Tangy Paneer Bell pepper

Dear Friends,

Since i have become a vegetarian, i'm running short of vegetables here in Islamabad and this summer has been quite worse. Ofcourse i'm the panner lover  and those bell peppers in my fridge  were glaring at me as it had been quite a few days since i had bought those , so here i came up with this tangy paneer and bell pepper  gravy

Ingredients

Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomato - 3 medium sized
Paneer - 200 gms
Bell peppers - 2 medium sized
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tspn
Kasoori methi(dried fenugreek leaves ) - 2 tspns
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
Cloves - 1 no
Cardomom - 1 no
turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
Kashmiri mirch - 1/2 tspn
Chettinad masala - 1 1/2  tspn
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tbspn
Coriander leaves - chopped for garnish

Method

• I made these paneer at home , i have used milk to make paneer in case you want to know the  method pls click (although this version i had used milk powder, but the underlying method remains the same) here 
• heat little oil in a non stick pan and gently toast the paneer adding turmeric powder to it
• when the paneer has begun to slightly brown remove ans transfer to a plate
• add remaining oil and toss in the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and then kasoori methi and then add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a min
• puree the onions and tomatoes together and add it and keep sauting till becomes devoid of the raw smell now toss in the diced bell peppers and keep sauting
• when it becomes dry add little water and add the kashmiri mirch and the chettinad masala , add little more water, just enough to make it little saucy when the bell peppers have been cooked toss the paneer stir for few mins and remove from flame check salt
• add water to your desired consistency.
• enjoy with hot rotis or parathas

                                             

Sending these to Celebrate Olympic Games guest hosted by priya and initiated by jagruthi

and to Dish It Out-Paneer/Tofu & Bellpepper guest hosted by Usha,event by Vardhini.

Channa Batura / chick peas curry

Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated (source :wikipedia)

When i got engaged my office colleague sent me an email containing a recipe PDF..
I had neatly printed it out and filed it. This came in handy during my trial times as i was zero in cooking .. i have tried this several times and this has always been a super duper hit at my place..
I'm not sure as to whether this is Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe.. but the taste is unbeatable !

For Bhatura
Ingredients

2 cups plain flour (maida)
2 tbsp. curds
2 tbsp. butter or oil
1/2 tsp. soda bicarb
salt to taste
Milk to knead dough
oil to deep fry

Method

• Sieve together flour, salt and soda.
• Add and mix in curds and oil.
• Add enough milk to knead into a soft pliable dough.
• Cover with a wet cloth.
• Keep aside for 5-6 hours. Make sure the cloth does not dry up, or wet again.
• Knead dough again. Take fistful of dough. Roll into 1/4" thick 5" diameter round. Fry in hot oil.
• Turning only once. Till very light golden in colour. Repeat for all. Serve hot with hot channa and
• slices of onions and lemon.

For Channa

Ingredients

1 cup kabuli channa soaked overnight
1 large tomato
2 large onions
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped coriander
1 tsp. ginger grated
1 tsp. garlic crushed
1 lemon (juice extracted)
2 tbsp. oil, 1 tbsp. ghee
1 tsp. tea leaves (tied into a pouch in a
small piece of clean muslin cloth)
4 green chillies slit
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cumin seeds

Dry masalas

1 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 tsp. each cinnamon - clove powder,
turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. each garam masala, pepper powder
salt to taste

Method for Channa

• Put the soaked, washed channa in a cooked with enough water, tea pouch and bay leaves.
• Pressure cook till done. (approx. 6-7 whistles).
• Cool about 5 tbsp. channa for grinding.
• In a mixie, blend together 1/2 tomato, 1 onion, cooled channa and 1/2 tbsp. coriander. Keep aside.
• Chop remaining tomatoes and onions fine.
• Heat oil in a large skillet.
• Add cumin seeds to splutter.
• Add ginger-garlic and fry for a minute.
• Add chopped tomatoes, onion and fry till tender.
• Add channa-paste, fry further 3-4 minutes.
• Add all dry masala except cinnamon-clove powder.
• Stir and fry till oil separates. Add drained channa and 2 cup water which was drained from channa.
• Stir and bring to boil.
• Simmer for 7-8 minutes till gravy thickens.
• Take in serving dish.
• Heat ghee in a small sauce pan.
• Add the chillies and cinnamon-clove powder.
• Add chopped coriander and pour hot over the channa.
• Squeeze lemon over channa.
• Stir in seasoning gently.

Making time :- 30 mins (excluding pressure cooking)

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Maavathal kulambu (sun dried mangoes curry)

Dear friends

This dish has been my all time favourite.. its super tangy with lots of tamarind and sun dried mango.. but you can adjust it according to your taste..
Usually the raw mangoes are cut into pieces with lots of salt and are left in a container for few days
then they are dried in the sun for a couple of days until they become really dry..usually my grand mom makes these , but the poor mangoes gets eaten up by me and cousins before it reaches grand mom...the lucky survivors are used by her in the curries..
these mangoes were sent to me by my grand mom ( she managed to save them as we were not around :-) ....)
here is a picture of the sun dried mangoes



Ingredients

Sun dried mangoes - 6 to 7
shallots - 10
tamarind - size of lemon ( i make this dish very tangy so adjust the tamarind as per taste)
curry powder (kulambu milagai thool)- 2 tbspn ( substitute by chilli powder and coriander powder 1:2)
salt - as per taste ( be careful as the mangoes have lots of salt in it)
methi seeds- 1/4 tspn
cumin seeds - 1/4 tspn
curry leaves - 1 stalk
garlic pods - 6
sesame oil - 2 tbspn

Method

• soak the tamarind and the mangoes separately in hot water
• heat sesame oil in a deep bottomed pan and add the methi seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to splutter
• then add the curry leaves and then add the crushed garlic pods, you can sense the aroma at his stage
  
• add the shallots which are chopped lengthwise and saute till turns golden brown
• at this stage add the curry powder and saute for a min or two
  
• gently squeeze the tamarind and add only the tamarind water
  
• then add the sun dried mangoes and wait for a while then check for salt
• simmer it till the gravy turns semi thick
• when done remove it and enjoy with rice and a vegetable kootu
  

Sending these to Mango Mela hosted by srivalli of cooking 4 all seasons

Idiyappam / string hoppers/Rice noodles

Idiyappam or string hoppers has been one of my favorite dishes since my childhood.. my appetite becomes never ending when i start eating this dish ! LOL
Idiyappam is also known as Rice noodles only that it is very thin. Its been a long time since i made this at home.. today i gave myself a treat !
i made idiyappam in 3 different ways today. lets jump start on to the recipes


Method for Idiyappam

• boil water thoroughly
• take about 2 to 3 cups of rice flour,i have used the store bought rice flour, alternatively rice flour can also be roasted at home at very medium flame for few mins
• add salt to the rice flour and about 1 tbspn of oil and pour in the hot water to form a soft dough ( i used a slotted spoon while kneading the dough, the water being very hot)
  
• fill the dough on to a idiyappam presser and squeeze it on to the idli trays and steam it for a couple of minutes
• when done allow it to cool and remove them
  

Coconut & sugar

• The Idiyappam can be had with grated coconut and sugar
• Just crumble the idiyappam and mix the desired amount of sugar and coconut
  

Savory lemon

• heat some oil in a pan add mustard seeds , urad dal and channa dal
• add in dry red chillies and curry leaves
  
• squeeze about half a lemon and add turmeric powder and salt
• crumble the required amount of idiyappam and and to this and garnish with coriander leaves

Kurma


Ingredients

cinnamon - 1/2 inch
cloves- 2
fennel seeds- 1 tspn
poppy seeds- 1 tspn
ginger garlic paste- 1/4 tspn
onion- 1
tomato- 3
grated coconut(fresh)- 1/2 cup
chilli powder- 1/2 tspn
garam masala- 1/4 tspn
coriander powder - 1 tspn
curry leaves- 1 stalk
coriander leaves - 5 to 6 leaves
salt - acc to taste
oil - 1 tbspn

Method

• Heat oil and add the cinnamon and clove
• add the finely chopped onions and saute them till they turn golden brown
• add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a min or two
• add the finely chopped tomatoes
• you can also add vegetables of your choice like potatoes and cauliflower ..
• add the chilli powder,turmeric powder, coriander powder,garam masala and salt
• mean while grind the fennel seeds,poppy seeds and grated coconut to a fine paste
  
• add this paste and keep sauting
  
• pour in sufficient amount of water and bring to a boil
• garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy with the idiyappam.
  

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I am sending this post to
monthly mingle- ravishing rice guest hosted by edible garden
Creator of Monthly mingle - meeta
also sending this to EFM June - Breakfast series
also sending this to show me ur breakfast hosted by divya of dilse

Spring Onion stir fry

Last week i had gone to my friend's place for lunch and she had made this dish , looking at it I had thought it was some spinach until i tasted . It tasted delicious. Got the recipe from her and sharing it with u all here...

Ingredients

spring onions - 4 bunch
onion - 1 small
garlic - 1 clove
cumin seeds- 1/4 tspn
chilli powder- 1/4 tspn
gram flour - 1 1/2 tbspn
oil - 1 tbspn
salt - acc to taste

Method

• heat a wok and add oil and splutter the cumin seeds and add the finely chopped garlic and saute for a second and the add the finely chopped onion and keep sauteing until golden brown
• finely chop the spring onions and add in at this stage and keep sauteing and chilli powder and salt until the raw smell goes and the spring onions are almost done
  
• now add in the gram flour and saute it till you obtain a scrambled texture.
• its that simple ! enjoy it with roti or with rice and dal
  

I'm sending this to SWC - cooking with greens hosted by creative saga

sending this also to show me your breakfast hosted by divya of dil se

Kathirikai kadasal (brinjal curry)

This is a recipe of my grandmother and it can be made very quickly
i tend to make when i run out of time and want to fix a quick lunch/dinner.
here goes the recipe


Ingredients

Brinjal - 3 nos
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 2 (small)
Dry red chilli - 1
mustard seeds - 1/4 tspn
curry leaves- 2 stalks
salt- according to taste
turmeric powder- 1/4 tspn
oil- 1 tspn


Method

• cube the brinjal and boil them in sufficient water along with turmeric for 7 mins and then drain the brinjal and keep aside
  
• heat oil in a pan and add the dry red chilli and and then the dized onions and saute for a while and then add the cubed tomatoes and saute until it is softened
• let the mixture cool and then add this along with brinjal in a mixie and grind for 2 mins
• season it along with mustard and curry leaves and enjoy with rice
  

Shahi Paneer

Making paneer

Ingredients

milk powder - 4 tbspns(heaps)
water - 1 big glass
vinegar - 1 tbspn

Paneer is an Indian cheese n tastes yummy..
i usually prefer to make paneer with full cream milk but since i cant find any good full cream milk here in Africa ...i have used the nestle milk powder .

• take 4 tbspns(heaps) of milk powder in a boiling pan and add a big glass of water and mix it thorougly so that there are no heaps
• now heat this milk until it begins to boil ..at this stage add one tbspn of vinegar and after few secs switch off flame . the result will look like the pic below - the paneer n the water wud've separated
• filter this and spread the paneer on a plate..
• cover the paneer with damp cloth and a place a heavy vessel filled with water and let it set for a min of 3 - 4 hrs.. i usually leave it for 6-7 hrs. then cut into pieces and freeze it..

Ingredients for shahi paneer

Onion - 2 big ones
Tomato - 1 big one
Cloves - 6 nos
Cardamom - 6 nos
Whipped Cream - 20 cl
Paneer - 2 cups
Cashew nuts - few nos(optional)
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tspn
Coriander powder - 1 tspn
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
Garam masala - 1/2 tspn
Oil - 2 tbspn

Method

• leave the paneer at room temperature atleast 2 - 3 hrs before preparing...so that it is soft
• now grind the onions n tomatoes to a fine paste n set aside
• heat 1 1/2 tbspn oil in a pan and add the cloves n cardamom n let it splutter and then add the ground onion tomato paste.
• keep stirring for a while n then leave it till the water from the paste gets dried . this will take around 20 mins...this step is very important as this gets rid of the raw smell from the onion-toamto pste
  
• when the onion- tomato begins to stick then add 1/2 tbspn of oil n keep stirring
• after few mins add the dry masala(Coriander powder, kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric,garam masala n salt acc to taste)
• saute this for a min or 2 and then add the whipped cream to this and keep stirring for 3 mins and then add the paneer cubes ...make sure that the paneer is coated evenly with the paste n care shud be taken not to break the paneer cubes.
• switch off from flame and transfer to another dish.
• garnish with cashew nuts (optional)... here i have not used cashew nuts for taste preferences
  
• serve with hot parathas or roti

Sambar

Well i started my cooking with my husband's help.
It was my husband who taught me to make sambar and yes it is really yummy
Naveen i hope it is helpful for you. Try it , it is a Bachelor's recipe( ha ha ha ).

Ingredients

Onions - 1 big size or Small onions - 10 nos
Tomato - 2 big ones
Toor dal - 150 gms
Vegetables - Carrot/Chow Chow/Raddish/Drumstick/Beans/Capsicum
Curry leaves - a bunch
Coriander - a bunch(chopped)
Mustard - 1 tspn
Urad dal - 1 tspn
Fenugreek - 1/2 tspn
Asafoetida - 1/2 tspn
Tamarind - size of the lemon
Turmeric Powder - 1 tspn
Sambar Powder - 2 tbspn


Method

• Soak the dal for abt 30 mins and pressure cook it with turmeric powder(also can be done without soaking)
• Boil the tamarind with water for 2 mins n set aside
  
• In a kadai add oil and then add mustard , urad and fenugreek and allow it to splutter
• Then add curry leaves and asafoetida and saute it for few secnds
• Then add Onions slit length wise and saute it till little brown
• Then add the cubed vegetables and saute it for 3 to 4 mins
• Saute it with the cut tomatoes
  
• Add the tamarind juice and the cooked dal
• Then add salt and sambar powder
• wait till it boils well
• Garnish with coriander
• Serve with steamed rice
  

Potato Fry

Ingredients

Potato - 1 medium size
mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn
urad dal - 1/2 tspn
Oil- 1 tbspn
Chilli powder - 1 tspn
Coriander powder- 1 tspn
Salt - acc to taste


Method


Slice the potato to oval shape n keep it aside
Pour oil in a frying pan
and when the oil is hot add mustard seeds n urad dal.
wait for few seconds and when the mustard seeds splutter
add the sliced potatoes n let it fry for some time say 5 mins, then add chilli powder , coriander powder n needed salt... the saute it for 5 to 6 mins. there you go simple potato fry is ready
relish it with sambar rice or chappathi