Last week I had been to Shri Mookambika Temple in Kollur, a temple that is situated in the Udupi District of Karnataka which got its name after the Hindu goddess killed the demon Mookasura .
After the temple visit, while i was on my way back to Mangalore, i passed by this restaurant bearing the name "Shetty's lunch home".
The Curiousness within me couldn't hold itself back as i quickly googled about this place, only to find out that this place arguably serves the best made "chicken ghee roast" in the world.

Paneer Ghee Roast

Chicken Ghee Roast is a popular Indian cuisine from the Konkan belt which was invented by a family from the Shetty community in a small town named Kundapur in Karnataka.
Interestingly, the current generation of this family has inherited this secret recipe from thier ancestors and still serves this dish to the rest of the world in a restaurant named "Shetty's Lunch Home" in Kundapur.
Yes, the very same Restaurant i passed by:)

The dish is best served with Neer Dosa, but also goes well with other Indian breads like Sannas,Kulcha,Naan,Chapathi, Phulka and Roti.
Over the years, this recipe has not only moved to the nearby cities like Mangalore, Bangalore and Udupi but also evolved with its vegetarian variants with Mushrooms, Babycorn and Paneer.

What do we need?

For the Paneer Marination

200 grams of Paneer

1 Teaspoon of Ginger Garlic Paste

1/2 Teaspoon of Turmeric Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1/2 Measuring cup Thick Yogurt

For the Ghee Roast Masala

2 Teaspoon of Coriander seeds

1 Teaspoon of Cumin seeds(Jeera)

1/4 teaspoon of Methi Seeds or Fenugreek

1 Bay leaf

3 Cloves

1 small stick or 1/2 inch of Cinnamon

8-9 Dry Red Chilies

1 Small Onion

4 Garlic cloves

1 Teaspoon of Lime Juice

2 Tablespoon Ghee

5 Curry leaves

Optional add on

Mushroom

Baby corn

paneer ghee roast.png

_{Some of the Ingredients}

How do we go about it?

Preparation of the Paneer Marination

We start by placing 200 grams of paneer cubes in a bowl and then add the 1/2 Teaspoon Ginger-Garlic paste, 1/2 Teaspoon of salt,1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder and 1/2 Measuring cup yoghurt before we stir it well.

Now store this mixture in a refrigerator for 1/2 hour to Marinate.

Preparation of the Ghee Roast Masala

While the Paneer is getting marinated, we waste no time by adding the 2 teaspoon coriander seeds,1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/4th teaspoon Fenugreek seeds,1 bay leaf,3 cloves and 1 small stick of cinnamon on a nonstick pan and dry roast them over medium flame for about 2-3 minutes.

Transfer the mixture on to another bowl and I would then add the 8-9 Dry Red Chilies separately on the same pan to repeat the dry roasting over medium flame for about the same time, after which we will transfer the chillies to the bowl that contains the rest of the spices, only to cool down.

We would then transfer the spices to a mixer grinder to grind it coarsely, after which we would add 1 onion(cut into quarters),4 Garlic cloves,1 teaspoon of Lime Juice and a little water to the mix to do the last round of grinding.

Add 2 tablespoon of ghee on a non-stick pan and roast the marinated paneer in it for about 3 minutes, after which we would start seeing the formation paneer stock, transfer the paneer and the paneer stock into 2 separate bowls.

We would then go back to add 1/2 tablespoon of ghee on to the same pan and the roast the paste of spices that we had initially ground for about 3 minutes

Add the paneer, curry leaves and salt(as per your taste) to the pan, keep stirring for another minute.

Lets now bring the paneer stock into the party, stir it for a while and lid it up for about 5 minutes.

Open the lid.

Play the trumpet and drums in the background.

You're ready to go.