Punjabi tadka: Paneer pasanda

India has long been witness to a number of invasions. Be it the Greeks, Turks, Afghans, French, Portuguese and of course the British are some of the invaders, who plundered the wealth of our nation. Over the centrues these invaders also brought with them, a number of culinary delicacies to share making the Indian cuisine perhaps the most varied cuisine in the entire world.

Mughal cooking is famous for its use of combination of ground masalas giving a unique texture to its food. Mughlai cuisine provides a collection of dishes that are acclaimed all over the world like pulav, kormas, naans, biryanis and many paneer dishes. The gravy is heavy and rich most of the time because of the use of dry fruits, ghee, butter and heavy cream. These ingredients give a silky smooth texture to the sauce or gravy and enhance the taste of the dish.

Paneer pasanda is one such exotic and delectable dish from the Mughal cuisine which will end up making you only want more. Pasanda is a Urdu word which means ‘liking’. This dish is a popular North Indian and Pakistani vegetarian dish, derived from a meal served in the Court of the Moghul Emperors. This dish is rich in protein and low fat making you crave for it over and over again.

In this dish, the paneer is sandwiched with pleasant spices and then cooked in a delicate gravy reflecting the dish’s flavour and blend. Pasanda is a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut milk, and almonds and is heavily seasoned with cumin, kasuri methi and rest. but  milder in comparison to most Indian dishes making it palatable to most westerners. 

Things you would need: For filling: 400 gms of Cottage cheese (Paneer) cut and grated, 18-20 Cashew nuts roasted and coarsely ground, 18-20 raisins, freshly chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chillies, 1 cup maida, 1 cup cornflour

For the gravy: 2 medium onions roughly chopped, 1 inch piece of ginger, 3-4 garlic pods, few coriander leaves, 5-6 Kashmiri Mirch, 1 tbsp poppy seeds paste, 1 tbsp almond paste, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 cloves, an inch of cinnamon, 2 tbsp watermelon seeds,

Oil for shallow frying + 2 tbsp, 1 cup tomato puree, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 tsp sugar, salt to taste

So how do we cook this:

Paneer sandwich: Cut paneer into triangles. Slice the triangle pieces up until the three quarters. Please do not cut in the end. For the stuffing, in a mixing bowl add grated paneer, raisins, freshly chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chillies, roasted cashew nut coarse powder and mix all of them well. Put this sweet and tangy stuffing in between the slit triangle paneer pieces and keep aside. Take equal quantities of maida and cornflour, add little water and form to a batter. Coat these stuffed paneer pieces with the batter well and fry them it slightly golden brown. Keep the aside.

Soak the poppy seeds in a little water for 1 hour and grind into a smooth paste. Grind all the contents of gravy together with a little water. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and add the gravy and cook it on low flame till the raw smell of onion disappears and the oil leaves the edges. Now mix in the tomato puree and cook for further 2 minutes on high flame. Add about a cup of water if the gravy is thick. Let the gravy simmer for a few more minutes until the fat separates. Simmering is an important technique especially for making curries/gravies as the spices get cooked and blend with each other on low heat. Cover and cook till the raw flavors are gone. Check for seasoning. Add pinch of sugar, kasturi methi powder, and little cream to make it rich. Add the fried paneer to this and cook it for a while in low flame. The dish is ready to be served. To give a little sourness to the dish you can also add amchur powder.

It works wonders when served with Naan or Zafrani pulao.

Punjabi Tadka: Paneer bhare bhindi

By now the regular reader of my blog would have realised how much I love Paneer. This time I am posting a recipe of Stuffed Bhindi Masala which I cooked last night without following any recipe in particular. I used the ingredients which I thought would enhance the flavour of Bhindi and fortunately they did. By the time I finished stuffing and sautéing, I had already gobbled up a few. Add to it, the blend of tomato gravy and you are tossed into a sea of exotic taste.

Stuffed Bhindi with Paneer is a very popular and exotic North Indian recipe, often served with curd and roti. This is prepared by stuffing the Bhindi (ladyfinger or okra) with a rich filling of Paneer (Indian cottage cheese), roasted peanuts and few spices which give a pleasant nutty flavour with touch of spiciness to the okras, while onions add more crunch and sweet note, and tomatoes lends a lovely tangy flavour to the dish.. This works as a perfect recipe to treat the guests, also stuffed Bhindi with Paneer is a commonly served dish in most wedding ceremonies in India. Such a wonderful dish shouldn’t go to waste so I am hereby sharing the secret to this wonderful dish. Make it in your kitchen tonight and enjoy this exotic dish.

Things you need for this recipe are: 200 grams Bhindi (Okra/Ladyfinger), 1 medium sized onion, grated, 2 large tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon chilly powder, 1/4 teaspoon Garam masala, 2 tablespoons ghee or oil, 4 tsp ginger-garlic paste, Salt to taste, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander for garnishing

For Stuffing/Filling: 100 grams Paneer cut into small pieces, ¼ cup Roasted Peanuts, 1 tbsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas, 1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds, ½ tbsp Coriander Seeds, 4-5 Dry Red Chillies (adjust acc to taste), ¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida, 1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder, ½ tsp Turmeric Powder, Salt to taste

Let’s get cooking: Take a pan and heat 1 tbsp oil in it. Add Paneer pieces to it and fry till they turn golden in color. Wash okras and spread them on dry kitchen towels to remove excess water or simply pat them dry with kitchen towel.

While the okras are drying, heat a pan and dry roast channa dal, dry red chillies, hing, jeera and coriander seeds till they turn golden red and fragrant. Let them cool completely before you powder them. Add these roasted spices with roasted peanut, turmeric, amchur and salt to taste and grind them to coarse powder. Mix in with the paneer into a nice paste and keep aside. Use only enough spice powder to make the paste. Store the rest for later use. Now trim the okra ends and carefully make a slit on one side and stuff it with ¼-½ tsp of spice powder and paneer mixture.

Heat about a tbsp of oil in a pan and sauté stuffed okras on high flame, if required in batches, for about 4-5 minutes till brown spots start to appear and it is half cooked. Place them on paper towel till needed. Now heat another tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When jeera starts to sizzle and turn light shade of brown, add finely chopped garlic, ginger and slit green chillies. Sauté till garlic turns light shade of brown, about one minute. Add thinly sliced onion and sauté on medium flame till it turns golden brown for about 3 minutes. Now peel off the skin of the tomatoes and mash the pulp to form a thick paste. Add this to make thick gravy.  Finally add the stuffed okras and sauté for 5-7 minutes on medium flame till the okra is cooked through and the flavours blend well.

Your Stuffed Bhindi with Paneer is ready to serve. You can serve it with chapattis, paratha, roti and yoghurt.

Punjab to China: Chilli Paneer

Paneer or cottage cheese is a integral part of the North Indian cuisine, specially Punjab. It has been here since God knows when. China being just a few stones away from the Northern part of our country has had their influence in our recipes bringing out these wonderful Indian recipes with a Chinese twist to it making it saucy and different. 

Of all the Paneer recipes I have already posted, Chilly Paneer is one of the most popular even amongst kids. This dish is heavily influenced by its non-vegetarian cousin, the Chilly chicken. It came into origin to satisfy the palette of the vegetarians. Since I love cooking and always wanted to try out the recipes restaurants make, I looked through the recipes and I was flummoxed to find so many recipes of Chilly Paneer. I tried some of them, and found this recipe the most appealing and easy. 

Things you need are: 400 gm Paneer, 8 tbsp Corn flour, 4 tbsp Oil, 4 Onions, 6-8 cloves Garlic, 6-8 Green chilly, 2 large Capsicum, 1 cup Vegetable stock, Salt to taste
1 tsp White pepper powder, 4 tbsp Soy sauce, 1/2 tsp Ajinomoto, 2 tbsp Chilly sauce

Preparation:

Drain Paneer and chop into medium bite sized pieces. Heat sufficient oil in a wok, roll the Paneer pieces in corn flour and deep fry them on medium heat till the edges turn golden brown. Set them aside on a tissue to drain.

Blend remaining corn flour in quarter cup of water and set aside. Chop the onions into thick slices and crush the garlic cloves. Chop green chillies and cut the capsicum into thick stripes and set them aside.

Heat two-tablespoon of oil in a pan, add crushed garlic and then stir-fry till golden and then add green chillies, onion and capsicum and sauté for some time till onions look translucent. Then add the fried paneer pieces and stir in the vegetable stock. Season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, chilli sauce, Ajinomoto and blended corn flour and keep stirring all the while cooking on high heat until sauce thickens and coats the Paneer pieces. Chilly Paneer is ready to serve. Serve hot with Fried rice or nice stir fried noodles.

Punabi tadka: Mughlai Shahi kofta

Over the centuries, India has been invaded by the Aryans, Greeks, Persians, Huns, Turks, Arabs, Afghans, the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the English! The Mughals of Turkish-Persian origin, came in the 16th century. Their cuisine which is hugely popular up until this day, fuses Indian, Middle Eastern and Persian styles of cooking. Their food is known for its richness and the use of exotic spices, dried fruit and nuts, cream and milk combining to create rich, regal dishes often garnished with rose petals, silver foil - food fit for the Kings! . The Mughals did everything in style and splendour from their living to their eating everything was exotic. Since they ate very rich food (high in fat, carbs and proteins) they reduced the number of intake during the day. 

One of the most sorted of recipes, Shahi Kofta is the perfect vegetarian alternative to meatballs. It goes very well with naans (tandoor-baked flatbread) or Jeera Rice. The recipe involves very few steps to create the best shahi kofta I have ever tried. This recipe is from my mom's kitchen .....a recipe I have tried over the years and always loved.....So please try this and enjoy!

Things you need: Potato – 250 gm, Tomato – 250 gm, Boiled peas – 1 cup, Onion paste – 2 tsp, Cooked rice – 1 ½ cup, Grated coconut – 1 cup, Curd – 1 cup, Oil to deep fry, Turmeric powder – 1 tsp, Chili powder – 1 tsp, Coriander powder – 1 tsp, Butter – 2 tbsp, Fresh cream – 2 tbsp, Cashew nut – 12, Almond – 7, Raisins – 15, Chopped Coriander leaves – 1 cup, Ginger-chili paste – 2 tsp, Paneer/cottage cheese – 150 gm, Salt to taste, Water – 1 cup

The rich process of Shahi Koftas

Grind tomatoes and keep aside. Chop onions and puree them as well. Boil, peel and mash the potatoes. Add cooked rice, coriander leaves, ginger-chili paste, salt and grated coconut to the mashed potatoes. Knead and divide into 12 portions and make balls. Chop the cashew nuts and almonds finely. Add raisins and chopped nuts to paneer/cottage cheese and make 10 balls. Now flatten the potato balls and stuff in the paneer balls. Seal them properly and make balls or oblong shape. Deep fry them in oil and keep aside.

Heat butter in a pan. Sauté the onion paste till golden brown. Add the tomato puree, salt, turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and sauté till the oil starts to separate. Add 1 cup water and let it boil. Add the boiled peas and let the gravy boil for 5 minutes. Add the beaten curd and put the flame off. Mix well and add the koftas to the gravy. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves and fresh cream.

Voila!!! Perfect koftas for a nice rich dinner.

Punjabi Tadka with an Italian twist- Paneer tikka chutney pizza

Pizza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...............The word alone brings out the craving to gobble up a huge juicy slice of the gooey, cheesy, yummy pizza.....

Pizza though originally has been in existence in Italy from the 1800s but since then has spread to nearly every country on earth, with many adding their own culinary twists to it to make it a hot favorite in their markets. India is not far behind in this too....We have a range of pizzas which include the bests of Paneer and Punjabi twists to it.....all the retail giants bring out so many good and spicy yet tangy pizzas for the likes of the Indian crowd.....from the hot chatpata chaat pizza to the Paneer jalfrezi pizza...and lets not forget the hot favorite tikka masala pizza.......boy don't we love our spices.....

But what has been your favorite, the one that you ordered over and over again......Mine has always been the paneer tikka chutney pizza......do you want a slice.....then why not make it at home.....Just follow me and you would end up with the best and yummiest pizza in the whole wide world......

This one recipe I recently tried at home and it is less complicated, but probably tastier. Paneer (my left over paneer tikka from the barbecue party), creamy sauce, spices like dried fenugreek, which provide a soft, sweet aroma – all topped off with some mozzarella cheese and oregano....sounds like a nice dinner to me....What do you guys think.....

Things you would need are: 1 handmade pizza crust (recipe below), Mango chutney, cream cheese, Tomato sauce, Paneer Tikka Masala (recipe in previous post), 1/4 cup oregano, Shredded mozarella cheese and gouda cheese

How to assemble the gooey pizza

To assemble the pizza: Lay out the dough. Spread a very thin layer of mango chutney on the dough followed by the cream cheese. If you want, place some onion slices on top, or top with some capsicums, it is totally upto you....go crazy.....

Then, spread a couple large spoonfuls of tomato puree on top of it. Now, take your paneer tikka masala and gently spoon it on the pizza, spreading it with a large spoon or spatula. Sprinkle with mozarella cheese and gouda, and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C till the cheese melts coating the paneer tikka and goes golden brown in the edges. When it comes out, sprinkle with oregano and enjoy!

Note: It’s definitely time-consuming to make paneer tikka if you don't have left overs from the party or the other night– but you can always shorten it up by buying a paneer tikka masala as take-out from an Indian restaurant and just make the pizza for yourself yourself.

The pizza base: Home made

Buying a premade pizza base from the market is not my idea of cooking. Remember, there are loads of varieties of pizzas and pizza crust out there. So, get free and create a work of art and personalize your pizza, just the way you want it. The hand made version of a pizza base is tastier and ends up bringing the best flavors in a pizza. If you are one who likes to spend some quality time in your kitchen, this is  certainly for you! 

I am going to share with you the basic pizza base method. It is easy and can be made using a food processor or bread maker. But I prefer to make it with my very own hands leaving my prints on the base and bonding with the food by doing  a ton of mixing and kneading, Add anything you like to the dough which you feel might go good with the topping as well as the base......I've often added chopped garlic, oregano, cheese, cilantro and chilli flakes.

Things you need are: 3 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup warm water, 1 package dry yeast, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 3/4 cup water

Lets get cracking:

Sift in salt and flour. Dissolve the yeast in warm water; let it sit for 10 minutes. Add oil, honey yeast mixture and warm water to the flour.The dough should make a ball after kneading, but just in case it doesn't turn up into a ball it might be because it is too dry. Don't fret just add water one tablespoon at a time until it does turn into a ball. If your mixture is more like a semi-solid then add flour one tablespoon at a time. Keep adding water or flour as required to get the right consistency up until you always get a perfect dough. Just remember, do it in small amounts to avoid having to repeat the whole procedure.

Place the dough ball onto a floured board to knead for another minute which assists the gluten to build up making the dough to rise into a fluffy base when cooked. Place the dough in a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise. I always prefer to leave them in my Oven or OTG for about 45 minutes resulting in the dough to double in size. Press it down and leave it to rest for another 1-1.5 hours after which the dough ready to be rolled out. But the choice is yours, if you want to press it down again and leave it for another hour or two before rolling it out into a base.

A major trouble with most of us is we don't put in enough work on the dough. This is an excellent opportunity to get some workout for your arms and hands, the dough will not be damaged or hurt. So loosen up folks! 

I always use both hands, one on top of the other to press the dough from centre to out to start the stretching process, which results in pushing the dough a little on each push. I also pick up the dough to squeeze its edges and imagine I am turning a steering wheel, but this allows to stretch the dough with its own weight.  Keep repeating this until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick all the way around, then I always use a rolling pin to flatten it out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick making it even. Puncture holes all over the dough using a fork which  keeps it from bubbling up and holds the sauce on while baking. Almost there, now the only thing you need to do is to spread the sauce pf your choice, cheese and your choice of toppings and bake at 400 F /180 C till the crust is golden and the cheese melts.

Punjabi Tadka: My version of the famous lehsuni tikki

Following my posts for the Paneer dishes in the Punjabi Tadka is my next try the not so famous starter the Lehsuni tikki (Garlic tikkis). Call it a starter or an appetiser, these lehsuni tikkis are a wonderful combination of the strong odour of garlic and the potatoes. The odour of the garlic flakes doesn't prove to be revolting due to the perfect blend between the Paneer, garlic and the potatoes. 

Having a party at home, why not try these with the Paneer tikka post I had written earlier, works wonderful. Don't you think so!!

Things you would need: 

Garlic Flakes – 4 to 6, 

Medium onion – 1, 

Coriander leaves – ¼ cup, 

Red chili powder – ½ tbsp, 

Medium sized potato - 6, 

Cashew nuts – 6 to 8, 

Cottage cheese grated – ¼ cup, 

Oil to deep fry, 

Salt to taste

The making process:

Wash, boil, cool, peel off and mash potatoes thoroughly. Mix in salt to taste and knead mashed potatoes to make smooth dough. Divide into ten to twelve equal portions. Chop the onion and garlic finely. Clean, wash and finely chop the coriander leaves. Crush cashew nuts and mix with cut onion, garlic, coriander leaves, red chili powder, salt, and grated cottage cheese. Divide the mixture into ten to twelve equal portions. Stuff each portion of mashed potato with a portion of the cottage cheese mixture. Roll and shape into tikkis of approximately two-inch diameter and half inch thickness. Heat up oil in a pan and deep-fry the tikkis till golden brown. Take off and remove on to a clean and absorbent kitchen towel or paper. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or mint chutney.

Note: The left over tikkis and some paneer tikka from the other post can be used as a stuffing for a nice wrap, roll it between the roti or tortilla, after layering with Mayonnaise, sauce of your choice, cheese slice, some nice fresh vegetables. Pack off to work as a nice lunch........

Punjabi Tadka- Tandoori masala

Will it not be wonderful if we knew how to make the secret ingredients the cooks use in all those popular crowded restaurants. So here am sharing with you guys the recipe I managed to get off a cook in one of the restaurants I had the famous Paneer Tikka masala.

Make this popular masala ahead of time and store in an air-tight container. Creating a tasty meal will then be a simple procedure just to marinate, grill and serve! 

Things you need are:

100 gms cumin seeds, 35 gms coriander seeds, 20 gms cloves, 5 pieces of 2" cinnamon sticks, 20 gms ginger powder, 20 gms garlic powder, 20 gms red chilli powder, 20 gms turmeric powder, 20 gms mace powder, 20 gms salt, 1 tsp orange food color if desired or substitute with 20 gms of Kashmiri red chillies.

Note: If you have used Kashmiri Red Chillies, then please leave out the chilli powder mentioned as the recipe would end up very spicy. Before you use the red chillies, lightly toast them on a hot pan till aromatic, then grind to a fine powder in a clean, dry grinder.

How to make the masala:

Dry roast the cumin, coriander seeds, cloves and cinnamon sticks in a pan on a low flame, till they begin to release their aroma. Remove from fire and allow to cool. Grind all the ingredients (including the powder made from the Kashmiri Red Chillies) together in a coffee grinder to make a smooth powder. Store in an air-tight container for upto 6-8 weeks.

Store and have fun making the wonderful tikka masala the restaurants have to offer but in the comforts of your home!

Punjabi tadka- Tandoori Paneer tikka

How many of us have loved to just bite into the juicy bits of paneer tikka in restaurants as starters. I always loved them and thought it would be so difficult and such a hassle to make them. So always ordered them to make life easier. But this recipe i found and tried made me go against my feeling of never being able to make them in my kitchen. So please do try this recipe and let me know how you liked it. Also I am giving the recipe of how to make the tandoori masala which is used in big restaurants. 

This tandoori paneer tikka can serve as a wonderful starter for a barbecue party for vegetarians. This can be grilled with vegetables too. I used home made paneer for this recipe.

Things you need are: 

30, 2" cubes of paneer (cottage cheese) , 3 tbsps Tandoori Masala (see in the next post), 1/4 cup yogurt, 1 large onions cut into 1" square pieces, 1 capsicum diced into cubes, 2 tomatoes deseeded and diced, 5-6 tbsp vegetable/ sunflower cooking oil, 2 tbsps Chaat masala, Lemon wedges to garnish

How to make the juicy tikkas:

Make a smooth past of  2 1/2 tbsps of Tandoori Masala, yogurt, 2 tbsps cooking oil and salt to taste. Put the paneer chunks into this smooth paste and fold it in gently to coat all the paneer. Keep it covered and leave in the fridge to marinate for 2 hours to let all the spices go into the paneer pieces making it soft and juicy. Mix the remaining 1/2 tbsp of Tandoori masala with the onion pieces to coat them well too. Thread the marinated paneer and onion pieces onto bamboo skewers in a combination of your choice. Preheat a grill on medium or if you don't have a grill you can use the grill tawa which is available off late in shops. 

Place the paneer with the skewers on it and brush with a little cooking oil and grill till paneer turns light golden and the onions and capsicum soft. Do not overcook them as the paneer tends to become rubbery. 

Remove onto a  serving plate and sprinkle with chaat masala. Squeeze some lemon juice over the paneer and garnish with lemon wedges and serve smoking hot and wait for all those praises!

Punjabi tadka-Paneer Bhurji

Following my post yesterday to the very simple process of making paneer at home, I am going to share a very easy basic recipe of cottage cheese (paneer). They say Learning is fun, One step at a time. 

Paneer bhurji is the easiest of the paneer dishes which is made with very less effort and time. This was the first time I was making this without my amma's supervision. I had this all the time in big restaurants. Now its almost 3-4 years, so I thought it would be best to try things at home when everything is available. I loved it a lot and its is a simple way to make too! This can be a perfect lunch box idea, you can even wrap the paneer bhurji in roti for your kids. They would love it too. It also makes a quick and easy dinner dish when teamed with hot Chapatis or Parathas or rotis.

I made this with cottage cheese I myself prepared at home. All you have to do is crumble the paneer before using it for the dish.

Things you need:

300 gms fresh paneer (mashed into a crumbly texture), 1 medium onion chopped fine, 1 small tomato chopped fine, 1 green chilli chopped fine, 1 green capsicum chopped into cubes, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil, Chopped fresh coriander to garnish, Salt to taste

How to make it:

Heat the oil in a pan on a medium flame, till hot. Add the cumin seeds and fry till spluttering stops. Add the onions and fry till soft. Now add the green chillies and tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes are pulpy. Add the capsicum and fry till cooked a little.  Add all the powdered spices and mix well. Fry for 2 minutes. Add the paneer. Mix well and cook for 2 more minutes. If the paneer gives off water at this stage, cook till the water has dried up. Turn off fire. Season with salt, if desired. Garnish with the chopped fresh coriander and serve hot with Chapatis or Parathas. Paneer Bhurjee also makes a great topping for fresh, hot toast! Top with lemon juice to make it a little tangy if preferred. 

Try this easy recipe and enjoy it for a sumptuous dinner.

Paneer: From Milk to the cheese

I am deviating from my South Indian origin and recipes due to a major request from a dear follower who wanted to know about Paneer dishes as it is his absolute favourite. So I thought why not have a mix of recipes here on the blog since I have my roots from the South and married into the North. So let's start by giving some information just the basics on how to make the Paneer itself from milk.

Paneer is available at any supermarket, but homemade paneer adds a freshness to curries and other Indian dishes and also the process is quite simple. I remember doing this with my mom when I was a kid.

Paneer is an Indian cheese variant which is very similar to a dense ricotta cheese. The cottage cheese (Paneer) is a hung cheese, which is pressed into blocks and then cut into cubes to be used in curries and other recipes. As it doesn't melt, can be used to stuff into breads, even grilled or barbecued. You can also use it in place of tofu if you are looking for variety in dishes and taste.

The results of making paneer at home gives you the freshest, tastiest and soft paneer which can be used for any recipe. This simple process has to just be timed precisely. There are various methods which can be used one of them is using milk and lemon juice, but the process which yields the highest quantity is when milk and plain yogurt is used.The process is to just boil the milk and add the yogurt, watch it curdle, and strain the curds out by hanging them and later pressing them down.

Items needed are:

6 cups of whole milk, 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

Supplies needed are:

1 Colander or strainer, Few Cheesecloth, 1 Kitchen twine, A very large heavy pot

The process is simple, just follow this process and see for yourself.

The first thing to do is to find a suitable place, probably just above the kitchen sink where you can place the colander lined with few layers of cheese cloth. Then in a large pot bring the milk to boil over medium to high heat. Don't let it froth over, so use a large pot. Stir continuously while bringing the milk to boil to avoid the bottom from burning. Just in case the milk is a little burnt, you can still save the paneer by transferring the milk to another pot. As soon as the milk starts to boil, stir in the yogurt to the pot and stir gently. This causes the fuming milk to break into soft fluffy clouds in a clear greenish liquid which is called the whey. Switch the gas off and carefully pour the contents into the cheesecloth lined strainer, which strains the curd from the whey. Now leave it to sit and cool down. When good to handle, pull together the edges of cheesecloth thereby squeezing the excess liquid out, forming a ball. To further remove whey, squeeze the top of the cheesecloth and then tie it with twine and hang it from the sink faucet for half hour to further drain out the whey. Now, we are close to finishing the process. Place the hung ball inside a large saucepan and place a smaller pan with a heavy object in it over the top of the cheese for the next 30 minutes. This ensures to increase the firmness and forms a nice block of cheese which can be cut into cubes. Finally, carefully unwrap the cheesecloth to avoid crumbling the perfectly formed paneer unless the recipe it is to be used for demands crumbling (Bread, salads or pizza). Cut the paneer into perfect cubes and store in the fridge in a sealed container until required. The shelf life is a maximum of 3 to 4 days in the fridge but can be kept frozen to increase shelf life to several months.

Now guys, give it a try when you find time on your hands, as this not only tasty but rewarding.

Any time favourite- Rice Upma and its easy variant Upma Kuzhakattai

When looking for some nice savoury breakfast dishes to make, nothing can beat the rice upma or Arisi upma in my mother tongue Tamil. This was my hot favourite for breakfast or dinner. It is light yet filling. I now appreciate the humbleness and simplicity of this dish. This goes on wonderfully with my last post the tangy Brinjal curry as the upma is subtle and wholesome in taste.

Back in those days, this upma was always prepared in a heavy bottomed bronze pot called vengala panai. The slightly burnt upma which gets stuck to the bottom of the pot is to die for. Nowadays, this can be made in a handi, kadai, pressure cooker or even the modern rice cooker. Talk about being futuristic.

Also in the past people used to visit flour mills to get the rice ground to rava rice and stored for future use as upma was made almost every other day. But the city where I live I have no clue of the nearest flour mill, so I ended giving up preparing upma without this step involved. When I went down to Chennai to visit amma, I saw her soak the rice before grinding it in the simple blender. The soaked rice not only is easy to work with but also yields uniform rava texture instead of turning it into a floury consistency. Now let’s get cracking with the starting material sorted out!

As with all my dishes posted, this recipe also involves using the basic stuff available in your pantry or the nearest supermarket. The things you need are:

For the upma:

Raw rice- 1 cup, Toor dal- 1 fistful, coconut- ½ cup, grated, Salt to taste.

For tempering:

Mustard seeds- ½ tsp, Urad dal- 1 tsp, Chana dal- 1tsp, Pepper- ½ tsp, Cumin seeds- 1 tsp, Red chillies- 4 to 6, Curry leaves- few, Oil- 1 tablespoon

The process of preparing is very simple and easy. Here it goes.

Wash rice and dal together thrice and drain the water completely. Leave it for 20-30 minutes. Take this mixture in a food processor or blender and pulse for 2 or 3 times. The rice should be coarsely ground but not as fine as rava. This will yield about 1 ¼ cups of rice rava which is sufficient to serve two.

Transfer the ground rice to a rice cooker. In a seasoning pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds and leave it till it starts popping. Add chana dal, urad dal, red chillies, pepper, cumin seeds and curry leaves, in that order. When the dal becomes brown, add this seasoning mixture to the rice. Also add coconut, salt and 2 ½ cups of water. Mix well and turn the rice cooker on. When done, fluff the rice. Let it rest for 5 minutes and serve with a drizzle of coconut oil. Serve hot with tangy Brinjal gravy from the last post. What a heavenly combination guys. Please do try and let me know.

As a variation to this recipe is a follow on which can be made further to the Arisi upma recipe, is upma kozhakattai recipe?

As already stated, Upma is a mainstay breakfast in most Indian homes but Kozhakattai is something that Tamilians offer to our beloved Lord Ganesha to keep him happy. Upma Kozhakattai is none of these. This is a fine example of 'saatvic' food. It is very easy to make now that the rice upma is ready.

Remove the 'upma' onto a big dish / thali and cool off for 5-10 minutes. Once cooled, take a big handful of upma and shape it into ovals/spheres with a flat bottom for easy cooking. You will get roughly 14-15 such kozhakattais from 1 1/2 cups of flour. Arrange this in a steamer and steam them for 10 minutes or until a skewer or tooth pick comes out clean or can be placed in a sauce pan with some oil for shallow frying so it can be enjoyed with a bit of crunch on the bottom following cooking. Serve with chutney or tangy Brinjal gravy. Works magic in your mouth.

Check this wonderful Brinjal in a tangy gravy

My Paruppu Usuli recipe from last week post brought back wonderful lip smacking memories from my amma’s kitchen. The unbeatable aroma of the good old Ennai Kathirikai Kozhambu (means just the simple Brinjal in tangy gravy). Just the mere mention of the name always kindles my taste buds. This post is an effort to let my amma’s divine recipe reach the whole world! 

If you have time on your hands and are craving some homemade meal, like what your mom/grandmom would have made if she were with you, then this one's for you. I made it on a Saturday morning and it lasted till Tuesday the next week. I had it with rice, dosa, chappathis, more rice and more dosas! I am also planning to make this when my amma visits me. She is going to be so impressed. 

Brinjal sometimes brings out horrible memories for some people out there, so I thought I should just Google up the word Brinjal and I found these amazing facts about the King of vegetables; at least that is what I remember Brinjal being called from my childhood. They are low in saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol, high in dietary fibre and loads of vitamins and minerals. But what is different about this. Most vegetables are, but the important part is it is an excellent food in weight loss, being low in calories and fat.

Before you guys think this is no longer a food blog and leave the page, I will move on to the recipe of the day; an authentic Tamil Nadu Kozhambu recipe. Make sure you pick out nice and small Brinjal of more or less similar size. The rest of the things you need for this recipe are readily available in the nearest supermarket.

The things you need for this Kozhambu is

8-10 small aubergines , A lime-sized ball tamarind,  1/4 cup sesame/gingely oil/til oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp powdered jaggery/sugar, small onion chopped, rice flour 1 to 2 teaspoons

For the spice powder, the things you need are;

1 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp hing/asafoetida, 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, 8 dried red chillies, 2 tbsp chana dal, 2 tbsp toor dal, 2 tbsp urad dal, 1 small coconut grated, 1 tsp salt

For tempering of the Kozhambu you need;

1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 dry red chilli, 1 sprig curry leaves

The process to make this awesome tangy and spicy Kozhambu is sometimes is a bit overwhelming for laid back person like myself but is not a difficult recipe. There is a bit of roasting and grinding and soaking and frying to be done. My grandma would have said "these days’ girls have it easy, you have the blender!" She is of course right! So let’s get started.

Make crisscross cuts in the Brinjal and leave them in water until cooking. Soak tamarind in warm water for 20 minutes and extract thick milk from it. Set this aside. Heat oil in a handi or wok, add garlic and fry until fragrant. Then add onions and fry them until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes and continue cooking. Cover and cook for few minutes until the tomatoes turn pulpy and oil starts to leave the sides. Now fry the Brinjal till cooked through and semi soft. Meanwhile heat few teaspoons of oil in a kadai and add all ingredients except salt. Fry till spices are fragrant and dals and coconut have turned golden brown. Remove from heat, mix in salt and grind to a coarse powder. When the Brinjal are done and gravy thickens add this coarse powder. Bring this to boil once or twice and transfer to a serving bowl. To a wok, heat oil and then add the spices for tempering. When the mustard seeds start popping pour this over the Kozhambu recipe for a nice seasoning. Serve with anything you like rotis, rice, pongal or dosas.

Note: This kuzhambu keeps well for up to 4 days at room temperature. Make sure that you bring to boil each time before serving. It tastes best the day after it is made. I love it with dosa!

                                                     
For all of you who don’t like Brinjal for any reason, please try this wonderful tangy recipe once and you would forget why you ever disliked this vegetable. And all the rest of you please try this recipe and give your valuable comments.

Forgotten delicacy: Paruppu Usili

Ever since my childhood, I used to pester my mom to prepare this paruppu usili for me every single week. It’s a lentil crumble which can be prepared with vegetables like beans or banana flower or cluster beans or onion or carrots and so on. Even without the vegetable, this dish can be mixed with plain rice dotted with ghee. It not only adds body to a vegetable like beans but also a great flavour. But my personal favourite is when this dish is done with banana flower (vazhaipoo in Tamil). The combination of paruppu usili, mor kozhambhu which is a kind of stew made with butter-milk and garlic pepper jeera rasam (which is a clear soup eaten with rice) makes a tasty South Indian main course. Sundays are the perfect time to indulge in such traditional lunches followed by an extended afternoon siesta. 

It is very simple and easy to prepare and it is not time consuming. The things you need are readily available in your nearest supermarket. So why don't you look at this recipe and go shopping. This is the recipe which has been used in my family for years...so here am letting the secret out.

1/2 cup toor dal  Handful chana dal (split bengal gram dal)  2 red chillies  1 green chilli  pinch of asafoetida  Pinch of turmeric powder  2 cups chopped  banana flower (vazhaipoo in Tamil)  Oil  1/2 tsp mustard seeds  2 red chillies  Salt to taste

The process is so easy and it takes so nostalgic that you would make it over and over again...So just start cooking as it is a time tested recipe......

Wash and soak the dals for 3-4 hours.   Drain the dals well. Take the dals, 2 red chillies and one green chilli with some sea salt, a pinch of turmeric and asafoetida in a mixer. Rough grind the above. Don't make too smooth a paste. Remove the ends of the banana flower and any other fibrous parts and the bulb from inside. Chop them into small pieces. Place them in little water to which turmeric and salt has been added. In a steamer / cooker without whistle steam the above mixture for about 10 minutes. Once cooled, crumble it well with your hands. Try and take only as much water as is needed to cook the beans so that you don't have to throw away any water in the end. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Crackle the mustard seeds in the oil, add the 2 chillies. Then, add the crumbled usili and saute till it turns golden brown. This is the paruppu-usili. Saute for another 2-3 minutes. Paruppu Usili is ready to serve. Instead of   Banana Flower(Vazhappoo) , Cluster Beans(Kothavarangai),  carrots or French Beans can be used. Can be served with Rice. Let me know how it all went......wait for my next recipe Vathal Kozhambu