Sunday, November 7, 2010

Indian Lasagna - Sept/Oct - Lasagna Challenge - Sara

I’m feeling this months challenge. I too went for a fusion theme! I have wanted to make paneer cheese for quite some time. Thinking about how the texture is so similar to ricotta, I figured why not make some for an Indian Lasagna?!

First, to make the Paneer:

You need Milk, cheese cloth, and Lemon (or lime or vinegar). I used this website: http://sonic.net/~alden/Chefresh.html (search for Paneer and you’ll find it). This was super simple!



For the lamb mixture I browned the following in a skillet:

1lb lamb

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp cilantro paste

1 tsp garam masala

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp cloves




For the sauce I simmered the following and then used an immersion blender on it:

14 oz crushed tomatoes

1 medium onion minced

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cloves

fresh cilantro (or paste)

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp chili powder

½ tsp mustard powder

1 tsp coriander



For fresh pasta I use the following recipe (roughly):

1 cup flour

1 egg

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp water

Knead well and let rest for about 30 minutes

I decided to infuse my pasta with cilantro! On the top piece I snipped cilantro leaves and sandwiched them between to sheets of pasta and then rolled them out in the auto roller for the Kitchenaid. For the middle & bottom slice I used cilantro paste and kneaded it into the dough and then rolled it out with the auto roller. It was pretty cool.






Here are the fixins’! Just layer them like you would any ol’ lasagna. *** UPDATE *** I also added an egg to the lamb & paneer mixture **


The top slice is slathered in ghee so the pretty herbs aren’t covered. Nobody puts cilantro in the corner!



Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. This was really superb. Very delicate, the paneer worked great. I’m pretty proud of it!


4 comments:

  1. MAN, I wish you'd make me some of that... it looks AWESOME. My two favorite foods-- Indian and Italian-- in one tidy package. Beautiful job. :)

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  2. Oh, wowowow! This is soooo beautiful! You are amazing. I can almost taste it, and on top of that, your instructions make me think that perhaps I could do this someday (with the purchase of a special KitchenAid noodle maker)!
    Gorgeous!

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  3. Holy cow! I've never seen herbs so nicely pressed in fresh pasta before. Well done! I would love a slice.

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  4. Clever, beautiful and delicious...nice job!

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