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Friday, July 30, 2010

Mattar Paneer( My Version)


Ingredients:


• 300 gms Paneer
(Cottage cheese)
• 1 bowl Green Peas
• 2 Onions
• 2 Tomato
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• 1 tbsp Poppy Seeds
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Powder
• 1 tsp Ginger-garlic Paste
• 2 Green Chilli
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 Bay Leaf (Tej Patta)
• 2-3 Cloves
• 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 cooking spoon Vegetable oil
• 3/4 Salt to taste
• Green Coriander Leaves (chopped)

Recipe

• Heat vegetable oil in a pan.

• Cut the paneer into small sized cubes.

• Fry them on medium flame until they turn light brown. Occasionally turn the cubes while frying. Take them out. (optional)

• One can boil paneer in a cup of water if one doesn't want fried paneer. Retain the water for future use. Boiling of paneer takes about 2 minutes and it boils just a minute after water gets boiled. Check to see it.

Boil peas in a closed pan with a bowl of water for 30 minutes for it to soften. Otherwise one can also boil it in cooker for 2-3 whistles. Alternatively one can boil peas with masala by adding water by closing pan and cooking for same time period.

• Chop the tomato, onions, and green chilli.

• Make a paste by grinding it in a grinder.

• Heat Oil and saute cumin seeds in it and then add the prepared mixture to it.

• Add Ginger garlic paste, cloves, bay leaf, poppy seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, black pepper powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix them well. And then cook masala for 8-10 minutes till oil separates from the mixture and its done.

• Now add green peas and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes.

• Add sufficient water to make thick gravy. Heat the gravy till it boils. Check the salt and add more if less doing this time.

• Add paneer cubes. Stir the mixture properly and cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes.

• Garnish the dish with chopped coriander leaves.


• Close the lid till serving.

Mattar paneer is ready.


How to make Paneer at home

Ingredients (For 150 gms of paneer)

1 liter whole milk
1/2 lemon or lime- juiced, or 1-3 tsp vinegar
muslin cloth (or anything that's a bit thin)

If you are using 1 Gallon of milk, use juice from one whole lemon

Method

Bring the milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning or sticking.

When it comes to a boil, stir in the acid and cook another 2-3 minutes; in a few minutes, you see small curds floating on top. Wait till they get bigger to form small stone-like granules, about five minutes. The solids will clump together (known as channa or curd) and the remaining liquid will become a thin watery white (known as whey).

Now turn off heat and allow to sit for a few minutes to cool.

Strain through the muslin cloth or one can even strain with a strainer . If one wants to make paneer bhurjia one can let paneer rest in strainer for about 30 minutes and use it. For paneer cubes proceed.

Then fold it in a muslin cloth and let it strain for whole day. When the liquid is mostly drained out, lift the cloth by the corners and twist to squeeze out remaining liquid. You can put the cloth with the paneer in it to sit on a colander over the sink for an hour or so till all excess water drips away. What you get at this stage is cottage cheese.

To make paneer, press the cloth-covered cheese under a 5kg (or anything heavy enough) weight for up to two hours or mash it with heavy pestle to make it thick and shape it and then put it away overnight with this object over it.

This makes the paneer firm and hard. Now you can store it in an airtight box and refrigerate till ready to use. You can even cut it into cubes and store them.

Note: This isn't my mom's recipe but a recipe I got from the internet with alterations by me. I would post mom's recipe of paneer a while later.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Suji Halwa!

Ingredients

Suji(semolina)-2 cups
Besan( Chickpea)- 1 cup
Sugar- 3 cups
Ghee- 2-3 cups
Water- 6 cups
Milk- 1 cup
Malai- 2 tsp
Grated dry cocunut-1
Raisins(kishmish)-10-15
Small cardomon - 6-8 (use seeds)
Chirongi(melon seeds)- handful
Cinnaomon(darchini)-1
Zarda colour-1/4 tsp mixed with milk
Saffron-3-4 strands mixed with milk
Kevda-1 tsp

Recipe

1. Saute suji in a kadai till golden brown and take it out.

2. Add 2 cup ghee in a kadai and add sauted suji and besan to it and do it till its sauted nicely( golden brown in colour) and leaves a smell. Make sure besan does has knots and if it does remove it.

3. Take 1 cup ghee in a pan and add raisin and small cardomon. Once raisins swell immediately add 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to it so raisins dont burn. Then add rest of the sugar and water to it.

4. Cook till sugar gets dissolved and the mixture gets sticky. Add zarda colour, saffron mixed in milk in it.Keep stirring while cooking and check mixture by touching the mixture and see if its sticky.

5. Add sauted suji to it and then add milk, malai to it. Add chirongi, coconut to it. Stir it nicely till its too heavy to stir. It takes 1-2 minutes. Add kevda to it and close lid so that smell remains.

6. Decorate with grated cocunut and serve.

Variation

1 One can also add graded badam(Almond), grated akrot(walnut) and grated kaju(cashew) to it.

Karela Sabzi!


Ingredients

Bitter Gourd- 5-6( cut into small pieces)
Onions-4-5
Panch puran-1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds(Rai)-1/2 tsp
Oil-2 cooking spoon
1 tsp aniseed+1/2 tsp coriander mixture-1 tsp(Sauf dhaniya mix)
Tomotoes-2-3
Tumeric powder-1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder-1 tsp
Green chilly-1-2
Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp
Amchur- 1-1`.5 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp

Recipe

1. Wash the karela and slit them and scrape out the inside and put 1 tsp salt and keep aside to let out water and then remove water.

2. Cut the karela by cutting three lines horizontally and vertically.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add panch and rai in it.

4. Add karela and fry them a bit to remove bitterness and then add onions to it and fry nicely and then add rest of the masala to it and let it cook. Fry it nicely in between and mash the onions and all so it leaves water. It will take around 10-15 minutes. Cook by closing the lid. One can add a teaspoon of water if the mixture is dry and doesn't leave water.

5. Karela is ready to be served.

Variation

1. One can add aam achar masala ( 1 tsp ) or raw mango-1 ( seasonal) instead of aamchur for taste.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Mutter Pulao with Pudina chutney!


Pulao

Ingredients

Basmati Rice-3 cups
Oil-3 cooking spoon
Water-5 -6 cups (5 if 1 cup milk is being added)
Kevda -1 teaspoon(optional)

Masala

Raisins(kishmish)-6-8(optional)
Cumin Seeds(jeera)-1 teaspoon
Black pepper seeds-1 teaspoon
Fennel or aniseed(Sauf)-1/2 teaspoon
Cloves(Laung)-2
Big Cardamon- 1 (Mouth open but seeds not taken out)
Cinnamon(Dalchini)-1
Peas(Mutter)-500 grams
Green chilly-1-2
Ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon(optional)
Onion-1 (Thinly sliced)
Milk-1/2-1 cup(optional)
Malai-1-2 teaspoon(optional)
Garlic-1 small piece(cut)
Mint(Pudina) leaves-8-10
Salt-2 teaspoon
Water-2-3 teaspoon

Recipe

1. Wash rice and keep aside

2. Put oil in a big pan for cooking and let it heat.

3. Put onions and fry till golden brown and then remove and keep in a plate.

4. Add raisins and let it swell and then add jeera and rest of the masala to it along with peas. Add 2 teaspoon water for peas and fry nicely.

5. Onces peas are nicely fried and masala done add water for rice to it and let it boil.

6. Add rice once water is boiled and mix nicely and then let it soak some water. Once it soaks water, add milk and malai along with cut pudina leaves and mix fried onions with kevda and put in it.

7. Close the lid and let it cook till done and all water it soaked. It will take 3-5 minutes.

8. Open after dum, mix it nicely and serve.


Variation- Bhagarey or Jeera rice


1. One can make bhagarey (tadka) rice instead of pulao for parties too.

2. Take a spoon of oil and add kishmish and 1 teaspoon zeera to it and let it saute.

3. Add water to it let it boil and then add salt (according to rice), laung to it along with rice and cook like normal rice.

Note: One can always add some ghee instead of oil in rice recipe to make it more tasteful!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Tehri!


Ingredients

Oil-3 cooking spoon
Ghee-1 teaspoon(for taste-optional)
Basmati Rice-3 cups
Water-5-6 cups
Milk-1 cup
/If we use 1 cup milk you can use just 5 cup water/

Masala

Onion-1
Ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon
Tomotoes-2
Potatoes-2
Green chilly-1-2
Small peas (Mattar)-1 cup (optional)
Cumin Seeds(Jeera)-1 teaspoon
Black pepper-1 teaspoon
Cloves (laung)-3-4
Big Cardomon-2 (Open and then put)
Indian bay leaf (tej patta)-1
Cinnamon (darchinni)-1
Red chilly powder- 2 teaspoon
Tumeric powder-1 teaspoon
Salt-2 teaspoon
Fennel Seeds (sauf)-1/2-1 teaspoon
Fresh Mint (pudina) leaves-1 teaspoon

Recipe:-

1. Wash the rice nicely and strain them and keep aside.

2. Take oil in a big pan and heat it. Add onion and fry them till golden brown and remove it.

3. Add cumin seeds, black pepper and laung and let it sputter and then add ginger garlic paste.

4. Add tomotoes and then rest of the masala to it. Add thinly cut potatoes and matar to it. Add some water for masala to cook and potatoes to become soft.

5. Cook this masala till potatoes and matar are almost done and then add water to it. Add ghee during this time. Bring water to boil and cook before adding rice.

6. Add rice and then mix it once so it doesnt break. Let rice soak water into it.

7. Check salt at this time and add if less and add milk along with cut pudina leaves to it.

8. Close the lid and let rice cook on low flame for about 5 minutes till water has evaporated.

9. Let the tehri to dum for a minute or two and then sprinkle fried onion on it and mix it before serving.

The north indian tehri is ready. Have it with raita, onions and green chutney.

Variation

1.One can make just matar tehri or just aloo biryani differently instead of mixing both ingredients in 1 too

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Chatpate 'chote' Baigan!

Ingredients

Small baigan( baby eggplant)- 10-12
Onions- 2-3
Tomotoes-4-5
Green chilly-1-2
Panch Phoran-1/2tsp
Rai(Mustard seeds)-1/2 tsp
Tumeric powder-1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder(Dhaniya)-2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp
Aam chur(Mango powder)-1 tsp
Salt-1 tsp
Water- 3-4 cups
Fresh coriander
Oil-2 cooking spoon

Recipe:-

1. Wash the small baigan and remove the leaf parts near the tails.

2. Cut the baigan into 4 parts and put in water to avoid it going black.

3. Take oil in a pan and put panch and rai in it. Add onions, green chilly and ginger garlic paste and fry the onions to become brown.

4. Add tomotoes, tumeric powder, red chilly powder, Dhaniya powder and salt to it and fry the masala nicely by adding few drops of water till the smell of masala goes and it leaves out oil.

5. Add the baigan to the masala and mix it nicely and add aam chur and fry it nicely for few minutes(2-5)

6. Add water to the baigan. Add enough water to cover above the baigan. Baigan soakes off all water so even if you add more it will turn into a dry curry.

7. Cover the pan and allow baigan to cook till it becomes soft and tender. Turn the baigan once so it gets cooked from all side. It takes about 30 minutes for them to cook.

8. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve.

Variation

1. One can make bharwa hyderabadi baigan by taking all ingredients of masala in a mixer and adding graded cocunut and grated khas khas(poppy seeds) to it and then filling baigan with it.
2. Then one can add only zeera in oil and cook them by adding little water.

Egg Bhurji !


Ingredients:-

Egg-1
Tomoto- 1/2 finely chopped
Onions -1/2 finely chopped
Garlic- small piece finely chopped
Green chilly-1 finely chopped
Capsicum- 1 piece finely chopped
Milk-1-2 drops
Red chilly powder-a pinch
Dry Pudina powder(mint)-1/2 tsp
Garam masala-1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee- 1 tsp

Recipe:-

1. Beat egg in a bowl and add a bit of salt, red chilly powder, pudina powder and milk to it.

2. Heat ghee in a pan and add all the chopped ingredients along with bit of salt to it. Fry it nicely so its cooked nicely.

3. Add the beaten egg to it and mix and turn it so it gets done into a misture. Keep doing it till the egg is done.

4. Add garam masala just before taking it off and mix it nicely.

5. Garnish it with coriander leaves if you want.

Egg bhurji is ready. Serve it with buttered bread cut into triangle pieces and some sauce in a plate.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Mutton Roast!


Ingredients:-

Marination

Mutton leg (Raan) meat -1-2 Kg
Ginger garlic paste-1-2 tsp
Tumeric powder-1 tsp
Red chilly powder-1 tsp
Raw papaya- 1 small part, peeled and made into a paste.

Boiling

Oil-1 cooking spoon
Water- 1 -2 cups
Salt-1 tsp

Frying

Oil -1 spoon

Lemon juice for serving

Recipe:-

1. Poke the raan with fork in all of the piece in all the four corners and marinate it with all the marination ingredients and leave it overnight.

2. Put the leg mutton and put in a cooker. Let it let out juices. Add oil, water and salt at this time.

3. Let it cook for around 30 minutes for it to become tender.

4. Once the steam goes off, fry the mixture to evaporate all the water that is left in the cooker. Fry it nicely till no water is left.

4. Once done, fry the whole piece on a tawa , turning it so it gets fried in all four corners. Also add lemon juice during this time so lemon taste enters the piece inside.

5. Cut the whole roast into pieces or just cut the pieces to be eaten.

6. Optionally we can fry piece individually in oil and serve.

7. It can be stored in fridge for days and can be eaten without frying too, just cut into round pieces.

Sitaphal(Kaddu) Sabji with Plain Parantha!


Sitaphal Sabzi

Ingredients:-

Sitaphal(Pumpkin) - 1/2-1 kg
Cumin seeds(jeera)- 1 teaspoon
Onions-1-2
Green chilly- 1(optional)
Tumeric powder-1/4 teaspoon
Red chilly powder-1 pinch
Salt-1/4 teaspoon
Oil- 1 cooking spoon
Water-1-2 tablespoon

Recipe:-

1. Wash the sitaphal and peel it nicely and then cutting it into cube shapes.

2. Heat oil in a cooker and add jeera to it.

3. Add onions to it. Adding green chilly is optional and if added don't add red chilly powder.

4. Add sitaphal pieces to it and add tumeric powder, red chilly powder and salt.

5. Mix it nicely and then cover it with a small plate so that it let out water.

6. Once it leaves water add 1 tbsp water and then close lid of cooker.

7. Allow it to cook till it leaves 2-3 whistles and then close it.

8. Once steam is let out of cooker, cook it nicely to strain all remaining water.Also mash the sitaphal during this time.

9. Check for salt and add if needed.


Plain Parantha

Ingredients

Atta (whole wheat flour) - 1 Katori
Ajwain(carom seeds)-1/2 teaspoon
Water - According to need
Oil- 1-2 tbsp
Salt-1 -2 pinch
Dry atta for rolling

Recipe:-

1. Mix atta, ajwain and salt nicely.

2. Knead a hard dough by adding water to it.

3. Leave this dough for 10 minutes or upto 1 hour in the fridge so it hardens.

4. Heat the tawa on high flame and then lower it.

5. Take a portion of dough and make rolls out of it.

6. Then make a round chappatis out of it. Add dry atta if you want.

7. Put some oil and then fold into half so its half moon shaped.

8. Put little more oil and then fold once again to shape it triangle.

9. Roll it a bit more retaining shape. Add dry atta if it sticks.

10. Put the parantha on the tawa and let it let out bubbles.

11. Put some oil on the sides and it it cook till the downside is brown.

12. Then turn it and let it cook nicely.

Serve the paranthas with sitaphal sabzi and its tastes awesome.
If its a refrigerated atta putting oil inside can be avoided.