Chilli Paneer, Veg Fried Rice and Kofta Curry

Chilli Paneer

I love chinese and its been ages since I had it outside. Yeah we had gone for it couple of weeks back but whatever we had ordered wasnt upto the mark and hence didnot count :) Hence yesterday I thought lets give it a shot at home. I have earlier tried these stuff at home as well, but then the taste wasnt authentic. But yesterday I can say I mastered it. So here is the recipe for you.

Ingredients

400gm Paneer

1 Onion

6 Chillies

15 Garlic Cloves

A Pinch of Black Pepper Powder

2 Spoon Dark Soy Sauce

1 Spoon Tomato Ketchup

1 Spoon Corn Flour

2-3 Strands of Spring Onion

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Cut the paneer into medium sized cubes and fry them in oil over medium heat till light gold in color. Keep aside
• In same oil fry onions till translucent.
• Add chopped chillies and garlic and cook till fragranant
• Add black pepper powder and Soy sauce and cook for a minute
• Add paneer cubes and tomato ketchup. Cook for 2-3 minutes
• Mix corn flour in a cup of water and add it to the paneer mixture.
• Add more water if needed and cook the paneer with closed lid for 3 minutes.
• Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve

Notes
Chop the green chillies in slanted fashion for this so that you get the same look and feel that you see in restaurants.
Do not fry paneer till its completely crispy from outside. You want to keep it as soft as possible and yet fry it so that it gets the proper texture.
Also if you are looking for it as starter which is dry, add little less water and cook for some more time if required so that the final result is dry :)

Veg Fried Rice

In Chinese I love Soft noodles. But, I havent yet been able to prepare them of the level of nice chinese restaurant. So most of the time I end up preparing fried rice instead. So here is recipy for the veg fried rice.

Ingredients

2 Cup Rice

1 Onion

1 Cup Cabbage Shredded

1/2 Cup Carrot Shredded

1/2 Cup Muttor

A pinch of Black Pepper Powder

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Cook rice and keep aside
• Heat oil and add chopped onion and shredded carrots. Saute till onions are translucent
• Add and cook till cabbage is done
• Add muttor, black pepper powder and salt and cook for another minute
• Add cooked rice and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes

Notes
Adding carrot at start makes sure that carrot is cooked well as it will take longest time to cook.

Kofta Curry
Whenever we get bottle gourd, ajoy has this demand of Koftas and so yesterday was the day when I obliged and made it for him. Here is the recipe.


Ingredients
4 Cup Grated Bottle Gourd
1.5 Cup Bason
2 Tomatoes
1 Onion
1/2 Spoon Garlic Paste
1 Spoon Jeera
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
1/4 Spoon Garam Masala
1/4 Spoon Aamchur Powder
1/4 Spoon Corriander Powder
Corriander Leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste

Method

• Apply salt to the grated bottle gourd and keep aside for few minutes.
• Squize out water from the bottle gourd and mix bason, 1/2 spoon jeera, 1/2 spoon red chilli powder, garam masala, aamchur powder
• Prepare lemon sized ball out of this mixture and deep fry them in oil over low-medium heat. Keep aside
• Heat little oil in a pan and let the jeera splutter.
• Add the finelly chopped onion and garlic paste and cook till golden brown
• Add turmeric powder, remaining red chilli powder, corriander powder and salt
• Add tomatoes and cook well. Add water and bring to boil. Once the tomatoes are cooked well keep the mixture aside to cool down a bit
• Put the mixture into the mixie and grind to fine paste
• In a pan add this grinded mixture, enough water to make running gravy and koftas and bring to boil
• Garnish with corriander leaves and serve

Notes
I tried to keep the kofta spicy and gravy very less spicy so that one can enjoy koftas rather than gravy. You can vary it to your taste though

Mutton Biryani and Palak Pakoda Kadhi(Spinach Pakoda Curry)

Mutton Biryani

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Its been long time since ajoy had been asking me to prepare mutton biryani. But mutton is not my liking and hence I had been conviniently ignoring it. Then it was that fine day that I wished his grant :) and prepared it. It turned out quite well.

Ingredients

3 Cup Rice

1/2 Kg Mutton Pieces

7 Onions

2 Tomatoes

2 Potatoes

1/2 Cup Curd

1/4 Cup Milk

A Handful of Cashews

5 Almonds

1 Ginger Stick

10-15 Garlic Cloves

1 Spoon Garam Masala

2 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

A Pinch of Turmeric Powder

1 Spoon Corriander Seeds

1 Spoon Poppy Seeds

1.5 Spoon Black Pepper

1/2 Spoon Jeera

1 Spoon Saunf

1 Spoon Dry Coconut

8 Cloves

5 Cinnamon

2 Bay Leaves

5-6 Cardamom

A Pinch of Saffron

1/2 Cup Ghee

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Grind ginger and garlic to paste and keep aside.
• Wash mutton and add curd, turmeric powder, 1 spoon of red chilli powder, half of garlic ginger paste. Mix well and store it in the fridge for atleast 8 hours
• Next Day, Wash the rice and keep it in warm water for half an hour. Remove the excess water and keep aside
• Boil potatoes side by side, cut them in circular pieces and keep aside.
• Warm the milk and mix safron in it and keep aside.
• Chop around 3 onions into fine pieces and keep aside.
• In a pan heat around a spoon of oil and add the chopped onions. Cook till golden brown and keep aside.
• In same pan, heat another spoon of oil and add Jeera, 3 sticks of cinnamon, 5 cloves, 1 spoon of black pepper, corriander seeds, dry coconut, saunf, poppy seeds and remaining spoon of red chilli powder.
• Once the aroma starts coming out of this mixture, add the chopped golden brown mixture of onions in it.
• Add remaining ginger garlic paste to it and mix well and keep aside.
• Grind almonds, the cashews(8-10) that were kept aside and the above fried masala with little water to form paste. Keep aside
• Cut the 4 onions into thin slices and fry it in the ghee and keep aside.
• Keep aside around 8-10 cashews and fry remaining and keep aside.
• Keep aside around a spoon of ghee and transfer remaining ghee to the pressure cooker
• Add the masala paste that we kept aside to this ghee and fry till ghee separates from the paste.
• Add mutton pieces that were kept for marination in this with the marination leftover as well. Cook till ghee separates.
• Puree the tomato in the mixer and add it to this cooking mutton.
• Add around 1/4 cup of water and salt to taste and then cook the mixture on pressure.
• When complete pressure builds up, turn the flame to minimum flame and cook for another 10 minutes. And then remove the pressure cooker from the flame and keep aside to cool down.
• In the mean time, Boil around 10 cups of water and add salt to taste, rice and cook till rice is almost done.
• Remove the excess water from the rice and spread it in the plate to let it cool down.
• In a small pan heat a spoon of ghee(that was kept aside) and add remaining 3 cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1/2 spoon black pepper, bay leaves, cardamom. Fry till aroma comes and mix it with the rice and keep aside.
• Now transfer the cooked mutton from pressure cooker to the pan and cook on high flame till it is dry.
• Transfer the excess ghee from this cooked mixture that is now separated into small cup and keep aside.
• Take a pressure cooker(which has good height), Grease it with ghee and arrange the potato discs onto the bottom to cover the bottom completely
• Spread a layer of 1/3 of rice followed by 1/2 of cooked mutton, 1/3 of fried onions, 1/3 of fried cashews.
• Then add next layer of 1/3 rice, followed by another layer of remaining cooked mutton, 1/3 of fried onions, 1/3 of fried cashews
• Layer remaining rice on the top, followed by remaining onions and cashews.
• With the back side of the cooking spoon make 5-6 wholes in this layer biryani till bottom
• Spread the ghee separated out from cooked mutton stored earlier evenly over here. Also spread the milk-safron mixture evenly.
• Close the cooker with the lid, heat tawa and put this cooker on top of it. Cook on low flame for 15 minutes
• Serve hot :)

Notes

While serving, insert the spoon till bottom and get all layers in each servings to get the best taste for the serving :)

Palak Pakoda Kadhi(Spinach Pakoda Curry)

Since I was small, My Dad always tells mom that in his company canteen he gets amazing Kadhi Bhaji(Curry Pakoda). And there use to always an attempt from mom to get the same taste and even then dad would be more inclined towards his canteen bhaji. So as kids we normally had this item almost twice a week or so giving another reason that this type of curry wont give cough unlike butter milk. So when I thought of preparing this, I decided to use Green vegetable for pakodas for more nutrition value of the curry. And here I got amazing item in my favourite list.

Ingredients

3 Cup Palak Pakodas

6 Cup Butter Milk

A Pinch of Turmeric Powder

1/4 Spoon of Mustard

A Pinch of Asafoetida

3 Spoon Sugar

1 Spoon Ghee

Salt to taste

Method

• In the butter milk, mix sugar and salt to taste and keep aside.
• Heat the ghee in a small pan and let the mustard splutter in it.
• Add Asafoetida, turmeric powder and take off from the flame
• In the buttermilk add this ghee mixture and mix well.
• While serving, add the pakodas to the above curry and serve.

Notes

You can additionally add Curry leaves in the ghee to give it that flavour but I perferred not to so that I can relish palak and the curry taste rather than the curry taste only.

Tofu Burger and Masala Daal

Tofu Burger

I was very inclined to prepare the burger at home but didnt want to try any meat burger. So thought of preparing paneer one. But then the indian grocerry store was little far from my place so thought to try it on tofu. The burger turned out quite well and the mildness of tofu vanished in the spcies and other things that I added.

Ingredients

4 Burger Buns

100g Tofu

2 Onions

1 Tomato

1 Fresh Red Chilli

4 Cheese Slices

1/2 Cup Lettuce

Ranch Dressing

Salt and Pepper

Oil

Method

• Cut the Tofu into cubes
• Heat oil and keep the flame on low.
• Add tofu pieces and cook till light brown in colour.
• Add onion slices, red chilli into it and cook till onions are slight brown in colour
• Add salt and pepper and stir well. Divide the mixture into 4 portions
• On each bun keep the cheese slice and add the portion of the cooked tofu mixture.
• Spread the lettuce, tomato Slice, couple of drops of tomato ketchup and one circle of the ranch dressing.
• Close with the upper portion of the bun and serve.

Notes
I cooked tofu on very light heat which helped me keep it soft. The Spicy Chilli, ranch dressing helped in supressing the mildness of Tofu.

Masala Daal
This Spicy daal was something I just experimented out when I was in pune. It turned out great. Actually mom dad loved it and then when I came here even ajoy liked it :) So thought of posting the recipe


Ingredients
3 Cup Tur Daal
1 Onion
1 Tomato
6-7 Garlic cloves
1/4 Spoon Mustard
1/4 Spoon Jeera
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 Spoon Jeera Powder
1/2 Spoon Corriander Powder
1/4 Spoon Garam Masala
Corriander Leaves for Garnishing
Butter cubes
Salt to taste
Ghee

Method

• Cook tur daal with 1 cup water in the cooker.
• Heat the oil and let the mustard and jeera splutter in it
• Add finely chopped onions, garlic pieces and fry till onions turn translucent.
• Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, jeera powder, corriander powder and garam masala and mix well.
• Add tomato and cook till tomato is completely done.
• Add in cooked tur daal, salt and mix well. Cook for couple of minutes with constant stirring
• Add enough water for getting desired consistency to the daal and bring it to the boil.
• Garnish with corriander leaves.
• While serving serve with little butter cubes on top.

Notes
While cooking daal I dont mix too much of water, that way the cooked daal when added to masala completely soaks the taste and aroma.

Set Dosa And Khatkhate

Set Dosa

My love for set dosa started the very first day i ate it in bangalore. I just love this fluffy thick dosa served in set of three medium sized ones. Finally I did some research for recipe. Most of them were using soda which i didnt want to use. Also found out that they use poha in it. So adapted those ingredients to the my dosa recipe. Outcome was awesome :) Infact I made it like 2 weeks back and before I could click photos, they were over :) And already been asked for repeat. So this week I prepared it again and first thing I did was click the snap :)

Ingredients

2 Cup Rice

1 Cup Idly Rawa

3/4 Cup Udid Daal

1 Cup Poha

1 Spoon Methi Seeds

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Soak Rice, Idly rawa, udid daal and methi seeds seperately in the morning.
• In the evening soak poha for an hour
• Grind the rice to fine paste.
• Mix udid daal and Methi seeds and grind it to fine paste.
• Grind the idly rawa to form fine paste
• Grind Poha as well to the paste.
• Mix all these pastes really well and keep in warm place overnight
• Next day morning, add salt and water enough to make free flowing consistency. Mix well.
• Heat tawa on low-medium flame.
• Sprinkle few drops of oil and pour a cup of batter.
• When the one side is one, sprinkle couple of drops on top of the dosa and flip it to cook the other side.
• When the other side too turns light brown, take it out and serve.

Notes
This dosa is normally served with mixed vegetable, but i dont like it at all so instead i served it with peanut-curd chutney without using optional items. It went well.

Khatkhate
I loved this dish a lot since my childhood. Probably then I didn't realise it was the healthiest dish that I loved :D Just like the name says it uses almost everything that's in your fridge :)


Ingredients
1 Cup Beans
1/2 Cup Mutter
2 Drum Sticks
2 Corn Cobs
1 Potato
1 Sweet Potato
1 Raw Banana
1.5 Spoon Tamarind
1/4 Cup Jaggery
1/2 Cup Coconut
1/4 Spoon Corriander Seeds
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
A pinch of Asafoetida
2 Spoon Ghee
Salt to taste

Method

• In a half cup of water add the tamarind and keep aside.
• In a pan, add beans and 4 cups of water and cook over high flame for 5 minutes
• Cut each corn cob into 3 pieces and add the corn cob pieces and another 2 cups of water, Cook for another 5 minutes
• Add drum sticks - cut into pieces, potato cubes, raw banana pieces, pieces of sweet potato and another 2 cups of water. Cook till they are almost done
• Mean time grate coconut, tamarind (with its water that was it soaked in) and corriander seeds adding half cup of water.
• Add it and mutters to the almost done vegetables.
• Add turmeric powder, jaggery, red chilli powder and salt and simmer it.
• In another small pan, add ghee and let the mustard splutter in it.
• Add asafoetida and mix the tadaka with the vegetable.

Notes
You can optionally add 1 cup of pumpkin pieces too, but I couldn't as it wasn't available in the store here.

Coriander Chicken

Friday I when Ajoy asked me to make Chicken Rolls, I made this one for stuffing. I didn't want to make the red gravy so threw in some coriander and spices to go along with it. When he tasted the chicken, he was like this is out of world :) On the other hand, this was such a minor twist to how I cook chicken normally that I didn't even think about clicking photo and putting it as a blog post. My thought was because I made chicken after such a long time, probably he got too excited. But then, when we decided to invite friends for dinner last sunday, he was like you have to make that chicken again. After making it once again, and he giving same reaction after tasting it, I decided to click photos and may be post it. Now that even friends have same thoughts about the dish, I had to post the recipe :)

Ingredients

1/2 Kg Boneless Chicken

1 Spoon Jeera Powder

1 Spoon Coriander Powder

1/2 Spoon Garam Masala

1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1 Spoon Black Pepper Powder

3-4 Garlic Cloves

1 Spoon Ginger Paste

1 Big Tomato

2 Cup Coriander Leaves

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Marinate the chicken with salt, jeera powder, coriander powder, garam masala, black pepper powder and keep aside for half an hour.
• Heat oil in a pan and add in marinated chicken. Cook on medium high till chicken browns a bit.
• Meanwhile, in mixer mince tomato, garlic and ginger paste together.
• Add in coriander leaves and grind it to fine paste.
• Add it to the chicken, add some salt and cook till it reduces to dry gravy.

Notes

You can use this to make chicken rolls with onion or just it as a side dish with rice or roti. It just goes with anything.

Fish Tawa Fry

Since the time we started bringing Tilapia fillets, I have always grilled them. I am fish lover and its been a while since i had fish curry. Since i am trying to not eat too much coconut, I didnt want to make our traditional fish curry so I came up with this one. Turned out awesome. Reminded me of my favourite fish curry from Nandini restaurant in Bangalore that i use to have frequently around 10 years back.

Ingredients

500gm Fish

1 Big Onion

2 Tomatoes

1 Spoon Tamarind

1/2 Spoon Black Pepper

1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1/2 Spoon Jeera Powder

1/4 Spoon Coriander Powder

1/4 Spoon Garam Masala

1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder

4-5 Garlic cloves

1 Spoon Ginger

Coriander Leaves

Method

• Marinate the fish with 1/4 Spoon Red Chili Powder, Coriander Powder and Salt.
• In mixie, add tamarind, onion and black pepper leaving 6-7 aside. Grind to fine paste. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in tawa and add in fish pieces. Let them cook for a minute.
• Flip the fishes and cook for another minute. Take out of the tawa and keep aside.
• In same oil add in onion paste and saute it till the raw smell from it goes away and you can only smell pepper in it.
• In mean time grind tomatoes, garlic, ginger in mixer and make paste.
• Add tomato paste, jeera powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, remaining black pepper and salt to onion and cook for 5 minutes with constant stirring.
• Add in fish and lightly mix everything together. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Notes

I used cleaned boneless Tilapia fillets each cut into four pieces but you can use any fish in any form but boneless has its own fun :)