A recipe which takes you to India via Spain. It's difficult to beat tomatoes cooked in olive oil with aromatics.
Serves4
CourseLunch
Prepare35 mins
Cook5 mins
Total time40 mins
Plusstanding and chilling
Ingredients
2 x 400g cherry vine tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
½ cucumber, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 clove/s garlic, finely chopped
40g crustless sourdough, torn into pieces
1 lime, juice
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp light brown soft sugar
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and crushed into a fine powder
½ tsp chaat masala, plus extra to taste and to sprinkle
1/2 x 25g pack coriander, roughly chopped
For the paneer
1 L whole milk
2 tbsp lemon juice
Method
Begin by making the paneer. Pour the milk into a pan and bring it to
the boil, stirring regularly. Take it off the heat and slowly pour in the
lemon juice, stirring all the time. It should begin to curdle immediately.
Leave to stand for 20 minutes to give the acid time to work and really
separate the curds and whey.
Line a sieve with a large piece of clean muslin and place over a bowl. Pour the milk into the sieve to separate the curds (the solids in the sieve) and whey. Thoroughly rinse the curds in the muslin under
cold running water, then gather the muslin in your hands and squeeze out any excess liquid. Put the muslin in a container and chill until needed.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, red pepper,
onion, cucumber, chilli, garlic, bread and lime juice. Season with salt and mix well. Cover and marinate for 15 minutes in the fridge, then blend in a food processor or blender until as smooth as possible. With the motor still running, slowly drizzle in 3 tbsp oil. Add the sugar, cumin and chaat masala; season with freshly ground pepper. Taste and add more salt or chaat masala if needed. Divide between 4 bowls, then crumble over the paneer. Sprinkle with the coriander and a little chaat masala, then drizzle over the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil before serving.
Cook’s tip
Use the leftover whey in place of milk to make scones and soft biscuits.
