Paneer Bhurji

Paneer Bhurji is another variation of Paneer recipe .It is a quick, easy and a tasty to prepare dish at home.Its is similar to egg burji but instead of eggs Paneer is used in the recipe.Following are the ingredients

Paneer
1 finely chopped Onion
1 finely chopped Tomato
finely chopped Green chillies according to taste
1/2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
1/4 tbsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp Chilly powder
1/4 tbsp Cumin seeds
1/4 tbsp Garam Masala
finely chopped cilantro
salt to taste

In a Pan heat refined oil and add cumin seeds.Add onion and green chilly and saute till onion changes color. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes and saute for a minute till it is cooked .Add all the spices into the pan and saute for 1-2 minute.

Crumble the paneer over the mixer. Combine them well together.

Add fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with naan/parantah or bread toast. You can add a tbsp of butter to enhance taste.

Kheer or Rice Pudding

This is the most common sweet dish in North India and known as “Payasum” in South India.It is a sweet dish of rice cooked with milk, raisins ,cardamom and garnished with almonds.The recipe is very simple and easy to make…Here goes the recipe..

5 cups full cream milk

4-5 saffron threads

1/4 cup rice – washed

1/2 cup sugar

10-12 pistachios

4 green cardamoms

10-12 almonds – blanched, shredded

Soak rice in water for an hour.

Drain the rice and place it in a large, heavy saucepan with the milk over low heat.Add Saffron thread and cook for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Add sugar and cardamom and cook 20 minutes more.

Remove from the heat. Serve topped with almonds and pistachios.

Food Presentation

A beautiful food presentation can trigger ones appetite as much as the aroma of well cooked food. I hope you will enjoy this video as much I liked

Paneer

Another simple yet authentic paneer recipe. In north India if a vegetarian person comes for dinner then paneer dish is a must in the meenu. So everyone prepares according to their own taste and do little bit of variation here and there and make that as their signature dish. I am sharing another variation of paneer that I prepare during lunch or dinner.I think it is close to Paneer Jalfrazie dish found in most of Indian resturants

3 tbsps vegetable oil
2 lbs paneer (cut into cubes)
2 onions (roughly chopped)
2 green bell peppers (cut into strips)
1 tbsp ginger (minced fresh)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp fennel seed (ground)
2 tomatoes ( chopped)
1 tbsp ketchup
salt (taste)
water
fresh cilantro (chopped)

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the paneer in the hot oil until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the paneer to a plate lined with paper towels, reserving the oil in the skillet.

Add oil to the skillet if reqd. Fry the onions, bell peppers, ginger, and garlic in the hot oil until the onions are browned.

Add  garam masala, turmeric, and fennel seeds. Cook and stir until fragrant.

Add tomatoes, ketchup, and salt into the mixture and continue to cook until oil separates from the gravy and tomatoes are tender.

Pour the water into the skillet and stir.

Add the paneer to the skillet.

Cook until the gravy is thick. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

Delhi Food

Dosa /Idli Batter

I love south indian dishes. I have already posted another version of quick idli that is Sooji idli. But today I am posting traditional recipe.Idli is a savory cake of south Indian origin popular throughout India. The cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body.

4 cups idli rice (U can take any rice but it is better to take idli rice)
1 cup whole urad daal
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp salt

Clean the Rice and urad daal in cold water .Add fenugreek seeds and soak it for 5-6 hours.
Then grind the mixture .Use as little water as possible to grind the batter to a smooth consistency.
Once you see a nice consistency place it in a vessel that has some space for fermentation.
Preheat the over at 200 F for 10- 15 minutes. Turn off and place the vessel in the rack. After 5-6 hours, remove the vessel, pre-heat again for 10 minutes and put back for fermentation.

Once it is fermented you are ready to prepare idli as shown in 3rd image

Garlic Mushrooms

GARLIC MUSHROOMS tastes amazing and can be added to any meal as an entrée or even as a sidedish.Following are the ingredients

350 gm whole mushrooms: they should be fresh and very clean.

Some olive oil

1 Tbsp shredded spring onions

2 tsp chopped garlic

3 shredded green chillies

1 Tbsp thick tomato puree

1 Tbsp cream

2 Tbsp herbs mix (mix parsley , thyme and oregano)

You take your mushrooms and you pull the stalks away, then you rinse then in water and take all the dirt out of them.

Heat olive oil and add spring onions, garlic and chillies.Saute it for few seconds then add mushrooms to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in tomato puree and cream. Season well and finish with herbs.

Serve hot garlic mushrooms.

Homemade Yogurt

Preparing yogurt at home is not a big deal in India. Setting the yogurt is a daily chore in Northern India. My mom use  to boil milk and add a spoonful of the day’s leftover yogurt to it before going to bed. The next day we have a perfectly creamy yogurt. So, I also followed the same steps but I never got same consistency that my mom use to get. I went to my friend’s place for dinner and she suggested Yogourmet culture. I decided to give it a shot and went to the Wholefoods . There were a couple of yogurt starters. As soon as I saw a packet of Yogourmet, I jumped on to it 🙂

5 cups whole milk
1 Yogourmet culture (5gm)

 

1) Boil the milk either on stove or microwave it.(If you are microwaving it will take around 8-10 min).

2)Let it cool down and based on  your judgement add yogourmet to warm milk(not to boiling milk). For me warm milk means – when i microwave a cup of milk for 1 minute 30 seconds.

3)Place it in oven and let it sit it for 6-7 hours.

4)If after 6-7 hours you don’t see any results warm the oven for 5 minutes and see the results after an hour.

 

 

Chicken

This recipe is from grandmom’s book. She use to cook for our family and we all use to love this.

chicken

1/2 cup Ghee

Sliced onions

3-4 tsp crushed garlic

5-6 tsp coriander powder

3 tsp red chilli powder

Salt – to taste

2-3 cinnamon

4-5 green cardamoms

1-2 black cardamoms

3-4 cloves

1/2 tsp jeera

400-500 gm dahi

1/2 tsp garam masala

Heat ghee in a deep dish, brown the onions, remove from dish and keep aside. Add the chicken, garlic, coriander powder, salt and red chilli powder while stirring.

Now add all the other masalas, mix well and keep it covered for some time.
While it is cooking crush the crispy browned onions and add them to the chicken along with the dahi.
Cover and cook on slow fire for about 20 minutes.
Now add the garam masala and serve it with naan or rice.

Simple Paneeer Recipe

Few friends were coming home tonight . So, I prepared Rajmah ,gobi aloo , rice and raita.But my husband invited one more couple and told me to prepare one paneer dish . I was in a no mood to spend more time in kitchen . But with half-heartedly I went into kitchen and started looking for onions and realized I am out of it. So , I prepared this dish that does not requires onions and can be prepared in 10 minutes!!

Paneer cubes

Tomatoes 3

11-15 Soaked almonds

Ginger

Green Chillies

Salt

Coriander powder

Cumin

Oil

Bay leaves (optional)

asafoetida (optional)

Black pepper as per taste

1/4 tbsp sugar

1/4 tbsp turmeric

1. Puree tomatoes, green chili and ginger. Keep aside.
2. Add oil in a pan and add one cumin seed. If it cracks immediately, the oil is ready.Add cumin seeds , bay leaves and asafoetida  to the oil . Stir for a few seconds.
3. Add tomato puree, coriander powder,turmeric and black pepper . Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes.
4. Grind almonds with 1 cup of water and make a fine paste.Check the puree to verify that oil is separated.
5. Add sugar and almonds paste. Cook for another minute then add salt and bring to boil.
6. Add paneer and cover the pan. Simmer for a few minutes over medium-low heat, till gravy is slightly thick in consistency.
7. Remove from heat, add garam masala and chopped cilantro. Mix gently, cover the pan and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
8. Serve it with naan or rice.