Foodspotting Brings the Game Changers Into High Tech Featuring Herb Crusted Paneer with Indian Risotto

Herb Crusted Paneer with Risotto from 

Carvers, Inn at Big White as seen on Foodspotting

One of my favourite past times on a cool evening is to sit curled up by the fireplace with a good cookbook. It is a valid form of reading that I know you will understand with plenty of dreaming and planning involved.  These days there are two criteria for adding a cookbook to my collection. It has to be filled with mouthwatering photographs and it must be a good read. If my daughter and her friends were sitting next to me they would whip out their iPhones and enjoy on-line versions of the same. There comes a time when you just have to give up the feel and smell of a good book in your hands and Foodspotting indulges those passions. 


Welcome to this century. By collecting 1 million photos in two years, Foodspotting has proved that some people really do want to share what they had for lunch other than on Twitter or Facebook. Today, the latest Internet food craze starts with the camera on your iPhone and the food on your plate. 


Foodspotting is an application and website that allows users to post and discover local restaurant dish recommendations through photographs. lf you order an item that looks tasty, you share it on the social network. Foodspotting allows  your fellow diners to update and share on-the-spot reviews and photos of every restaurant they hit. That information becomes accessible to everyone.


Alexa Andrzejewski returned to San Francisco from a vacation to Japan with an idea. She met Ted Grubb at a happy hour who is a tech start-up veteran programmer who advised her to steer her 20th-Century project into the smart phone era. The idea soon morphed into a photo-sharing location-aware app that amplified a phenomenon they'd already observed happening. "People love to photograph their food, and share their great meals with friends," Alexa says. "So we put a name on that phenomenon... Foodspotting."

They added New York media darling Soraya Darabi, a former social media manager for The New York Times and current digital strategist for ABC News, to their founder roster, and scored $3 million in angel funding.

Currently, Foodspotting is developing partnerships with companies, such as The Travel Channel and Zagat, which uses Foodspotting photos on its website and has compiled guides.

Our group began this journey of chronicling recipes from the Gourmet Live's list of 50 Women Game Changers back in June. The end is drawing near as we have reached #49 on the list!! Whether you agree or disagree with the authors chosen fifty on the list of 50 Women Game Changers and their order it has been an enjoyable and creative outlet to cook from the masters and those we admire with a group of dedicated ladies. There have even been a few successful bloggers on "the list". We have checked out books from the library, borrowed cookbooks from friends, surfed the Internet and browsed our own cookbook collections seeking that one recipe that will highlight that weeks outstanding woman. This group has been spearheaded by my favourite well-travelled blogger Mary of One Perfect Bite who invited bloggers to travel along on this culinary journey throughout the year.

What have we been up to with our 49th Game Changer in Food.....

Mary of One Perfect Bite - Phillipes French Dip Sandwich
Val of More Than Burnt Toast - Herb Crusted Paneer with Risotto
Susan of The Spice Garden - Lobster Macaroni and Cheese
Heather of Girlichef - Angelo's Greek Skillet
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette at Jeanette's Healthy Living - Cha Cha Bowl
Kathleen Van Bruinisse at Bake Away with Me - Watermelon Tomato Salad
Linda of There and Back Again - Grilled Cheese Sandwich from the Mirth Café in Lawrence, KS, 
Barbara of Moveable Feasts - Gingerbread Trifle from Cafe Maxx in Pompano Beach
Kathleen of Gonna Want Seconds
Nancy of Picadillo -Cuban Sandwich from Latin American Restaurant in West Miami.
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits - Taboulleh
Veronica of My Catholic Kitchen - Breakfast Ice Cream
Claudia of Journey of an Italian Cook - Caramelized Red Onions and Goat Cheese Bruschetta from Bar La Grassa in Minneapolis
Alyce of More Time at The Table - Barbecued Chicken Pizza
Jill at Saucy Cooks - Chef Jennifer Jasinski's Lemon Mascarpone-Stuffed Dates
Sarah at Everything in the Kitchen Sink -  Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake from Good Stuff Eater


Although there are no recipes from one of our final Women Game Changers it was easy to whip out the iPhone and graze through the Foodspotting app for restaurants in my area. A dish that caught my eye was from Carvers a restaurant at Inn at Big White one of our local ski resorts. I contacted the restaurant and they were happy to divulge the recipe but it did not arrive in time for this segment. When in doubt I turned once again to the Internet and developed my own version of the recipe.


I have always been a huge fan of risotto. I love the unctuous, creamy texture, the slight crunch of the al dente rice and the huge depth of flavour that this way of cooking rice provides. It works seductively with any number of different flavour combinations, including spices. The delicate flavour of the paneer is beautifully enhanced by the risotto, without overpowering it. I found this recipe for risotto that had those complex Indian flavours on Sugar Street Review. The risotto has a wonderful creaminess with a bit of heat from the ginger and the chili powder with a subtle and complex combination of spices.


**Herb Crusted Paneer with Indian Risotto **

• 75 g risotto rice
• 75 g basmati rice
• 25 g butter
• 1 medium onion
• 2 tablespoons ginger, crushed into a paste
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 900 ml stock
• Good glug of white wine
• 6 cloves
• 10 green cardamom pods
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• Good pinch turmeric for colour
• Pinch of hot chilli powder
• 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes with the juice strained
• Sprinkling of kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• Salt to taste
• 2 sea bass fillets (about 150g each), marinated in olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper for about half an hour
• Good knob of butter
• 1 package of paneer
• 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (use the recipe below)

In a shallow bowl combine the gram masala and the breadcrumbs. Slice the paneer lengthwise. Dip each slice into breadcrumb mixture and see aside. 


Melt the butter on a gentle heat and then add the whole spices. Add the onions and soften, then add ginger, garlic and ground spices and cook for another few minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to a gentle simmer. When the garlic smell has started to mellow, add the rice, turn the heat up quite high and stir, coating the grains in the butter, spices and onions. Continue to cook for a good two or three minutes, stirring to make sure that it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. Then, add the wine, continuing to stir until all the liquid has almost evaporated. Then, add the stock, a ladle at a time; again, stirring continuously. Each ladle should be added after most of the liquid has been either absorbed or evaporated, although at no point should the risotto be dry. Just before all the stock is finished or the rice is cooked (it should be al dente. In my experience these two events generally occur concurrently), add the chopped tomatoes. The finally stirring process should be really vigorous as this will create the most unctuous texture.

When the risotto is finished, melt some more butter into a hot frying pan and, when it starts to foam, add the herb crusted paneer. After about three minutes, flip them over and cook for another two minutes or so.  Plate up the risotto onto plates, sprinkle over a small handful of the kasoori methi, and place the paneer on top.


**Garam Masala**


1 cup coriander seeds
3/4 cup cumin seeds
1/4 cup dried hot red pepper flakes
1 -1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
3 cardamon pods
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1 1-inch piece cinnamon stick


Preheat the oven to 350F.


 In a shallow baking pan roast coriander and cumin seeds in middle of oven for 5 minutes, or until fragrant. In a bowl combine roasted seeds and remaining ingredients and in batches in a clean coffee/spice grinder grind sides to a powder. 


Masala keeps in an airtight container for 6 months.


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