Shahi Paneer

One morning, my extremely fussy son comes and tells me: Amma, I had Paneer at school. It was spicy but I ate it all up. Can you make that today.

Bells started ringing in my head. My son liked something!!! I asked him to describe what he had eaten and I put together this recipe for lunch. 

He liked it, my day was made :)

You Need:

• 300 gms Paneer
• 1 large onion diced
• 3 tomatoes puréed and strained
• 1 green chili
• 1" ginger chopped
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup cashed nuts soaked in warm water
• 1 small green cardamom
• 1 big brown cardamom
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves
• 5 peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder / jeera powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder / dhaniya powder
• 1/4 tsp kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp cream
• 3-4 tbsp Clarified butter / Ghee or Oil
• Chopped coriander for garnishing

Steps:

• Keep the paneer soaked in hot boiling water till you need to use it.

• In a pan heat 1 tbsp of ghee/oil and add the green cardamom.
• Then add the onions, ginger, garlic and green chili. Sauté till it starts browning.

• When it cools, grind it to a paste with the cashew nuts.
• In the same pan heat the remaining ghee/oil, and add the remaining whole spices.
• Then add the onion paste, the tomato purée and the tomato paste.

• Stir well. Add water as required for desired consistency.
• Mix in the remaining spices and salt.
• Add the cream. Drain the paneer and stir it in. Allow it to come to one boil. Check salt and seasonings and adjust as per taste.

• Garnish with chopped corriander and cream and serve hot with rice or rotis.

Notes:

• For a low fat version, substitute the cream with milk. Add water accordingly if you will be adding milk.
• Soaking the paneer in hot boiling water keeps it soft.

Thai Pineapple Rice - Vegetarian

Thai food has always been a favorite. More so for me because it has a good vegetarian spread. I ate this rice many years ago and just loved the flavours. Finally, one day I searched the net, read many recipes, wrote my vegetarian version of it and tried it out. 

Though the recipe looks long and complicated, it is quite easy to make. Once you have set out your ingredients, it gets made quite fast.

You need:

• 1.5 cups fresh pineapple chunks
• 3 cups cooked rice
• 2 medium size onions, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 to 3/4 tsp chillie flakes
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted whole cashews
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh coriander chopped
• 3 tbsp oil

For the Sauce:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp curry powder - I used Everest - Kitchen King Masala
• 1/2 tsp. sugar

Steps:

• In a cup, stir the soy sauce together with the curry powder and sugar.

• In a large wok, take 3 tbsp oil and heat. Add onions, garlic, and chili. Stir fry until fragrant for 1 minute.
• Add the carrot and peas. Stir for about 2 minutes.

• Now add the rice, pineapple chunks, raisins and cashews. Season with salt.
• Slowly add the sauce over it and gently stir-fry to combine over medium-high to high heat for about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Check salt / soy sauce and adjust.
• Garnish with spring onion greens and coriander leaves.
• Serve hot.

Notes:

• Old cooked rice is best. If you are cooking fresh rice, spread it out on a large plate to cool. That keeps the grains separate.
• I cut the pineapple to small pieces as I like a piece of pineapple with every spoonful of the rice.
• I also chop the cashew-nuts to small pieces for the same reason.
• Season with salt carefully as the soy sauce is also salty.
• I usually take a small portion of the rice separately before adding the sauce. I then add a tiny amount of the sauce in it just for flavour so that my kids do not find the pineapple rice spicy.

Dum Aloo

Baby Potatoes, a complete delight to look at. I have been thinking of making Dum Aloo for quite a while now. But almost always have just roasted them or made it into a dry subzi to cut down the cooking time.

I finally decided to get the ingredients ready, oven roast the baby potatoes as a variation and then make the Dum Aloo.

You need:

• 15 baby potatoes
• 3 tomatoes puréed
• 3 tbsp yoghurt / dahi
• 3 cloves
• 3 peppercorns
• 1 brown cardamom
• I" stick cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin powder / jeera powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder / dhaniya powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder / haldi
• 1 tsp red chillie powder
• 2 tbsp cashew nuts
• 3 tbsp full cream
• 3 tbsp oil
• Salt

To grind to a paste:

• 2 onions large diced
• 2 garlic pods
• 1" piece ginger

Steps:

• Wash the baby potatoes well and pressure cook to 1 whistle. Cool and peel and prick well with a fork.
• Preheat the oven to 200degrees C.
• Toss the pricked baby potatoes in 1 tbsp of oil and little salt and spread it in a lined baking tray.
• Bake for about 20 mins or more till slightly browned.
• Take 1 tbsp oil in a pan and sauté onions, garlic and ginger till brown. Cool and grind to a paste with the cashew nuts.

• In the same pan heat 1 tbsp oil and add cloves, peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves for a few seconds. Then add the ground paste and sauté for 2 mins.
• To this add the puréed tomatoes and the dry spice powders. Stir around for about 2-3 mins.
• Beat yogurt well and add along with salt. Add water to make it a gravy consistency. On a low flame let it come to a boil.

• Add the roasted baby potatoes and cream. Check seasonings and adjust. Let it come to a boil again. Then take off the heat and keep covered for 5-8 minutes for baby potatoes to absorb the spices and flavors.
• Garish well with chopped coriander leaves and little cream.

Enjoy with hot rotis or rice.

Notes:

• You can either deep fry the pricked baby potatoes or stir fry in a pan with 1 tbsp oil as per your taste.
• Add 1 tbsp tomato paste for a redder curry. You can then reduce the yoghurt to 2 tbsp.
• Grind green chillies while making the onion paste if you would like the Dum Aloo to be spicier.