Shahi Paneer Kofta Masala

You might have noticed that I have been posting a lot of recipes with Paneer and Tofu. We love them so much that these two appear on our table often.Though I wanted to share some other recipe here, I am posting one of my favorite recipe today which is paneer based . This dish has been praised and savored with the same gusto every time I serve it.  

Shahi denotes something rich,creamy and fit for kings. In one word it can be summarized as 'Royal'. Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. Koftas are dumplings. So I guess you would have understood that you are about to be a part of a royal indulgence......

I came up with this recipe a few months ago when I was feeling so bored one afternoon and wanted to cook something different and exotic[That usually happens to me-Boring = go and cook something]. I had to prepare dinner earlier as we had plans to go shopping . A side dish would be the perfect thing to cook ahead and so this dish came up in my mind. It took an hour from start to finish. I had made paneer earlier that day with no idea what to make with it and used it here.

When dinner was served hubby was the first one to taste it and he was literally spell bound. I am not exaggerating here. He loved it so much. Lil angel loved the koftas and MIL made no comments about the gravy. When she came into the kitchen later that night she praised it. She said it was just like the ones served in restaurants and hubby who happened to pass that side peeped in to comment that it tasted better than the restaurant food!!

All those rich and creamy ingredients had worked their magic on the dish and I got praised for it!!!!

I used:

Homemade paneer from ¾ liter milk [ make sure that the whey is completely drained out]
Coarsely ground pistachio nuts – 2 tablespoons
Almonds -10
Khus- khus seeds / Poppy seeds -2 teaspoons
Tomato puree- 1 cup
Onion- 2, sliced
Ginger garlic paste- 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon
Fresh Yogurt -1 cup
Whole spices – cardamom seeds from 2 pods, cloves -2 , cinnamon- a small piece.
Kasuri methi / Dried fenugreek leaves -1 tablespoon
Red chilli powder -1 ½ teaspoons
Coriander powder -1 teaspoon
Cumin powder -1/2 a teaspoon
Salt to taste
Butter -1 tablespoon
Oil to deep fry


1.    Soak khus khus / poppy seeds in the smallest jar of your blender.[It is a lot easier this way than soaking it in a cup and then transferring to the blender jar as half of them get stuck to your finger / spoon / the cup]
2.    Microwave almonds in a cup of water for 2 minutes and when cool remove the skin[and discard] and keep aside[the almonds].
3.    Heat butter in a pan and sauté onion till brown. Cool and grind to a smooth paste.
4.    Grind the almonds along with the soaked khus khus to a fine paste and keep aside.
5.    In a bowl take crumbled paneer and coarsely powdered pistachio and mix well. Make small balls and deep fry in oil till golden brown and keep aside.
6.    Heat a little oil in another pan and add cumin seeds and whole spices.
7.    When the cumin crackles, put in the ginger garlic paste and onion paste. Cook for a minute.
8.    Add the tomato puree, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and mix well.
9.    Add around ½ a cup of water and bring to boil.
10.  Now put in the ground almond-khus-khus[poppy seed] paste and mix well.
11.  Simmer for 5 minutes and add the yogurt.
12.  Adjust consistency by adding water/ milk.Simmer for 10 minutes.
13.  Add the kasuri methi and remove from heat.
14. When you are ready to serve, heat the gravy once again and bring to boil and add the fried koftas.Simmer for a couple of seconds .

Serve with Roti / Chapathi [Griddle cooked Indian flatbreads]

Though the ingredient list and the steps are lengthy, this is a true treat. Served with Chapathi / Roti, every bite is pure bliss.



Bon Appetit...

 

Catch me cooking @ Seduce Your Tastebuds

Tangy Raw Mango Chutney / Maangai Thuvaiyal / Mavinkai Chutney

A couple of months ago when I was still in my hometown,it was raining mangoes.I prefer raw mangoes to the ripe one.I love to smear a little chilli powder and salt on the raw mango and take a bite- I'm in heaven!!When I visited one of my friends house during the mango season,I came home with a bag of my favorite raw mangoes.So some of it went into this chutney.

Mom had once written down this recipe[in her memory] and passed it on to me.A very tasty and tangy chutney that can go with Indian breakfast dishes,served as a dip, or with piping hot steamed rice and a dollop of homemade ghee..Yummm.....



I used:

Grated raw mango - 1 cup
Grated coconut-1/2 cup
Cumin powder-1/2 teaspoon
Chilli powder-1/2 teaspoon
Roasted urad dhal -1 teaspoon[optional]
Tomato-1 small,chopped
Ginger-a small piece
Oil-1 teaspoon
salt to taste

Seasoning:

Oil- 1 teaspoon
Mustard-1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds-1/2 a teaspoon
Curry leaves-a few
Red chilli-1 ,broken into bits

1. Heat a pan with oil and saute tomato,mango,ginger and coconut on medium flame.
2. When the tomato gets mushy add the cumin and chilli powder
3. Mix well and switch off the flame.
4. Cool and grind with salt, roasted urad dhal to a paste adding a little water.
5. Remove the chutney into a serving bowl.
6. Heat a small pan and put in the items under seasoning.When it splutters,pour over chutney.
7. Mix well and serve.

Raw Mango Chutney

Bon Appetit...




Catch me cooking @ Seduce Your Tastebuds

Broccolini, Chickpeas, and Harissa

Harissa is tossed with broccolini and chickpeas, giving this simple pairing of a vegetable and beans a spicy exotic flavor.

Broccolini, a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale, also has flavors reminiscent of asparagus.

Cook trimmed broccolini in boiling salted water for 4 minutes then add a can of rinsed drained chickpeas to the pot for 30 seconds more to warm them through. Drain. Toss with Harissa, olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Finish with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt.

This French brand of Harissa is made with hot chiles, tomato puree, onion, salt, coriander, garlic, cumin, vegetable oil. It has a good balance of heat to the other flavors and spices.

On My Desk

I just had to share these pretty roses from my garden.

• Bright Red/Orange: Wildfire Hybrid Tea Rose


• Yellow: Julia Child Floribunda


• Pink: David Austin Heritage Old English Rose

Like broccolini? Also try spicy broccolini with torn ciabatta croutons here.

Lori Lynn

Taste With The Eyes

where the image is meant to titillate and inspire the cook

Colorful Red Quinoa not so Tabbouleh Salad

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Do you know how much you put in your mouth? It is incredible that calories add up, and if I did not have a consistent work out no wonder I was gaining weight. Since my husband and I have been counting calories we have been working out consistently.
One of the things I have been enjoying is using my juicer. I have been experimenting with different vegetables and only juicing twice a week. This is what I had:

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

On the left are leftover stems from my red kale I used, along with some broccoli stems,ginger, parsley, cabbage and carrots and Oh, some beets as well. It was very delicious and very filling.

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

If you have never juiced before, try it! It is invigorating and gives you a slight punch of energy after drinking it. You can even save the pulp and make muffins with them! I have yet to try it but I will soon.


Another recipe I created this past week was a quinoa salad. I have eaten quinoa before as breakfast cereal or as a side with my veggies but not as a salad. Since I like tabbouleh so much, I decided to start with that idea in mind and go from there.


Did you know that quinoa is a complete protein? It is a complete protein because it has all the essential amino acids to make it so. So this is healthier than wheat or rice. The Incans called it the "mother of all grains, " so why not partake of something they knew was a healthy and needed?


Before you starting cooking, always rinse quinoa before cooking it because it has an outer layer that makes it bitter. Once you wash the quinoa, the flavor, once cooking it, becomes milder. Enjoy this recipe!

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Colorful Red Quinoa not so Tabbouleh Salad


serves 4 small portions or 2 hearty portions


1 cup red quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
5 red radishes, diced
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup yellow pepper,diced
1/2 cup English cucumber, diced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin
3 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil


Wash the 1 cup of quinoa in a colander for several seconds. Add quinoa, water and salt to a small pot and boil for 15 minutes. You will know it is cooked when it becomes soft and you see little white antennas pop from the grain.


Meanwhile, wash all your veggies well and chop and dice them accordingly.


Add all the veggies to a medium glass bowl and toss. In a small bowl mix the red wine vinegar, olive oil and all the spices and blend well. Add the vinagrette to the salad and enjoy.


Will keep for 1 day, but best eaten the same day.

Saim & Okra

It is funny how we gravitate to certain things when we are away from home or thinking of loved ones. My mom loves saim, a type of string bean. For my part, I'd eat it but it is not one of those things that I'd buy regularly. However, whenever I see saim in the market here in Barbados, I almost always buy it, just because it reminds me of home and my mom. She'd always cook it curried with shrimp or beef as it is a bean that stands up to long cooking. I too curried mine but without any meat and cooked it with coconut milk. The coconut milk really enhanced the flavour and gave the bean some body. But then again, everything tastes better with coconut milk, doesn't it? :)

For the curry:

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons curry paste (recipe follows)

Salt to taste

1 lb saim with tips and seams removed; pulled apart
3 cups fresh coconut milk (dilute if using canned coconut milk)


For curry paste:-

• Grind together 2 large cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons chopped onion, hot pepper to taste and 2 - 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro to make a paste.
• Add 1 heaped tablespoon ground garam masala and 1 heaped teaspoon ground turmeric along with a few drops of water to the herb paste and mix together to form a paste (if you have more paste than you need, reserve the excess in an air-tight container for later use).

DIRECTIONS

1. Add oil to pan and heat until hot but not smoking; add curry paste and saute for 1 - 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low because you don't want to burn the spices
2. Season with salt to taste for the entire dish
3. Add saim and toss to coat with sauteed curry paste. Let continue to cook for 3 - 4 minutes, tossing intermittently
4. Turn up heat to high, pour in coconut milk and scrape the bottom of the pan with spoon to release any bits that may have been stuck. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let cook until all the liquid has dried out
5. Serve with rice or roti

Now this second meal is one which I cook at least once a week. I love, love, love okras and cook it weekly. Sometimes, I'd just steam it and have it with my meal.

There are many dal recipes out there so I am not going to post another one here. What I will say is that I sauteed a large onion and three green tomatoes before adding the dal and cooking it all together. The green tomatoes gave a dal a delightfultang and I added a bit of palm sugar to balance it. To temper the dal, I used mustard seeds, whole cumin and sliced garlic.

For the Sauteed Okra:

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 cup diced onions

2 cloves garlic crushed

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1 lb okra, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in pan until hot (until shimmering)
2. Add onions and saute until until translucent
3. Add thyme and garlic and saute for 1 minute
4. Add okra, toss to coat, reduce heat to medium and let cook for 8 - 10 minutes tossing a couple of times
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat
6. Serve with rice, roti, bread etc.

Baigun Bhajas ~Eggplant Fritters~

This is favourite in West Bengal, India, and like many Indian dishes has been readily absorbed by Indians from various states. I am sure there's an authentic version, here's my adaptation.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large brinjals/eggplants, thinly sliced - horizontally

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon coriander powder, I coarsely crush whole coriander seeds using mortar and pestle

1 teaspoon peppercorns, crushed

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon chilly powder or more

1 teaspoon chickpea flour (optional)

oil for frying

Method

1. Mix all the seasoning, and rub well on both sides of the sliced brinjals. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

2. There'll be some liquid in the eggplants so rub in any leftover seasoning and shallow fry on both sides in a medium hot saucepan.

3. Serve hot with a main course - I enjoy eating baigun bhajas with simple rice and dhal.

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts and Radish

This is my first post here. I am going to start off with something simple and nutritious. Brussel sprouts and radishes. Two ingredients I don't go gaga over but I try to include them in my diet in an effort to expand my finicky palate. And who can resist their cutenes, they look so bright and inviting, no?

To remove the dullness of eating raw radishes, I decided to toss them in with the sprouts and saute them in butter with a dash of spices. Here's what you need:

Basics
     1 tbsp Butter or olive oil

Veggies
     1 pound Brussel sprouts
     1/2 pound Radishes
     1 medium onion, finely chopped
     1 or 2 jalapenos, finely chopped

Seasonings
     Grated ginger ~ 2tsp
     Cumin powder (optional)
     Salt
     Pepper

Here's how you make it:

•  Chop the hard end of the sprouts and remove the outer leaves if they are yellow. You could either halve them or quarter them. Chop the radishes to thin slices.
• Heat some olive oil or butter in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add the  the jalapenos and onions and fry till transparent.
• Then add the cut bruseel sprouts and radishes. Keep on medium heat. Cover and cook them in their own sweat till tender (usually 10 mins)
• Season with ginger, cumin powder, salt and pepper to taste. Cook some more (~ 5 mins), tossing gently to not break the brussel sprouts too much.

Variations: You could add a spoon of brown sugar to sweteen it just a tiny bit. This dish can be made with any combination of fresh vegetables.

The sabzi turned out much better than expected and was devoured by my family ravishingly. Interestingly,  the radishes had absorbed the flavors more strongly than the robust brussel sprouts. This dish can be served with rice, roti or rolled up in a pita. Enjoy!