Paneer stuffed mushrooms

       This time I will prepare something different, something which will feel us more passionate about food. I prepare so many paneer recipes, but this time we will see some stuffed item which will be a combination of Paneer and Mushroom. This is little time consuming and be careful in every step.

Ingredients:

250 gm crumbled paneer

6 large white mushrooms

1 finely chopped green chili
2 tbsp finely chopped onions
2 tbsp finely chopped green bell pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped red bell pepper
4 tbsp finely chopped mushroom stems

2 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder

Salt (as per taste)

Preparation method:

Preparing the mushrooms -
1) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C
2) Gently pull out the stems of the mushrooms. Do not discard the stems as they will be used in the stuffing. Use the pointed part of a knife to hollow it out properly.
3) Use the back side of a spoon to gently scoop out the gills (the brown spongy part) from the hollow part of the mushrooms.
4) Use a damp paper towel to wipe the outside as well as the insides of the mushrooms. Do not wash them.
5)  Lightly brush the mushrooms with oil and place them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil with the hollowed sides facing up.
6) Bake for 6-7 mins, turning once in between, until you see water oozing out of the mushrooms.
7) Remove from oven and cool.

Making the stuffing -
1) Finely chop half the mushroom stems.
2) Heat oil in a pan. Saute the onions till translucent. Add the green chilies, chopped mushroom stems, chopped green and red bell peppers and saute briefly.
3) Add the crumbled paneer, garam masala powder, red chili powder and salt. Saute for a few seconds. Don't worry if the mixture looks a bit dry. Even after preparing the mushrooms they will release water.

Assembling -
1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees C

2) Stuff the paneer mixture into the prepared mushrooms. Brush the tops with some oil.
3) Bake for 6-8 minutes till the mushrooms are a bit tender and the filling is heated thoroughly.

Note: The most time consuming part of this recipe was cleaning the mushrooms. One has to be very gentle while wiping and scooping out the gills in order to avoid breaking the mushrooms. I think it might be a good idea to prepare and fill out the mushrooms beforehand and store them in the refrigerator. At dinner time they can simply be baked.