A breakfast and appetizer item that is extremely quick to make, is the open grilled paneer cottage cheese toast bread. It tastes delicious and looks very appetizing. The grilled paneer, flavored with green chillies and fenugreek has a unique flavour that gives a great start to the morning!
I was exposed to this highly nutritious breakfast at my in-laws, and since then, I often consider this as one of the highly appetizing breakfast item. It requires some effort in getting used to flipping the paneer, but now a days with non-stick griddle available, this is much easier. I always use to admire our cook(more like Man Friday) , Ramu, at my in-laws house, who use to get the perfect color and flip it without breaking the browning of the paneer in the middle! Unfortunately, he passed away too soon.. I have learnt a lot of easy tips on cooking from him.
The texture of the grilled bread is soft and the paneer also tastes soft with a slight crunch on the top. While making it, the green colors of chillies and coriander against white paneer looks attractive and when nicely cooked to an orang brown color, it looks also delicious! I also like the added spice from fresh black pepper and lemon in this mix.
This will also impress your guests suitably when you present them with another way to eat and enjoy the bread in the morning! Kids often love this and this was my valentine treat for my daughter!
Recipe makes 6 slices
Cooking time 15 min
Prep 5 min
Ingredients
• 1 1/4 cup of Fresh Paneer or about 7 cups of whole milk to make fresh paneer or cottage cheese
• 1 lemon juice to make fresh paneer or cottage cheese
• 1 tsp kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves(optional)
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander /cilantro leaves
• 8-9 hot green chillies finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp Fresh ground pepper –
• salt to taste
• 4-5 drops of lemon
• Ghee or clarified butter to grease
• 6 White or Wheat Bread slices
Method
- To make fresh paneer, boil the milk in a deep vessel. Keep on medium high flame, and when it boils add juice of one lemon. If the milk does not curdle, add more lemon juice till it curdles. Remove from flame and strain the curdled milk . Leave the fresh paneer to drain for 10 min.
- Once it cools down, mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.
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- Take about 1/6 portion of the mix, and put it on a bread slice and pack it down using the palm.
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- • Heat a flat griddle on a medium flame
- • Grease 1/4 tsp ghee in the center and spread it.
- • Flip the bread and put the paneer or cottage cheese side to grill on the flat griddle.
- • Reduce the flame to slow – medium
- • Pour some more ghee on the sides about 1/2 tsp.
- • Wait for about 5 min.
- • Using a flat spatula, gently flip the bread
- • Add some more ghee and cook on the other side, till golden brown.
- Cut into 2 or 4 triangles.
- Repeat the process for all other slices of bread, till cottage cheese or paneer is used up.
- Serve with ketchup or any other accompaniment of your choice.
Tips
If using frozen paneer, you may want to microwave it a bit, to get bigger chunks, and I would break a frozen paneer by hand. I prefer using fresh paneer for this, as it always taste soft and binds well.
Using a non-stick griddle, will help you flip better, though I prefer the taste of normal griddle.
The trick lies in packing it firm and round in the middle, and you will know that it is done grilling, once you see some rising in the middle.
You can make this as an appetizer or finger food, by cutting the bread slice with paneer into six rectangles, and serve it with toothpick in the center.
Instinct Factor
Trust your instinct to guide you if the paneer is grilled well . If it is cooked, it will easily scrape off. Patience helps over here!
Feel Factor
A warm cottage cheese paneer bread toast breakfast is such a healthy way to kick start your day, with calcium, grains and a few feel good spices of green chillies, black pepper, lemon and dried fenugreek leaves! When had warm, the nice grilled flavor of the cottage cheese, against the bread remains soft, which is a nice contrasting texture. Extremely easy to make, when fresh paneer is already pre made. And if you have a large griddle, you can make six slices at once!
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