Kadhai Paneer

Dear Appu,

This is a fun paneer dish to make, and not very hard, and a little unique. At first glance, it might seem like that’s a lot of coriander seeds to use, but it truly enhances the taste of the gravy and doesn’t stand out in an odd way. The step by step video is linked at the bottom, so you can have a visual before you try it out!

INGREDIENTS

Vegetable oil – 2/3 oz
Coriander seeds – 1/2 oz
Paneer – 8 and 3/4 oz
Green peppers/Green capsicum - 2, cut into squares
Kasoori Methi – 1 tsp
Coriander leaves – 1 bunch
Red chillies – 2 whole
Coriander seeds – 1/4 oz
Garlic – 1 oz, finely chop
Vegetable oil – 1 and 1/2 oz
Red chilli pdr. – 1 tsp
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes – 6, chopped
Salt – to taste
 
For the Kadhai Sauce
 
1. Blend the red chillies (2) and 3 tsp coriander seeds coarsely.
2. 3 tbsp  of oil in a pan > add powder > stir, turn down to low heat and fry for 3 min.
3. Add garlic to the pan and fry for 5 min until golden.
4. Add tomatoes, turn to high heat and cook for further 2 min, stirring occasionally.
5. Add 1 level tsp of red chilli pdr., 1/2 tsp of haldi and stir.
6. Turn down to medium heat, cover and leave for 20 min.
 
For the Paneer
 
1. Pan > 1 tbsp oil on high heat > add paneer > fry for 1 min > place in a bowl of warm water.
2. Heat 1 and 1/2 tbsp of oil > medium heat > 5 g coriander seeds > seeds crackle and pop > add paneer > fry for 2 min until golden > add peppers > stir for 1 min.
 
For the Mix
 
Add a little water to the pan. Allow to boil. Pour kadhai sauce, add a large pinch of kasoori methi and stir. Roughly chop fresh coriander leaves and add to the sauce.

[Recipe source : Videojug.]

Doodhi Kofta

Dear Appu,

This is one dish I have struggled with for a long time. And I think I finally found some success this time. The balls didn’t break and fritter away in the oil and the gravy wasn’t as dominated by tomatoes as the last time I made it. I was looking for a recipe that gave it the creamy rich taste much like what it is in the restaurants. I think the following recipe fulfils all these conditions.

Ingredients 

1/2 mid-sized bottlegourd
1/2 to 3/4 cup besan (chickpea flour)
1/2 cup blanched almonds (Just put some in a bowl, over with water and heat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.)
slivered almonds – for garnish (I was too lazy to do this!)
1 medium onion
2 medium tomatoes
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup whipping cream (Skipped this too…with the badam and the milk, it was creamy and rich enough.)
1-2 cups water
3-4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp garam masala powder
3-4 tsp red chilli powder
salt – to taste
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Chopped cashews
Raisins
chopped fresh coriander – for garnish

Method

For the kofta balls : Take the doodhi and grate it in a bowl. Then press it through a strain or your fingers to remove all the water. It’s important to do this else the koftas will break in the gravy. Now add the turmeric powder, salt, red chilli powder, some chopped cashews, raisins, the besan and also a boiled and crushed potato. You can also add some lemon juice to your taste. Mix well and form small round or oval dumplings from the mixture. Add more besan flour if required to give proper texture and shape to the koftas. Fry it on a medium flame turning it over to get an even golden tone. Keep it aside.

For the gravy : Take the onions and garlic and blend them to form a smooth paste. Take the blanched almonds, peel off the skin, then blend them with 2 tsp water or milk to form a thick paste. Blend the tomatoes separately and keep aside.

Now take a pan, put 2 tbsp oil and add the cumin seeds. When they start spluttering, add the onion-garlic paste and sate till it turns light pinkish with a glaze. Now add the garam masala, tomato paste, salt, the remaining spices and slowly add the milk, stirring it. Now add the almond paste, a little water to make a rich gravy, then cover with a lid and allow to simmer on medium flame.

Now increase the flame for the gravy so it starts boiling, then gently add the koftas (dumlpings)into the gravy. Cover with the lid and reduce flame. Let them cook for 3-5 mins, then gently flip the koftas over, taking care not to break them. Add more water to the gravy if required. Once its done, gently remove the koftas first and transfer them into a serving bowl, then top it with the remaining gravy. Garnish with chopped coriander and slivered almonds, and serve them hot with Parathas or Rice!

Aloo roast

Dear Appu,

Right after Amma’s amazing ginger tea, her aloo roast deserves a separate mention of its own. She would be so tired after a long day at school, that dinner on most nights would comprise of aloo roast and rice. We never complained about it, because who in their right mind, would complain about yummy potato crispy curry??? But more than the weekday nights potato curry, its the Friday afternoon potato curry that I remember best.

Glorious Friday afternoons, after waking up late and having some of her tea, followed by a nice long oil bath, really fired up our appetites and that was the one day she would go all out and prepare a slightly more elaborate lunch than the weekdays, when we all ate a mostly cold lunch from our lunch boxes. It would be late by the time she finished cooking. Almost 2′o clock and we’d be ravenously hungry by then. We’d lay out the mat and sit down to eat, and not say a word. On such afternoons, it would almost invariably be aloo roast with some piping hot avial or thenga araccha kuzhambu and good old fashioned laban yoghurt to wash it all down at the end. And once lunch was over, and everything cleared away, Appa and Amma would go off to take their naps, and we would curl up on the couch and doze off too. The perfect and only way to digest a delicious meal! Without further ado, here’s how I tried to recreate that magic today…

Ingredients

Potatoes – 6 medium (boiled in pressure cooker for 3 whistles, and skin peeled and cubed)
Spices – Either Sambar powder or Chilli powder/Coriander pwd/cumin pwd/garam masala
Channa dal – 1 tsp for seasoning
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – a stalk
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Oil – 4 tbsp
Coriander leaves – chopped, for garnishing

Method

1. Take 2 tbsp of oil in a cup, add the sambar powder and some turmeric powder. Pour it over the cubed potatoes like a marinade. Mix in well.

2. In a pan, take the remaining 2 tbsp of oil, add mustard seeds and when it pops, add the channa dal and the curry leaves. Then add the potatoes, sprinkle the needed salt and cook open. Keep tossing the potatoes inside the pan so all the sides get evenly crispy. This is to be done on a medium flame and takes a little time to get that crispy texture. This process should take about 20 minutes or so.

3. Once done, remove from fire, garnish with fresh coriander leaves and its ready to indulge in!

Okra curry in yoghurt sauce

The name is pretty fancy, isn’t it? Its a dressed up way of saying vendakkai curry in a thayir pacchadi. I love vendakkais because they are so easy to chop off of the cutting board. All you need is your hands and a knife, and a little bowl to put it in. Remember Amma’s vendakkai pacchadi….the one she used to cook with tamarind and jaggery? That is one recipe I love. The other is of course, good old vendakkai stir fry. And then of course, there are the stuffed bhindi recipes. I got tired of all of them. And I was looking for a different way to cook these crispy green beauties. That’s when I came upon this recipe on Sailu’s Food and I couldn’t wait to try it! I am copy pasting the exact recipe she has posted…

Ingredients

250 gms tender lady’s fingers, wash and pat dry with a kitchen towel, trim the top and ends, and cut in half if you wish, as I did.
½ inch ginger piece
¼ tsp pepper corns
1 tbsp oil
1 dry red chilli (broken in half)
1 tsp cumin seeds2 green chillis slit lengthwise
1 tsp coriander pwd
pinch of turmeric pwd
1 tbsp besan (bengal gram flour), dry roast the flour stirring constantly till it gives a roasted aroma
1 cup curds
salt to taste

Method

1. Peel the ginger and make a paste of pepper corns and ginger. Keep aside. Whisk the curds and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a cooking vessel and add the dry red chilli and cumin seeds and stir fry till the aromas come out.
3. Add the green chillis, coriander pwd, turmeric pwd, besan and stir well for a few seconds. Don’t burn it.
4. Add the trimmed and cut lady’s fingers (which have been stir fried in a tbsp of oil for 3-4 mts) and salt and cook over medium heat stirring frequently for 4-5 mts.

5. Stir in the ginger-pepper corn paste.
6. Reduce flame and add the whisked curds and mix well and cook covered for 12-15 mts stirring occasionally or till the okra is cooked and you get the desired curry consistency.
7. Serve hot with white steamed rice or chapatis.