desi ghee/clarified butter
8 chotti elaichi/green cardamom
5g/1 tspb ginger paste (strain)
1.5g/1/4 tsp garlic paste (strain)
60g/2 oz onions (pulse to smooth paste in a blender)
90g/3 oz yoghurt
4.5g/11/2 tsp dhania/coriander powder
3g/1 tsp Kashmiri deghi mirch Powder
1 litres/41/4 cups clear vegetable stock
Salt
16 soney ka varq/gold leaf
4.5g/11/2 tsp kundan kaliya masala
0.5g/1 tsp zaafraan/saffron
1 drop kewra

Method

Heat desi ghee in a frying pan and put in the ginger and garlic paste. Once the raw flavour goes, add the onion paste and cook till it leaves the oil. Now add the kundan kaliyan masala, yoghurt, coriander powder, deghi mirch powder and cook for a few minutes and then add the clear vegetable stock. Let it boil for some time.

Finish with a drop of kewra water and saffron to get a rich gravy. Cut out slices of paneer according to the measurements given. Finely chop and mix together all the ingredients of the filling to get a uniformly colourful and tasty mixture. Spread the filling on one slice of paneer and place another on top like a sandwich. Make a thick batter using water and equal quantities of refined flour and corn flour. Heat oil in a kadai and deep-fry the prepared paneer sandwiches after dipping in the batter. Remove from the oil once a uniform golden brown colour has been obtained and drain out the excess oil by putting the fried paneer on a kitchen towel. Place the fried paneer slices in a serving dish and pour the hot gravy on top. Serve hot garnished with gold leaves.

RAKESH KUMAR

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