Paneer filo pastry pie

It’s been far too hot to cook proper Indian food..but the weather has been perfect for experimenting. Here’s the result – a paneer filo pastry pie!

Sundays are usually perfect for Indian meals given the time they need in the kitchen. This filo pastry pie started out as paneer bhurji on the menu and then morphed into this colourful one dish Sunday lunch which has since found favour with the family.

I started off with the usual ingredients for bhurji –

200 gms paneer, crumbled
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
2 chopped tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped (I used 2 tbsp fried onions, since I had run out of the regular ones)
1 green chilli, chopped

to that I added:

1 red pepper, diced
finely chopped spinach, a couple of handfuls
1.5 tsp of Berbere spice powder (a North African spice mix) but this is easily replaced with the same quantity of cumin-coriander powder

Other info:
-For the pastry case, I used 5-6 sheets of filo pastry.
-The baking dish was an 8″ round cake tin.
– Oven was preheated at Gas mark 5 for 7-10 minutes.

Method:

1. Add the turmeric, salt and 1/4 tsp chilli powder to the crumbled paneer. Toss and keep aside.
2. Saute green chilli, onions in oil. To that add the diced red pepper, finely chopped spinach and finally the tomatoes. On a medium flame, stir fry for about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add in the paneer and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the berbere spice mix.
4. Take the paneer mix off the heat and let cool.
5. Brush the baking dish with melted butter or olive oil.
6. Line the dish with filo sheets also lightly brushed with olive oil.
7. Fill with the paneer mix and fold the sheets over to cover the top and seal it.

8. Place in a pre-heated oven, gas mark 4 for 15 minutes or till top looks crisp and golden.

9. Remove from oven and let it cool. This will make the filo pastry crisper.
10. Cut into wedges and serve.

Goes best with some cool salad and a pitcher of lemonade – perfect for a relaxed summer lunch.