Mutter Paneer

1 For curry paste, heat canola oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add ginger, garlic, and onion. Cook until fragrant and beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato, almonds, cashews, and garam masala. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until thickened. Puree in a blender or with a food processor. Set aside.

2 Cut paneer into 1/2-inch cubes. Heat ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add paneer and cook, stirring frequently, until sides are golden. Remove from skillet and set aside.

3 In a large saucepan, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add asafoetida, and cook for 1 minute. Add the peas and the curry paste prepared earlier. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until fragrant.

4 Add the cooked paneer, salt, red chili powder, coriander, water, milk, and honey. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with steamed basmati rice, chopped cilantro leaves, and raita or plain yogurt.

Curry Paste 

1 For curry paste, heat canola oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add ginger, garlic, and onion. Cook until fragrant and beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato, almonds, cashews, and garam masala. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until thickened. Puree in a blender or with a food processor. Set aside.

2 Cut paneer into 1/2-inch cubes. Heat ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add paneer and cook, stirring frequently, until sides are golden. Remove from skillet and set aside.

3 In a large saucepan, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add asafoetida, and cook for 1 minute. Add the peas and the curry paste prepared earlier. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until fragrant.

4 Add the cooked paneer, salt, red chili powder, coriander, water, milk, and honey. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with steamed basmati rice, chopped cilantro leaves, and raita or plain yogurt.

Flavors of India: The Korat Family

Gulab Korat carefully stages her kitchen to properly demonstrate the making of mutter paneer: the cheese is diced and golden, the rice cooked and spiced, and the recipe is recorded in tablespoon measurements on the white board beside the stove. She has a doctorate in molecular biology, a background that shows as strongly in her cooking as her Indian heritage.

She and her husband, Ashish Korat, have been in Northwest Arkansas for eight years. He works at the University of Arkansas as a web programmer, and Gulab now spends her time at home with their young daughter, Shweta. Their kitchen is full of cookware brought from visits home to India. Stainless steel tins, beautiful in their simplicity, contain the spices Gulab reaches for as she cooks all of her family's meals. She proudly displays the jar containing her mother's secret curry blend, which includes more than 35 spices. Gulab looks forward to the day that the recipe is passed on to her, which she will in turn pass along to Shweta.

They find familiar foods from home at the Indian market, but they also have expanded their palates to include new flavors such as zucchini and tofu. But, unlike her heat-loving husband, Gulab emphasizes that she prefers her meals flavorful, not spicy. And those flavors abound in the curries she stirs from scratch.

Her day is measured in the kitchen: flatbreads for breakfast, curries for lunch, and dal for dinner. Neither Ashish nor Gulab find the predictability of their meals boring; rather, this routine tastes of home. And for those rare occasions when they opt to eat out, Gulab prefers Mexican food. Because it's flavorful, she declares with a grin.

Shweta is in the middle of it all, her ankle bracelets jingling as she runs about. Her toddler delight is in this place she calls home, with the scent of curry simmering on the stovetop.