Mom’s Paneer Pancakes

If you have ever come to one of the parties hosted by mom, there’s a good chance you have had these paneer pancakes recipe of hers. She has made it countless times, and each time it is appreciated. It is quite an easy recipe. You could use store bought paneer, or like Mom could make the paneer at home and use it for the recipe.

The recipe is so good, that the other day on instagram I had posted a photo of these paneer pancakes on my stories. One of my friends commented on the story that I should try her mom’s recipe for paneer pancakes- its amazing. Turned out my mom had handed her mom this recipe and ever since she too had made it in her kitchen several times.

I don’t know why my mom named them paneer pancakes. I would have named this dish baked paneer crepes, because the batter is more crepe like than pancakes batter. The dish is like a desi version of lasagna and makes an excellent vegetarian addition to your party menu.

The paneer pancakes consist of 3 layers

1. The pancake layer
2. The paneer filling layer
3. The tomato sauce layer

The Pancake Layer

This layer is made from maida and milk mixed to make a thin batter. Keep the batter closer to a crepe batter, with a slightly runny/ pouring consistency. The pancakes are thin, so make sure once you pour the batter on the skillet, you swirl it around to keep it thin. I have not tried this with whole wheat flour yet. In case I do, I will update here. The pancakes can be made ahead and frozen layered between parchment paper. When ready to use, defrost the pancakes and use. Freeze any extra pancakes in the same way.

The Paneer Layer

Mama makes the paneer at home from scratch in this dish. To make paneer, you start with boiling 1 litre milk. Once it starts boiling, reduce flame to achieve a gentle simmer for a minute. Add vinegar or lemon juice to make the milk curdle. Once you see a clear whey, remove the pot from the flame, and drain the curds into a cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth and let hang over the sink for 30 minutes to thicken the curds and make paneer. Since we use crumbled paneer in this dish, your paneer will be ready post the 30 minutes. Once the paneer is ready, you cook it in ghee with onions, green chillies and coriander/dhania. Feel free to adjust to your tastes. You can add vegetables like french beans, carrots, green peas too- but I prefer it only with paneer.

The Tomato Sauce Layer

The sauce layer is made by boiling tomatoes till soft, and then pureeing them. While I use the blender to puree them, mom passes it through the sieve, discarding the any skin. The pureed tomatoes are then cooked with a little sugar, chilli powder till a thick sauce is made, post which a little cream is added. I also add a bit of dried oregano to flavor the sauce. You could fancy the sauce up by cooking it in butter and garlic, but I stick to the original. Also, that means lesser chopping 😉

And that’s it. The next part is the layering and baking of the pancakes, and your dish is ready. The pancakes absorb the sauce while baking to become flavorful and soft, and the paneer filling gives a lovely creamy texture to the baked pancakes.

Mom adapted this recipe for paneer pancakes from a Tarla Dala one. That recipe had vegetables, but she swapped it for paneer, and I think if you are a paneer lover you would love this more. You could of course use vegetables instead.

Homemade pancakes layered with a paneer filling and an easy to make tomato sauce, which is then topped with cheese, and baked to perfection.

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Mom's Paneer Pancakes

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Thin homemade pancakes layered with a paneer filling and an easy to make tomato sauce, which is then topped with cheese, and baked to perfection.

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: dinner, main

Serves: serves 2-3

Ingredients

For the pancakes

• 75 gms maida
• 130-150 ml milk
• 2 tsp melted butter
• pinch baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt

For the tomato sauce

• 500 gms tomatoes
• 50 ml cream
• 1 tsp red chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt, to taste
• ½ tsp dried oregano, or to taste

For the paneer filling

• 250 grams paneer, crumbled (can use homemade- method on blog post)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro/dhania
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ghee

For the assembly

• ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Butter, to grease pan

Instructions

For the pancakes:

1. Mix the ingredients listed under batter to make a thinnish, pouring consistency batter. Leave to sit for 20 minutes. In the meantime you can prepare rest of the ingredients for the dish.
2. After you have left the batter to sit for a while, heat a non stick skillet. Pour the batter (about ¼ cup) and swirl pan to make a 6 inch round pancake. The pancakes shouldn't be thin- more towards crepe thickness than pancake thickness. Cook on medium low heat for 30-40 seconds per side. Repeat for the remaining batter. You can place the cooked pancakes one on top of the other on a plate till ready to assemble. You can also make ahead and freeze them after cooking.

For the tomato sauce:

1. Cut the tomatoes into big pieces. Add 1 tbsp water to a sauce pan, along with the tomatoes and cook covered on low till the tomatoes are soft and mushy. When cooked, take out thick soup by passing through a sieve. Alternately, you can purée the tomatoes in a blender after boiling them without removing the skin- if you have a good blender you will get a smooth puree.
2. In the same sauce pan, add the puréed tomatoes, chilli powder, sugar and salt and boil, partially covered for 10-15 minutes to make a thick sauce on low. Once cooked, add the cream and oregano. Your sauce is ready.

For the paneer filling:

1. In a pan, heat the ghee. Add the onions, and cook till translucent. Add the green chillies, and chilli powder. Mix.
2. Add in the crumbled paneer, coriander and salt. Mix well and take off flame.

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/ 400°F
2. Grease a deep baking dish. (I use a 8 by 5 by 2.5 inch dish).
3. Spread a bit of the sauce on the bottom of the dish.
4. Place a pancake (in case your pancakes are small, use another one to complete the layer).
5. Add about 3-4 tbsp of filling.
6. Spread the sauce over the filling. Place another pancake on top, and repeat layers.
7. End the layers with the pancake on top, spread with the last layer of tomato sauce.
8. Top with grated cheese.
9. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes or till the cheese melts and is golden brown.
10. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
11. Serve hot.

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