Paneer Masala

Paneer is a fresh cheese commonly used in South Asian cuisines. To prepare paneer, lemon juice or vinegar is added to boiling milk which separates milk solids (curd) from whey.
Below is a simple recipe of paneer. The steps to make paneer masala is quite simple and easy.

Ingredients

200gms Paneer, cut into cubes

2 Cloves

1 small stick of Cinnamon

½ tsp Ginger, chopped

2 cloves of Garlic, chopped

1 Onion, chopped

2 Green bell peppers, chopped

1 Tomato, chopped

1 cup of Tomato puree

½ tsp Red Chili Powder

½ tsp Coriander Powder

¼ tsp Turmeric

6 tsp Oil

Salt

Procedure

• In a skillet, heat 4 tsp of oil, add panner and sauté them until it turns to golden brown. Then transfer panner into a separate dish and set aside
• In the same skillet, heat 2 tsp of oil, add cloves, cinnamon, ginger and garlic. Sauté for few seconds and then add onions. when onions turn transparent add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes
• Now add tomato puree, and dry ingredients- turmeric, red chili powder and coriander powder. Stir well  and cook for 4-6 minutes
• Add green bell pepper and adjust salt to taste. Stir well and cook for a minute (don’t overcook bell pepper. It tastes better when they are crunchy)
• Finally add paneer. Cover the skillet and cook for 2 minutes
• Serve hot and garnish with onion rings and chopped cilantro

Beetroot Chapathi

I created this recipe when I was bored of eating regular chapathis. The main intention to formulate this recipe is to make it look unusual and funky, and that’s when I taught of making “Beetroot chapathi”. The recipe follows same as regular chapathi , except  that this one has one additional ingredient, that is beetroot.

Additionally, if you can also include other ingredients like ajwain, ground chilli paste, coriander or fenugreek leaves… to add more flavours, robustness and texture to chapathi.

Ingredients

1 Beetroot, Chopped

2 cups of wheat Flour

Water as required

½ tsp Salt

2 tsp Oil

Procedure

Cook beetroot in pressure cooker up to one whistle and puree them

In a mixing bowl, add beetroot puree, salt and 1 tsp of oil. Stir well. Then add wheat flour and knead the dough.

Add Luke warm water if required.  Finally, add remaining  1 tsp of oil and knead the dough again until the dough is very soft. Allow it to rest for 1 hour

Divide the dough into 8 to 10 parts and then roll each piece into a ball. In a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll out each ball of dough in a circular shape

Fry the chapathis on a hot griddle or a flat pan until it turns golden brown on both the sides. Smear oil if required else you can leave it dry.

Serve hot.

Moong dal Beans Poriyal

This recipe is another version of beans poriyal. It is a South Indian delicacy served as side dish or accompaniments with rice and dal.

Ingredients

½ kg Beans, chopped into 1 cm

1 cup Moong dal

4 Green Chilies

½ inch Ginger

½ tsp Mustard seeds

½ tsp Cumin seeds

Pinch of Asafoetida or Hing

1/4^th tsp of turmeric powder

1/4^th cup Grated Coconut or Desiccated coconut

1 string of Curry leaves

Small bunch of Cilantro, chopped

2 tsp oil

Salt

Procedure

Soak moong dal for 2-3 hours. Cook beans and moong dal along with 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker up to one whistle. Drain excess water (don’t throw away water. You can always use it for kneading dough,or  can be used as vegetable stock in making soups or cooking pilaf…)

Coarsely grind chili and ginger.

In a hot skillet, heat 2 tsp of oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to crackle add ground chili and ginger paste, curry leaves, asafetida and turmeric powder. Sauté for a minute in low heat

Add moong dal, beans, grated coconut, salt and cilantro. Mix well. Cook for 2 minutes in medium high setting and turn of flame

Dahi Murg Masala

This is an easy recipe for meat lovers. The interesting part of this recipe is cohesiveness of chicken cooked along with yogurt and spice mix and it works very well. Yogurt(called as ‘dahi’ in hindi) is commonly used as  a base for marinating any kind of meat  and mostly used in tandoori recipes, this is because it helps to retain moisture and also tenderizes the meat.

In this signature recipe, I have treated yogurt as the integral element, because it gives creamy texture to the sauce as well as it acts as binding agent that binds chicken and spices and hence the name “DAHI MURG MASALA”.

Ingredients

1kg chicken, thigh portion only

1 tsp. Ginger paste

1 tsp. Garlic paste

1 tsp. Red chili powder

½ tsp. Coriander powder

1/4^th tsp. Cumin powder

½ tsp. Pepper powder

½ tsp. Turmeric powder

2 tsp. Lemon Juice

2 Onions, chopped lengthwise

1 cup yogurt

Handful of Cilantro, chopped

4 tsp Oil

Salt

Procedure

In a large bowl, mix Chicken with ginger and garlic paste, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, lemon juice and salt. Marinade for 1 hour

In a large skillet, heat oil, add marinated chicken into hot oil. Fry in medium high for 15 minutes and it leaves out excess water from the meat.  Now add yogurt and chopped cilantro and cook for about 30 minutes in medium low until it forms thick gravy and oil separates out from the masala. Add water if more gravy is needed

Sautéed Mushrooms

This is a a simple, quick and easy recipe  which can be served as a side dish for lunch or dinner. This recipe can also be used as appetizers for parties. I created this recipe using minimum ingredients. 

Preparation Time: 10- 15 minutes            

Ingredients

200 gms Mushrooms, either diced or without diced

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1/4^th tsp Lemon Zest                                                 

1/4^th tsp Pepper powder

Salt

Procedure

Make vinaigrette of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, pepper powder and salt.  Whisk these ingredients well

Pour the vinaigrette over mushrooms and mix well

Marinate mushrooms for 10 – 15 minutes

Options:

1. In a hot pan, roast mushrooms until all the water evaporates
2. (or) Stir fry Mushrooms on a hot griddle
3. (or)  Thread Mushrooms on skewers and grill them 

Mushroom Butter Masala

Butter masala is one of the popular recipes in North Indian cuisine.  The main ingredients for this recipe are tomatoes and cashew nuts and it forms the base for the gravy. And off course, the other key ingredient is “BUTTER” and lots of BUTTER!!  The most common butter masalas are “Paneer Butter Masala” or “Chicken Butter Masala”. The procedure for this recipe is a little different from how it is normally prepared.

The recipe below uses less butter then usually used. Adding more butter and cashew nuts gives a rich texture to the sauce. The other key ingredient is kasturi methi (dried fenugreek leaves), which is a flavor enhancer to butter masala.

                                                

Ingredients

250 gms Mushrooms
6 Garlic Cloves
2 Tomato, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Cloves

2 tsp  Chili powder
1 tsp  Garam masala
1 tsp  Coriander seed powder
1 tsp Salt
Pinch of kasturi methi
Butter
Oil
Coriander leaves
Cashew nut

Procedure

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a skillet; add cinnamon stick, cloves, garlic, onions, tomatoes, cashew nut. Cook until they get a saucy texture. Add water is required

Make a smooth paste of onion and tomato mixture

In the same skillet, heat 2tsp. of oil and pour onion and tomato mixture. Then add chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder and crushed kasturi methi leaves (or dried fenugreek leaves) and 1 tsp. of butter

Stir well and cook for 12- 15 min in medium –low heat until oil separates out from rest of the ingredients

Add a cup of water and diced mushrooms. Stir well and cook in medium –high for 2 minutes

Garnish with coriander leaves, chopped cashew nuts

Serve hot with any Indian Bread or ghee rice

Baingan Bartha

Baingan Bartha is a North Indian specialty made with charred eggplant and other spices. Each state in India have their own recipe for Baingan Bhartha. The recipe below is my version of "BAINGAN BHARTHA". Normally green peppers are not added in this recipe, but I have added it in to make this dish look colorful and appetizing. The secret ingredient to this recipe is sugar or jaggery. Adding sugar and tomatoes to this recipe gives it sweet and sour taste.

Total Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 Egg plant

1 Onion, chopped lengthwise

1 Green bell pepper, chopped lengthwise

2 Tomatoes, diced

½  tsp of grated Ginger

½ tsp  of Mustard seeds

½ tsp Cumin Seeds

½ tsp Chili powder

½ tsp Coriander powder

1/4^th tsp Turmeric

1/4^th tsp Garam Masala

2 tsp Oil

½ tsp sugar (or) jaggery

Salt

Procedure

Roast Eggplant in low flame on a stop top. Cook until all skin in charred.

Allow eggplant to cool and then peel off and discard the skin and dice the eggplant

Pour 2 tsp. of oil in a hot skillet; add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds start to crackle, add grated ginger, onions and green bell pepper. Sautee for 2 minutes

Now add dry ingredients- turmeric, chili powder, and coriander powder and garam masala. Saute for few seconds and then add diced tomatoes. Stir well and add water if required. Close the lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes

When rest of the vegetables is cooked, add chopped eggplant, salt and sugar. Stir well and cook for 3-4 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and red onions

Serve hot with any kind of Indian bread or with rice