Monday, 30 November 2009

Kadai Paneer

Paneer is something we can never do without. Its almost as if we get withdrawal symptoms if we haven't had a Paneer dish in more than 5 or 6 days! So when JFI:Paneer was announced, I was very excited, both to participate and to feast on the round up! But looks like I am just about managing to send in my entry.

This one features in almost all the restaurant menus & I have to admit, is always my preference if asked to choose. One main reason being it goes very light on the cream, even in a restaurant ( Of course this home made version doesn't use any cream at all). Since there is no cream, it tastes quite different from the other Paneer dishes and is a very good refreshing change.

I found this recipe here, and more or less followed it to the letter.

Paneer Kadai

Picture 0771

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2-2.5 cups Paneer cubes
  • 4-5 tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 tblsp oil
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 tblsp Coriander seeds, crushed
  • 1 medium sized onion, chopped
  • 1” Cinnamon stick
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 2 tsp Garlic paste
  • 2 tsp Ginger paste
  • 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves)
  • Fresh Coriander leaves, chopped
  • Salt

Method:

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the red chillies, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and the crushed coriander. Also add in the onion and fry for approx 3-4 min on a medium flame.

Add the ginger paste, garlic paste and red chilli powder and mix well. Sauté for another 2-3 min.

Add the tomatoes and salt and cook till the tomatoes turn soft. Add the paneer and mix gently. Also add the kasuri methi. Add some water if you want the gravy to be thinner.

Cook on low heat for about 5-7 minutes. Add the chopped coriander leaves, mix and turn off the heat.

Serve hot with Roti or as a side dish with Rice.

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My notes: This wasn't exactly like the ones I have had in the restaurants but it was delicious all the same. The gravy was quite watery & if continued to cook, the dish turned out dry. I might try adding some grated onion next time. Also the tomatoey taste was quite strong since the tomatoes are actually being boiled here, reducing the quantity might make a difference.

JFI-Paneer

This is my entry for JFI:Paneer an event originally started by Indira.

Posted by Bhagyashri at 23:12 0 comments
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Sunday, 29 November 2009

Bread Alone with Scones

‘This Book makes me Cook’ will be a regular feature on this blog from this month onwards and I have already started wondering why I had not joined it earlier. First of all as I have mentioned a lot of times earlier, I love reading and in spite of the busy schedule now or earlier when I was working, I have somehow always managed to squeeze in some reading. But most importantly the Book Club gives me an exposure to a lot of good books which otherwise I might not come across.

Take for example, this month’s Bread Alone by Judith Ryan Hendricks. If I had passed this one on the shelf in a library I don't think I would have actually picked it up, but having read it now, I am glad I did.

Its all about ‘Wyn’ who is jolted out of her ‘too good to be true’ comfortable life, which in turn makes her realise that there is more to life than being tied to a single person (her husband in this case). The writing itself was very interesting, changing between past & present tense with ease. The separation from her husband proves to be beneficial to Wyn as she realises her long lost passion for baking bread. Once she has it in her, for baking bread, she is not deterred by various hurdles, the main one being the tough Linda, in the bakery where she takes up work.

The most striking part of the book, for me, was the friendship between Wyn and CM. I completely identified with them and felt fortunate to have experienced a similar kind of relationship with my friends. Its funny how your friends sometimes know you better than yourself and can actually predict how you will react to a certain situation. This was a good read although I would have liked some more ‘action’ in the end.

It looks natural to be making a bread inspired from this book but I settled for Scones. Scones are mentioned on more than two occasions in the book and everytime the vivid description made me want some :) So I decided to make Cherry Scones, following a recipe from the Home Baking Cookbook which is the latest addition to my fast expanding Kitchen bookshelf!

Cherry Scones

Picture 114

Makes 8-10

Ingredients

  • 225 gm (2.25 Cups) Plain Flour
  • a pinch of salt
  • 85 gm (0.4 cups) Butter, chilled
  • 1 Egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tblsp Caster Sugar
  • 3-4 tblsp Glace Cherries, chopped
  • 2-3 tblsp Milk

Method: Pre heat the oven to 220 deg C and grease a baking sheet.

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub the flour & butter between your palms till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Stir in the sugar, cherries and add the beaten egg. Mix along with 2 tblsp of milk, using a spoon to form a soft dough.

Sprinkle some flour onto the work surface and knead the dough very lightly. Roll out very lightly to a thickness of about 2 cm. Using a cookie cutter, cut out 8 rounds and transfer them to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough to form more scones. Brush lightly with milk.

Bake the prepared scones in the pre heated oven for about 8-10 min until well risen and golden. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool and then serve with butter.

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My Notes: This was our breakfast last Saturday and we loved it. The original recipe has Sultanas along with the cherries but I skipped it as GM is not too fond of them. If you want to use them, add about 2 tblsp of Sultanas along with the chopped glace cherries.

Make sure that the rolled out dough is quite thick otherwise you will end up with cookies instead of scones! Exactly what happened to my second batch of dough :)

Posted by Bhagyashri at 22:02 5 comments
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Sunday, 22 November 2009

Recipe Index

Posted by Bhagyashri at 17:56 0 comments
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Recipes - Categories

Cookies, Bars & Scones

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Breads


Cakes & Muffins

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Savoury Bakes

Golden Onion Quiche


Breakfast

RavaDosa

 

Sandwiches & Wraps

 

Snacks & Street food

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Beverages

Chai

 

Starters and Appetisers

 

Rotis etc (Flatbreads)

MethiParantha

Rice Preparations

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Accompaniments to Roti & Rice


Dals (Lentils & Beans)

SimpleLentils

Vegetables

Cabbage

 

Paneer

Picture 086

Others

Picture 018

Chutneys & Raitas

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Jams & Pickles

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Soups & Salads

Picture 008

Sweets & Desserts

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Spice Mix (Masala Powders)

SambharPowder

The Basics

World Cuisine

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Naivedya Series

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Healthy Eating

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Fasting

One Dish meals

5Aug08 087

Others

Posted by Bhagyashri at 17:36 0 comments
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Recipes - Ingredients

Chocolate

 

Coffee

Paneer

 

Coconut

 

Mango

Kairi

 

Dals (Lentils & Beans)

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Curd (Yogurt) &  Buttermilk

 

Besan (Chickpea Flour)

 

Vegetables

ASPARAGUS

Picture 193

AUBERGINE

AVOCADO

BABY CORN

BEETROOT

BROCCOLI

CABBAGE

CARROT

CAULIFLOWER

CLICK-Naturel

FRENCH BEANS

METHI (FENUGREEK)

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OKRA

ONION

PEAS

PEPPER

POTATO

PUMPKIN

RAW BANANA

SPINACH

SWEET CORN

TOMATOES

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Fruits

Posted by Bhagyashri at 16:31 0 comments
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Sunday, 15 November 2009

Gulab Jamun…

…from scratch! Yes, I have wanted to try this out since a long time but every time I made them, it was for an occasion & so I didn't want to take a chance and ended up using the Gits pack. They always turned out fantastic for me, although I have heard from others that there might be problems even there. So making them from scratch was something very daring and I was not prepared to do it until ICC came by.

Turns out that these Gulab Jamuns are also for an occasion, a milestone to be precise. This is my 100th post and what better way to celebrate than with these universally loved Jamuns!

So here they are, Gulab Jamun from scratch, right from making the Khava/Khoya at home. Well, almost. The challenge gave 2 options, either make the Khava/Khoya at home using milk or start with readymade Khava/Khoya. I found a midway. I made the Khoya at home but not with milk but Ricotta Cheese instead as per this recipe.

This recipe has been one of the most useful ones I have come across through blogging. Staying in London, it is quite difficult to find Khoya, so all those recipes having Khoya as one of the ingredients were just buried in a folder. But thanks to this I can make them now! Ricotta Cheese is easily available & as it turns out, this is quite economical too.

Gulab Jamun

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Makes about 25-30 Gulab Jamuns:

For the Khoya

  • 500 gm Ricotta Cheese
  • 1/2 tsp Ghee (Clarified Butter)

For the syrup

  • 2.5 cups Sugar
  • 1.5 Cups Water
  • 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
  • 6-8 Saffron strands
  • 1/2 tsp Rose essence

For the Jamuns

  • 1.5 cups Khoya (The recipe for khoya here, yields the exact amount)
  • 3/4 cup All purpose Flour (Maida)
  • Milk (As reqd, approx 1-2 tblsp)
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • Oil for frying

Method:

To make the Khoya: Take a non stick saucepan & heat the ghee in it. Add the Ricotta cheese and continue to heat this on a low flame. The cheese will appear to be melting in the beginning but will start losing the moisture after some time to get converted into Khoya. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning. The whole procedure will take about 30-40 min.

To make the syrup: Take the sugar in a deep saucepan, add the water and bring to boil while dissolving the sugar. Once it starts boiling, reduce the flame to lowest and add the cardamom powder, Saffron strands and Rose essence (if using). Mix properly & heat on low for another 10 min and then turn off the flame.

To make the Jamuns: Heat the oil for frying. Take the Khoya in a mixing bowl and add the maida and soda. Add milk a few drops at a time to make a soft dough. Make small rounds by taking small amounts of dough and shape them into jamuns, taking care that they turn out with a smooth surface and do not have any cracks on them. For this you might have to press the dough between you palms while shaping them. Fry these Jamuns in the hot oil at a medium-low flame till they turn brown.

Remove and drain them. Then add them to the prepared sugar syrup. Wait for some time for the jamuns to soak up the syrup and then they are ready to be devoured. If they don't get over immediately, store in a closed container. Although the recipe for ICC mentions that they should not be stored in the fridge, I have always kept them in the fridge and never saw any problem. And we do like cold Jamuns :)

Picture 1391 Picture 151

My Notes: This was a fabulous experience. I had a sense of achievement at having attempted & successfully made Gulab Jamuns at home without using any ready made packs! The best part was when GM said they were better than the the ones made with Gits packet! I am sure this is the way I am going to make them from now on, sorry Gits, you have just lost a loyal customer!

Posted by Bhagyashri at 19:55 1 comments
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New Kid on the block

Seriously, she really is a kid, 2.5 yrs old. I might have stiff competition coming up here, right at home!

My daughter not only pretends to cook Pav Bhaji, Pasta, Pizza etc but also demands that her ‘dishes’ be photographed just like her Mom’s ! Have a look..

Picture 1541 

Dont miss the apron :) The DVD player is supposed to be her oven & my oven gloves are always in the living room with her trying to ‘bake’ something!

And why am I putting this on ‘my’ blog? Coz I know one of these days she is going to demand for her ‘dishes’ to be posted on the blog too, so this might just be an introduction for a ‘guest cook’!

Posted by Bhagyashri at 10:48 4 comments
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Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Pumpkin Soup with sweet corn

Getting Inspired is not new to the Hindi film industry but I recently saw a new level of such inspiration when I caught a couple of songs of the yet to be released movie ‘Radio’ starring Himesh Reshammiya. ‘Mann Ka radio’  reminds me of I want You, Savage Garden & the other one ‘Janeman’ seems to be lifted from 'Notting Hill, ‘When you say Nothing at All’, right down to the bench in the park! In fact, if you search for the Hindi songs on Youtube, it mentions the respective English ones in the ‘related videos’ category!I am waiting have a look at the other songs in the movie now!

Coming to the soup now, as I have mentioned earlier, somehow I can not imagine a soup without Tomato in it apart from the sweet corn soup of course. So in that sense this is the first time I have tried some thing other than tomato, it still has sweet corn in it but not in the usual way.

I have vouched for this book earlier, and this soup also comes from the same one. One of the best things about this book are the beautiful pictures which make you want to make them immediately. It also helps that the recipes are quite easy & straight forward. I needed such recipes especially for the soups, since I needed motivation to make it a regular meal in the first place!

 

Pumpkin Soup with Sweet corn

Picture 227

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 3 cups Pumpkin or Butternut Squash, peeled, deseeded & diced
  • 1 cup Sweet Corn kernels
  • 2 tblsp Butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3/4 cup Milk
  • 1.5 cups vegetable stock (or water)
  • Salt & Pepper

Method: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a deep saucepan. Add the onions and cook till it softens, approx 5-6 min.

Add the diced Pumpkin (or butternut squash) along with half the sweet corn, stir well & season with salt & pepper. Cover and cook for sometime, approx 6-8 min.

Add the milk and stock and give it a good stir and bring it to boil. Then, simmer and cook till the pumpkin has cooked through. Keep an eye on the soup while its cooking as it may boil over because of the milk.

Meanwhile pre heat the grill. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and mix with the remaining corn. Season with salt & pepper and keep it under the hot grill to toast, approx 6-8 min.moving the sweet corn halfway through.

Once the soup is cooked, blend it to a puree using a hand blender or a food processor.

Serve the soup hot, topped with the toasted sweet corn.

My Notes: The first experience with a tomato less soup was great. We liked the sweet pumpkin & sweet corn combination. The toasted sweet corn was even better! This soup was filling & delicious.

Posted by Bhagyashri at 18:59 1 comments
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