Methi Paneer

This is a quick light dish and ridiculously easy to make. It is also a one pot dish and for once, you do not have to sear the paneer.

You need

1 pack of paneer cubed
Yogurt- enough to marinate the paneer
I onion finely diced
3 green cardamoms
1 clove
1 piece of cinnamon
Few pieces of black peppercorn
1 black cardamom
3 cloves of minced garlic
Minced ginger
Salt
2 tbspn kasoori methi
2 green chilies
Turmeric
Coriander powder

1. Marinate the paneer in the yogurt.
2. Heat some oil in a pan. Add the green cardamom, clove, black cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorn, and wait till you hear the cardamom splutter. Add the onion and cook till you get a translucent hue.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for a minute.
4. Now add the powdered spices , the turmeric and the coriander powder, and sauté
5. Add the paneer and yogurt.
6. Add salt and kasoori methi with some water. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
7. Add loads of chopped green coriander and serve.

Broccoli Cauliflower Coconut Curry

To some oil in a pan, add one clove, a little cinnamon, and mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add two dry red chilies. Now add cumin powder, coriander,cayenne pepper, and some turmeric. Roast the spices. Sauté the onions. Add curry leaves. Add a small tin of coconut milk.

Add any vegetables of your choice. I added cauliflower and broccoli. Add tamarind water. Add peas. Add garam masala when done. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice.

Mirchi ka salan

My virgin attempt at Mirchi ka Salan was quite successful. I ended up eating so many green chilies last night that my stomach hurt. You could use any pepper you like. I used Thai chilies, which I deseeded and removed the rib. You could use hot fingers or even jalapenos. I personally wouldn’t use jalapenos. Sauteing the green chilies, takes the edge off them and makes them edible- pretty much like eating a jalapeno popover.

The ingredients that go in the salan are pre-cooked before they all mesh together in lovely gravy which is – tart, sweet, hot, and salty, all at the time. And though there are many components to the cooking, you can do it in one pan.

So the first thing you do is roast the spices- the coriander seeds, the red chilies, and the cumin, till a splendid aroma hits your nostrils. Throw the spices in the blender.
In the same pan, throw in some peanuts. I used pre-roasted unsalted peanuts, but I still roasted them a bit, to release the aroma. You should dump these peanuts with the spice mixture.
Now it’s time for the coconut to join the party. I don’t like a lot of coconut in the salan- the combination of peanut and coconut is too cloy, in my opinion. Therefore, I restrict the coconut to a spoonful. Again, add the roasted coconut to the peanut and spice mixture right in the blender.
Same pan, add some oil now. In goes the onion, with the ginger and garlic. Keep roasting till the onions are done. Add to blender.

While the onions were cooking, you should take a small bit of tamarind, maybe two tbsp; throw in 1/3 cup of water and microwave for 40 seconds. You should get a dark brown liquid if you crush the tamarind a bit. I don’t like using ready made tamarind paste- it always has a weird after taste.
Add around 4 tbsp tamarind juice to the blender. Add a cup of yogurt, salt, ½ tsp sugar, and some water to the mixture, and blend all of these till you get a smooth liquid. Meanwhile back in the pan, add a1 tbsp of oil and saute the chilies till you get a sear on them. Add all the contents from your blender in the pan and simmer on low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Adjust the seasoning – sugar, salt, tamarind juice.

And serve with rice or paranthas. This is also an excellent accompaniment to Hyderabadi biryani.


Dry roast the following
1 tspn cumin seeds
2 tbspn sesame seeds
3 red chillies
1 tspn coriander seeds
add
1/3 cup of peanut roasted
Dry roast 1 tbspn coconut
Oil
Roast 1/3 large onion
1 pod of garlic
ginger

Blend the above with 4 tbspn tamarind juice, i cup of yogurt,water, salt and sugar.

Now take 8-10 green chillies. Slit and deseed. In 1 tbsp oil saute the chillies. Now add the blended mixture. Cook for 15 mins.Add chopped coriander.

Paneer Tikka Masala

Lately, I have met someone, who is white, and can take more heat in his food than a bunch of Hyderabadis put together. It works for me- he appreciates my cooking and I am happy not to temper down my spices. The other day we were at Kasa, a self promoted ‘indian taco joint’ in the Marina, which serves wonderful home cooked fillings like kadhai paneer, chicken tikka masaka, or kadhai gobhi, in a warm parantha wrap.
There I figured out his love for “chicken – teekaa – musaalaah’, and I wanted to make a vegetarian version with paneer.

The dish has two components to it. You make a tikka – or paneer/ chicken which has been marinated and skewered to imbibe the flavor of the marinade. The second component is the sauce – a rich spicy creamy tomato sauce. A lazy version of the sauce used by many a British home cook, has been a jar of Campbell tomato soup, spiced and creamed. However, this version had to use a basic Indian sauce, cooked from scratch, with a robust North Indian flavor. For this very reason, I dismiss Gordon Ramsay’s recipe since he uses the very South Indian aromatic- curry leaves.

I looked up recipes on the Internet and read the recipe from Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors by Lizzie Collingham. I particularly like Harpal Singh Sokhi’s version for chicken tikka masala. Here is a cook, who understands Punjabi cuisine and he explains the little tricks, and he definitely does not have a heavy hand with onion, garlic, ginger, which in their extremity mask the true flavors of the dish. He seems very technically proficient. However, I did change the recipe a little.

For the paneer tikka
Marinate a pack of cubed paneer overnight in the following marinade.
1 cup of yoghurt, 1 tspn each of cumon powder, coriander powder and chat masala, ginger, garlic, salt, and juice of half a lemon.we
The next day, you could either bake the paneer in a hot oven at 400 F, on oiled tinfoil.
Or use skewers. Soak the wood skewers in water. Skewer the paneer and get a fine crusting using a hot tawa.

For the Sauce
to some hot oil add the following - cumin seeds, 3 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom, black pepper, 2 bay leaves, 1 small piece of cinnamon
Add 1 and 1/2 large onions chopped finely to the spices .And saute till brown.
In a blender blend the following - 3 med tomatoes ( you want the onion -tomato ratio to be the same), 4 tspn cashewnuts, 3-4 cloves garlic, ginger.
Once the onions are done add the tomato mixture. Cook till dry. Add coriander powder, turmeric, red chilly powder. Roast the spices.

Add some water, and add the paneer. Cook for 15 mins. Add 1 medium cubed capsicum, Cook for another 10 mins, and keep adjusting water. Add 1/2 tspn sugar.
Add garam masala, chopped coriander, and cream. Mix all together.

Alu Tamatar – Special

This is a simple way to cook potatoes and tomatoes together, albeit it looks fancier. For once this recipe does not use garlic and ginger. I like to use Sanjeev Kapoor’s Punjabi mango pickle. I have used other brands, but this brand works really well with vegetables and adds the perfect flavor to the tomato gravy. This is a fairly quick recipe and serves as an excellent side dish for last minute guests.

Take 6- 8 baby potatoes and microwave them for 5 minutes. Slice in half. Now take some oil in a pan and add the potatoes, till you get a crust on both sides. Prick the potatoes with a fork and set aside.

Dice 3 tomatoes finely. In a pan take some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add heeng and zeera. Now add the tomatoes. Keep cooking till tomatoes are pulpy. Add haldi, salt, red chilly powder, coriander. Add the potatoes.

Cook for another 5 minutes. Add garam masala, kasoori methi. Add a tbspn Punjabi mango pickle.

Paneer in Almond Sauce

Cut 1 Pack of paneer into cubes and sauté till golden. Keep aside.

Blanch ¾ cup almonds in hot water and remove the skin. Grind coarsely with 1 pod of garlic, some ginger and 2 tomatoes. In a frying pan take some oil. Add 2 bay leaves and cumin seeds. When the seeds splutter add the almond tomato mixture. Add some red chilly powder, fennel seeds, 1 star anise, coriander, and turmeric to the mixture. Reduce the mixture. When the mixture is reduced to a thick paste add t tbspn yoghurt. Roast the mixture. Add water and salt. When done add some garam masala, lots of kasoori methi, paneer, and chopped coriander

Makai Kadi

I boiled 5 pieces of corn-on-the-cob and disengaged the kernels. I took a cartoon of yoghurt, added 5 tbspn besan, 1 tspn haldi, salt, red chili powder, and churned the mixture together. I heated the mixture and added some ginger to it. Add 1 tspn fennel seeds and one aniseed.

When the mixture stops smelling like raw besan, shut the flame and add 2 tbspn kasoori methi and 5 curry leaves. In a small pan take a tbspn ghee, add 1 tspn cumin seeds, 3 dry red chillies, and add to mixture. Add the corn. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Lauki Ke Kofte - Bottle Gourd Dumplings in Gravy

My mother excelled at making lauki koftas- they would melt in your mouth with just the right amount of softness and have the structure not to disintegrate in the gravy. I once ate a version, at the home of a fanatic health freak, where the dumplings were not deep fried but just boiled in the gravy. My verdict- distinctly unpleasant. The kofta needs structure and the toughness to withstand the gravy, and also the melt in your mouth softness at the same time. The least you can do is shallow fry it and if you are a fanatic health freak, instead of butchering a beautiful dish, eat raw tofu.Lauki is a popular vegetable in India, often disliked. As a kid I would wrinkle my nose in distaste when confronted with a bowl of plain lauki subzi. However the kofta is loved and relished and justifies the hard work that goes in creating it. If you can’t find lauki, try using zucchini, however a lot of Indian and Chinese stores carry this vegetable.

Coming to cooking, I think it is the medium where I have not only started to relieve my boredom but also feel closer to India and my mother. I have started relating to her and appreciating her more, while trying to recreate her flavors in my kitchen. I never learnt how to cook from her, as a kid she expected me to study all the time and not bother with the kitchen; justifiably so because after all you can easily afford a cook in India. And then she passed away. But what she gave me was a flavor reference, a touch stone to measure my progress against. I do not know how she cooked but I know how the dish should taste, and I try to get right there. When I made these kofta knew I was somewhere near that gold standard. The softness of the kofta, the tanginess of the gravy, she would have approved if she cared.

Cooking also helps me reconnect to the places I have left behind. After my mother’s kitchen it was eating out at the homes of my parent’s friends, who primarily came from different parts of Uttar Pradesh, and surprisingly each part, east or west, had its own distinct flavor profile. And then I ended up living in Lucknow, renowned for its Awadhi cuisine. The flavors of the north vary so much that I will write a separate blog post on that. And then I moved west to Pune, Gujarat, and Mumbai. All I can say is that, food brings back a whiff of the past, memories of people and places and food is a comforting reassurance that they might be very far away but they still exist.



For the dumplings
1/2 small bottle gourd grated- Lauki
4 tbspb besan
1 tspn salt
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn cumi powder

For the gravy
1/2 large onion finely diced
1 large tomato
1 tspn coriander powder
2 chillies
3 cloves garlic
1" piece garlic
1/2 tspn turmeric
2 bay leaves
1/2 tspn cumin seeds
salt to taste
2 tbspn yoghurt

for the dumplings
1. Wring the grated lauki of excess water .
2. Mix with all ingredients.
3. Shallow fry or deep fry 8 small balls

for gravy
1. Blend the tomatoe, chilly and garlic.
2. In a pan add the oil, cumin seeds and bay leaves. Wait till the seeds splutter.
3. Add the onions, fry till brown.
4. Add tomato paste. Fry till it sweats.
5. Add the spices.
6. Add the yoghurt. Saute for a minute.
7. Add some water.
8. When gravy is nearly done add dumplings.
9. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Paneer in Tomato Almond Gravy

10 oz paneer

2 large tomatoes

1/4 cup almonds

1 thai chilly

2 cloves garlic

1" ginger piece

1 tspn coriander powder

1 1/2 tspn salt

1 tspn chilly powder

1 tspn cumin seeds

1 tspn garam masala

2 bay leaves

2 tbspn yoghurt

2 tbspn chopped coriander leaves

1. Saute the paneer in a little oil till it is golden.

2. Grind the tomatoes, almond, ginger, garlic and chilly.

3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the bay leaf and cumin till it splutters.

4. Add the tomato mixture. Reduce till it sweats. Add yoghurt. Be careful because almond tends to burn and sticks to the bottom of the pan.

5. Add the spices - coriander powder, red chilly powder and salt.

6. Add 1 cup of water.

7. When done add garam masala and paneer.

8. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Anda Curry- Eggs in a tangy tomato sauce

4 hard boiled eggs
1 large onion- chop
2 large tomatoes- chop
2 thai chillies
3 cloves garlic
1" ginger
1 tspn garam masala
1 tspn coriander
1/2 tspn turmeric
2 tspn salt
3 tbspn yoghurt
5 almonds


dry masala
1 bay leaf
1 black cardomom
1 clove
1 tspn cumin seeds
3 peppercorns

Garnish
1 tbspn dried fenugreek leaves
2 tbspn chopped coriander

1. Heat the oil. Add the dry masala and cumin seeds till you hear a splutter.
2. Add onions , saute till brown.
3. Add tomatoes, garlic , green chillies, garlic , ginger.
4. When tomatoes are reduced add red chilly powder, coriander, turmeric, garam masala.
5. Add yoghurt. Reduce till you get a paste. Now add 1 cup water.
6. Fish out dried masala and blend the rest of the mixture with almonds.
7. Add the sauce to the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
8. Half the eggs and add to the sauce.
9. Cook for 3 more minutes.
10. Garnish with kasoori methi and coriander leaves.

Coconut Kadhi

I saw Sanjeev Kapoor making this kadhi once and I had to try it. I can't say I am a bif fan of coconut based curries , including Thai curries, since it gets rather cloy for me. However my friends loved this kadhi and I changed the proportions a bit. However for some reason , this kadhi works. It is a South Indian recipe but I am not sure which state it comes from.

2 cups of a chopped medley of any of the following vegetables - potatoes are necessary

potatoes, cauliflour, carrots, broad beans, zuchinni, peas, mushrooms, pumpkin, broccoli, edamame - You need vegetables which can retain their own structure after cooking and do not have a strong overpowering taste.

3 tbspns gram flour (besan)
2 cups coconut milk
2 tbspn tamarind pulp
1/2 tspn turmeric
1/2 tspn red chilli powder
2 tspn salt
oil
1 tspn mustard seeds
1/2 tspn cumin seeds
4 whole red chillies
5 curry leaves
3 cloves garlic thrashed
1 tspn white split urad dal

1. Mix the coconut milk, besan, turmeric, salt, red chilli powder and add 1/2 cup of water.
2. In a pan add some oil. Add the mustard seeds, whole chillie, cumin, garlic, urad dal, and curry leaves till the seeds splutter.
3. Add the vegetables except broad beans/ edamame and coat with the spices.
4. Add the besan cococnut mixture.
5. Cook till the mixture gets thicker, vegetables are cooked and the mixture loses the raw taste of besan.
6. Add tamarind and bring to a boil.
7. Serve

Gujarati Kadhi

Since I do not like my food sweet, I have ommitted jaggery from the recipe. However if you do like the sweet hot combination flavors of Gujarati food, you can add a tspn of jaggery to this kadhi.

4 cloves of garlic
1/2 " piece og ginger
4 green chillies
3 heap tbsn besan
1/2 tspn turmeric
2 cups water
2 cups yoghurt
1 tbspn ghee
1/2 tspn mustard seeds
1/2 tspn cumin seeds
1/2 tspn fenugreek seeds
1/4 cup choppped coriander leaves
4 curry leaves
2 tspn salt - adjust to taste

1. Mash the ginger and garlic together. Chop the green chillies
2. Mix the yohurt, besan, and turmeric and whisk together till there are no lumps.
3. Add ginger-garlic, chillies to the yoghurt mixture.
4. Cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes till the raw taste of the besan goes away.
5. In a small pan take the ghee. When it is hot add the cumin, mustard and fenugreek seeds and allow them to splutter.
6. Add to the kadhi.
7. Add the choppped coriander and curry leaves to the kadhi.

In Gujarat this is served with mung daal and rice.

Bhandare wala Alu Tamatar

Alu Tamatar or Potatoes in a Tomatoe curry is the most ubiquitious dish in North America. Every household has their own recipe, however I am including this recipe for its simplicity. It is sans onion and garlic and is therefore made as a prasad ( holy food) in temples and gurudwaras. This is my sister in law Anu's recipe and she is one of the best cooks I know. Sometimes in order to variate the recipe, I add a spoonful of mango pickle masala, when the recipe is done. Adds a whole new dimension.

Ingredients

3 potatoes ( Microwave for 7 minutes if large potatoes and break into rough lumps)
6 tomatoes finely diced
1 pinch of asfoetida
2 tbspn oil
1 tspn red chilli powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
1 tspn garam masala
1 tbspn dried fenugreek leaves

Instructions

1. Heat oil and asfoetida to flaor the oil. Add red chilli powder and saute for a few seconds before adding tomatoes. Be careful, you don't want to burn the chilli powder.
2. Saute tomatoes. Add coriander powder, turmeric and salt.
3. Add 1 cup of water, and cover and cook till tomatoes are done.
4. Add potatoes.
5. Add garam masala and kasoori methi. Cook for 3 more minutes.

Palak Paneer - Cottage Cheese with a Spinach Sauce

When I lived in Los Angles, I witnessed this fascination with an Indian dish called Saag Paneer. I was unaware of the nomenclature all together- we have nothing known as saag paneer in India. Saag means vegetables in India and I always associated it with a popular punjabi dish known as sarson da saag which is an awesome combination of mustard greens and spinach. It turned out that saag paneer was nothing more than the popular palak ( translates into spinach) paneer( indian cottage cheese) which is a classic paneer dish.
Back in India, I used to wait for winter , when during the spinach season we would make palak paneer. However, here you can easliy use frozen spinach. I did not use the boxed variety, instead I just bought two bags of chopped and frozen spinach from Trader Joes. Remember to cook the spinach a lot so it turns really dark , or use an iron wok to cook, since the oxidation darkens the spinach.


32 oz frozen spinach
10 oz paneer
2 tomatoes
3 small onions
4 cloves of garlic
1" piece of ginger.
2 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn cumin power
1 tspn cumin seeds
3 tspn salt
3 thai chillies
pinc of nutmeg
2 tspn garam masala
1/2 cup dried fenugreek leaves
1/3 cup half and half

Instructions

1. Thaw the spinach and cook for 10 minutes to get rid of water.
2. Finely dice onion, garlic and ginger. Or pulse it.
3. Blend tomatoes and chilli.
4. To the oil add cumin seeds, heeng, and onions, garlic , ginger.
5. When slightly golden , add tomatoes.
6. Add coriander, turmeric, cumin powder, and cook till the paste sweats.
7. Add the paste to the spinach. Add water to the spinach and cook for 30-45 minutes.
8. Fry Paneer cubes and add to mixture.
9. Add garam masala, dried fenugreek powder, nutmeg and half and half.
10. Serve with paranthas or naan,

Crushed Spicy Peas-Matar Nimona

Level of difficulty- Medium

Another north indian winter comfort food which is a wonderful showcase for fresh shelled green peas. I am not exactly sure where this originated from - Bihar or Banaras. All I know is that this is a wonderful way to cook peas and works well with frozen peas. So you could make it anytime of the year if you can't find enough fresh produce.

Ingredients

1 16 oz pack of frozen peas
1 small onion diced finely
1 small potato boiled and diced
1 small tomato finely diced and deseeded
1/2 cup of plain yoghurt
1/2" piece of ginger grated
4 bay leaves
1 pinch of asfoetida
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn red chilli powder
1 tspn garam masala
3 tspn salt
1/2 tspn turmeric
1 tspn cumin seeds
1 tbspn oil

Instructions
1. Blanch peas for 5 minutes and crush.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the asfoetida, bay leaves, and cumin seeds till the seeds splutter.
3. Add the ginger and then the pea mixture.
4. Add the coriander powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, and salt.
5. Crush the peas with spices for 2 minutes.
6. Add the tomato and crush the peas even more. Add the potatoes.
7. Add 1 cup of water and cook for 20 minutes. Keep crushing the peas.
8. Add garam masala. Shut off flame. Stir in yoghurt.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot rotis or paranthas.

Vegetable Kadhi - Yoghurt and Gram Flour Sauce with Vegetables

Deceptively simple and extremely comforting. Kadhi with Rice is soul food for many Indians. There are a number of ways to make this staple spicy yoghurt and gram flour sauce.

This blog will feature a number of kadhi recipes and I will start with my own special vegetable curry, which is an example of simplifying Indian food and adapting it to conveniently available American ingredients. It completely works and you could make a simple Indian meal in 20 minutues. Just cook your rice on one burner and stir the kadhi on the other. The recipe is very light, very healthy , and cooks fast.

Vegetable Kadhi

Ingredients

2 Tbspn of gram flour ( besan)
2 cups of plain yoghurt
2 cups of water
1 thai chilli
1/2 tspn turmeric
2 Tbspn salt
1 clove of garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1 Tbspn ghee
1 tspn cumin seeds (zeera)
1/2 tspn fenugreek seeds (methi)
1/2 tspn mustard seeds (rai)
1 Tspn of dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
1/2 lb of frozen petite vegetables ( corn , peas, carrot, beans)
1/2 cup of frozen edmame

Instructions

1. Beat the yoghurt with the besan, turmeic, and salt. Add the thai chilli to the yoghurt misture after dicing it to tiny pieces
2. To the saucepan add the mixture with water and adjust the flame to medium. Add the crushed garlic and ginger. Stir the mixture once in a while.
3. Cook for 10 minutes and add the vegetables and the edmame. Cook for another 10 minutes. Turn off the flame.
4. In a small sauce pan heat the ghee and add the zeera, methi, and rai. When they splutter add the ghee and spices to the kadhi.
5. Crush the kasoori methi and stir in the kadhi.

Serve with rice.