How to make Paneer Quesadillas
How to make Paneer Quesadillas? It is an easy recipe. I have limited culinary experience and, if you can call it another country, then Chindian (Indian Chinese) food. I rustle up some mocktails here and a few desserts there that are not Indian sweets or mithai. After all these years of cooking, you might think I am done with learning. No, not at all. Learning is a never-ending process. Whatever I cooked for the kids or the husband used to be relished and polished off. My son is married to a Mexican and Karina, my daughter-in-law is from Guadalajara, Mexico but looks Indian. Everybody accepted her into the family fold with open arms. I am glad that she speaks English or else I would have been struggling with Buenos Dias or Hola and Adios!!
Tortillas
When I am visiting them or when Karina is here, I try my hand at Mexican cuisine. My son, Pratik, is a great cook, and he helps me out most of the time. In India, we kept looking for tortilla flour. Scoured the net for how to procure it here or make it at home. But then they make tortillas with special corn flour called masa harina. Masa harina is a corn flour that is treated with calcium hydroxide or “lime”. This makes it more nutritious by releasing the niacin in the corn, and easier to digest. We tried the ready-made tortillas too available in the supermarkets, but they were not good.
I then made tortillas with basic flour and made enchiladas. The fillings I made with chicken, shrimp or cottage cheese (paneer) which she liked. I became an expert at pancakes, too. My son got a ready mix for pancakes at the supermarket, but Karina preferred the ones that I made ……well Gracias!
How to make Paneer Quesadillas
Thus started my Mexicano cuisine connection! Though I must again say that it can be more Mexindian….. Jajajajaja (instead of hahaha ). The other day I had quesadillas at a restaurant and felt that I could hone them! (Self-praise is ok when nobody else does it, isn’t it?). So, I tried making paneer Quesadillas at home and they turned out perfect. Just toss the paneer in olive oil and add the light spices and yoghurt, fill in the tortillas. Serve with salsa or any dip.
How to make Paneer Quesadillas
Ingredients:
For the dough
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whey (the residue while making paneer or cottage cheese)
2 tbsp yoghurt
Pinch of salt, sugar
Method:
Make the dough with all the ingredients and cover with a damp cloth. Keep aside for an hour. Roll out tortillas and roast them on a griddle. Set aside.
For the filling
100 gm paneer cubed (Cottage cheese)
4 tomatoes blanched and pureed
1 onion chopped fine
A few flakes of garlic
Pinch of oregano, thyme
4 fresh basil leaves
2 jalapenos
½ tsp. chilli powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. cream
1 tsp. Olive oil
Little chopped cilantro
Method:
On a non-stick pan, drizzle a little olive oil and toss the paneer cubes till nice and done. Remove from fire and keep aside.
Take a pan and add a few drops of olive oil just to smear the pan. Once hot, add the chopped onion, garlic and jalapenos. Sauté till pink, now add the blanched, peeled and pureed tomatoes.
Cook the tomatoes till the oil floats on top. Add the tossed Paneer cubes and salt, chilli powder, thyme and oregano. Next, add 1 tbsp cream and remove from fire. Add the cilantro.
You can make the filling of your choice; minced meat, chicken, bacon or shrimp!
Spray some olive oil on a non-stick griddle. Fill the tortillas with the paneer filling. Lightly roast and flip gently. Serve hot with a white sauce, salsa or any dip of your choice.
Are these Paneer Quesadillas to your liking? You can check out the recipes for tomato and avocado salsa.
You can similarly make Butter Chicken.
Baked Paneer Biryani or Baked Cottage Cheese Rice
- For the Dough
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whey the residue while making paneer or cottage cheese
- 2 tbsp yoghurt
- Pinch of salt and sugar
- For the filling
- 100 gms paneer or cottage cheese cubed
- 4 tomatoes blanched and pureed
- 1 onion chopped fine
- Few flakes garlic
- Pinch of oregano thyme
- 4 fresh basil leaves
- 2 no jalapenos
- 1/2 tsp Chilli powder
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp. cream
- 1 tsp. Olive oil
- Sprig Chopped Cilantro
- Method:
- Make the dough with all the ingredients and cover with a damp cloth. Keep aside for an hour. Roll out tortillas and roast them on a griddle. Keep aside.
- Method:
- On a non-stick pan drizzle a little olive oil and toss the paneer cubes till nice and done. Remove from fire and keep aside.
- Take a pan and add a few drops of olive oil just to smear the pan. Once hot add the chopped onion, garlic and jalapenos. Sauté till pink, now add the blanched, peeled and pureed tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes till the oil floats on top. Add the tossed Paneer cubes and salt, chilli powder, thyme and oregano. Add 1tbsp cream and remove from fire. Add the cilantro. You can make the filling of your choice; minced meat, chicken, bacon or shrimp!
- Spray some olive oil on a non-stick griddle. Fill the tortillas with the paneer filling. Lightly roast and flip gently. Serve hot with a white sauce, salsa or any dip of your choice.
- Are these Paneer Quesadillas to your liking? You can check out the recipes for tomato and avocado salsa.
If you have no Tortilla flour then use regular flour.
You can make Quesadillas with filling of your choice.
Thanks for the recipe. I’, definitely going to try this!
My pleasure Shalini..thanks for the appreciation.
Quesadillas are my favorite. Goes best with dinner or breakfast, They look yummy 😉
Thank you Sanjota.
Not a fan of Mexican cuisine still I prefer quesadilla over burritos or enchalidas. I will try it with paneer filling.
Thanks, Vartika…we all have our different tastes…I am a fussy eater and I don’t try most cuisines.
Nice dish. Great Indian – Mexican joint venture. May be you should open a shop. It will give a nice competition of Indo – Chinese cuisines.
Thank u for the suggestion Abhijit…Wonderful idea and I have thought about it many times. I am not good at business and I have no support as I live alone so I cannot take that up.
It’s always great to read such amazing recipes, and the most exciting part is when we have all the ingredients to try one.
Thank u Priyanka..that’s so true. I live in a small city and do not get all the ingredients here and I feel so frustrated sometimes but now we get everything online. But like u said the most exciting part of a new recipe is when u know and have all the ingredients.
The dish looks so yum dear and I am so glad you made it for your daughter in law. I loved the recipe and will surely try it 👌😊, Do concert these recipes into an ebook at the end of the challenge
Thank u so much, Roma…I don’t know how to compile a book and I am travelling from 25th. Can I do it next month?
quesadilla is a complete meal, I love them, and have added in my tiffin post too today. Will surely try this yummy paneer one for sure.
Thank u so much Pragun. It is nice and filling even for kids. My grandson loves them too.
Love these Mexindian paneer quesadillas. They look very tempting, Harjeet. Feel like picking one off my laptop screen!! 😀
That’s so sweet Shilpa…Thank you…..wish I could pack some for u. My bahu rani relishes them but she doesn’t live here.
Delicious recipe and delicious pics. Nice choice and use of Q.
#ContemplationOfaJoker #Jokerophilia
Thanks Manas…Mexican daughter-in-law after all 🙂
We love to eat Mexican food at home. Though enchiladas and tortillas are made often, we’ve almost never tried Quesadillas. I’m going to try your recipe and report back soon 🙂
Thanks Noor….glad u liked them. Do report back how they turned out. This time I went to Mexico I learnt Chillaquillas, Gorditas and Tamales. My DIL’s mom is a great cook while DIL hates to cook.I communicate via Google translate with her mom.