Week 10: Paneer fish cakes with apple and fig chutney

This weeks entry seemed like it had everything but in the end was a bit of a let down. I would encourage one of my few followers to try this recipe to see if it was just me. 

I found this recipe on my handy Food Network app. When I was at the store looking for the ingredients I could not find any paneer. So I called my friend Alison to ask her where she got her paneer and she told me she made it. I smelled a challenge. I got the recipe from Ali and went to work. It was actually very easy and a bit of fun.

Paneer
2 litres of 2% milk
1/4 cup of vinegar 


Put the milk into a big pot and heat just to a boil.
Add vinegar, slowly as it creates some foam.
This will separate the curds from the whey (watch out for the spider;-)
Spoon the curds into a cheese cloth in a strainer and place a pot on top to squeeze out the excess water. Do this for as long as you want to get the consistency you like. 20 minutes is a good starting point. That is it. 

If you want a step-by-step with pictures check out wikihow
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Paneer-%28Indian-Cheese%29

Making the paneer.

So once the paneer was ready it was time to make some fish cakes. The ingredients are


6 oz filet of cooked salmon (a can would work just as well)
1/2 cup fresh panner
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp minced red onion (I used yellow onion)
1/2 cup chick pea flour
1 Tbsp coriander powder
pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp grape seed oil (I used olive oil)


Mash the salmon and the paneer in a bowl. Add yogurt, onion, flour and spices. Mix and then form into patties about 2 inches in diameter. Fry in the oil over medium to high heat for 2-3 minutes. 


The ingredients for the chutney are


1 cup chopped gala apples
1/4 cup dried figs, roughly chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed (I used cinnamon)
2 cups water

Mix everything into a pot and bring to a bowl. Turn down and simmer for 30 minutes. Let this cool and then puree. 


Mark's thoughts: This sounded like it would be so yummy but in the end is was not. The chutney was fine but the fish cakes were not good. I am not sure why maybe it was the yellow onion or the chick pea flour. 

Jamie's thoughts: Bland oddly gritty not that good although they looked good.

Paneer fish cakes with apple and fig chutney and some quinoa.