Ajwaini Paneer in Curds Gravy- a health recipe

Ajwain / Carom/ Ova or Bishop’s Weed is a herb that belongs to  parsley family and is a close relative to cumin, dill and caraway. It is largely used in Maharashtra and Gujarat to flavor the vegetarian dishes delicately. It is also added to Paratha, Fritters and Khakra to enhance the taste.

It is of great medicinal use especially in gastric discomforts.

Some other home remedies with Ajwain are (courtesy Tarla Dalal):

If one is bothered by bad breadth, chewing on a mixture of ajwain seeds and fennel seeds (saunf) or suva seeds can act as an effective mouth freshener.

To ease a toothache, gargle with some boiled water to which is added one teaspoon of ground ajwain and a little salt. Repeat the process two to three times a day.

Sore throat and hoarse voice? No problem with ajwain around. Simply add a quarter to half teaspoon of ajwain to some warm milk to make a ready concoction to soothe the throat.

A natural inhaler for easing a cold can be made by crushing a tablespoon of ajwain seeds and tying the powder in a small cloth bundle. As for a cough, all one needs to do is chew a little ajwain and follow this by drinking some hot water.

For bronchitis or asthma, having a teaspoonful of ajwain with hot water every morning and evening will give some relief.

To get rid of Indigestion and flatulence, combine one teaspoon of ajwain with two pinches of salt or with betel leaves. Chew the combination, swallow it and then hear yourself sigh with relief as you get rid of the discomfort.

To enhance appetite, all one needs to do is swallow a teaspoon of ajwain with or without water 3 to 4 times a day.
Ajwain oil can help relieve earache with just one or two drops in the ear.

The oil can also be used to massage legs and knees to get relief from pain if one is suffering from arthritis.

   I decided to use this versatile herb in my cooking especially for it’s effect on gastronomical problems. As my regular readers are aware that my younger one has not been keeping well and he had to get back to regular eating, so to aid in his digestion, I decided to use Ajwain in larger quantities. With the doc’s consent I introduced Cottage Cheese (Paneer) in his diet and I flavoured the Paneer very delicately with Ajwain and Curds, another very important digestive.

I imparted fresh flavors of green coriander, roasted and pounded coriander and cumin seeds to the gravy. This made the curry delicately flavored. I served it very lightly oiled, hot parathas. Gladly, he liked it a lot and grinned after eating the paneer which he ate after a very long time.

Read the ingredients and the method to make this delicately flavored curry.

Ingredients

225gms Paneer/Cottage Cheese cubed

2 onions cubed

200gms thick curds

6-8 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro

2 tsp ajwain

3 garlic pods crushed

1 tsp red chili pwd/ 3-4 green chilies finely chopped

2 tsp each of roasted and pounded cumin and coriander seeds

a pinch of garam masala

and a large pinch of mint powder/pudina

salt to taste

and

oil to cook

Method

Heat oil and add ajwain followed by onions and saute. Add the crushed garlic, cumin, coriander, red chili pwd and mix properly.

Add the paneer and mix gently into the spices and cook. Season with salt. Remove the pan from the fire and add in the beaten curds and mix. Add the chopped cilantro, pudina pwd and garam masala. Let the gravy simmer till the curry nicely coats the paneer.

Serve it hot with hot roti/paratha.

Tip- to make a more creamier and rich gravy, add 2-3 tbsp cashewnut paste/ powder to the curry when curds is added.

I am sending this to Food for seven stages of life- Pregnancy hosted by Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong and Radhika Vasanth of Saurashtra Kitchen, as this health recipe aids in digestion and is loaded with proteins which are a must intake in this period.