Shahi Paneer

This is another version of Shahi Paneer that I tried last night from The Novice Housewife. I found it while browsing through Pinterest. It was so creamy and delicious, I couldn't wait to get this up on my blog. Also prepping is easy. The ingredients need to be only roughly chopped and boiled, as it will be pureed into a smooth paste.

The novice houswife's recipe also gives out many handy tips worth reading.
The ones I liked:
Soaking the paneer to soften it.
Marinating and broiling the paneer.
Another option is to fry the paneer. The broiling or frying is done to prevent the paneer from crumbling into the curry. Or you can use it as it is.
The more you cook the gravy, the better flavour you get, but ensure you dont allow it to stick to the pan. Keep stirring the gravy.
If making ahead, make the gravy and broil the paneer. But reserve adding the paneer to the gravy till the day of serving. Also make the gravy a little thinner, as it will thicken with time. If you do add the paneer, reheat in microwave or oven. Reheating on the stove,  might lead to the paneer breaking into pieces while stirring.
Ketchup is added for sweetness and a reddish color. Or you can use a pinch of sugar instead.

Ingredients:

For broiled Paneer:
Paneer - 250 gms
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Kasoori methi - 1 tsp
Yoghurt - 1 cup

Onions - (1 large onion), quartered (250 gm)
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies - 3-4 ( if you prefer less heat, deseed the chillies)
Tomatoes - (2 small roma tomatoes or 1.5 large tomato) (125 gm)
Cashew nuts - 50 gm
Butter - 2-3 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste ( 1 inch ginger & 4 cloves garlic) - 1 tbsp
Roasted cumin powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
1 tsp sugar or 1 tbsp ketchup
Milk - ½ – ¾ cup
1 cup warm water (I used the reserve liquid from boiling the ingredients)
a handful of kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
3-4 tbsp finely chopped cilantro leaves
a very small pinch garam masala (optional)
salt, to taste

Method:

If you're using store bought Paneer (I've rarely made Paneer at home), then soak the paneer in hot boiling water and some salt for about 10 minutes. It makes the paneer soft.

Also marinate the paneer with yoghurt, turmeric, cumin seeds, kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves), red chilli powder and salt for 15 minutes. Bake them in an oven at 350F for 7 minutes. Broil it for 3 minutes. Flip and broil for another 2 minutes.

Grind the ginger and garlic with ½tsp of water to make a smooth paste.
Wash the tomatoes, and cube them roughly.
Put the tomatoes, onions, coriander seeds, green chillies, and cashews in a big enough sauce pot. Add enough water to cover the vegetables and let it come to a boil (about 10 minutes). Drain the water and blend it to a paste. I generally keep a cup under the strainer and reserve some of the liquid to put in the gravy later. You could remove the skin of the tomatoes if you like, but it is fine even if you don’t.
In another pan (I use the same sauce pot), heat the butter (I used oil). Once hot, add in the ginger-garlic paste. Fry till golden. Add the onion-tomato paste.
Fry on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the oil separates. Be careful, it will splutter.
Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Let cook for another 15-20 minutes on medium-low flame. Add ¼ cup of the reserved warm water. Cook for 5 minutes and keep adding the rest of 1 cup of water every 5 minutes, for the next 15 minutes.
Add the roasted cumin powder and kasoori methi in the sauce and mix well. Season with salt and add sugar if required. You can add a little ketchup as well. The ketchup adds a little sweetness, and a little red colour to the gravy.
When ready to serve, reheat the sauce. Add the paneer, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add finely chopped cilantro, the milk and if required a little more warm water. Adjust seasoning. You can add a pinch of garam masala at this point, if you like. Serve hot with naan, or roti.

Read More

Naan

 
Naan is an Indian bread that I've been wanting to try making at home for a long time. It's traditionally made in a Tandoor which is a hot clay oven. Obviously a commoner like me won't have a clay oven at home, so we usually had them at a restaurant. But my mom used to make a similar one at home on a stove top when I was a kid. It used to be one of her specials served with keema matar, made specially for her children. :)
I tried a recipe from vahchef. He shows two options - an oven technique and a stove top technique. Since my stove is electric, I couldn't follow that one, although he says its the better tasting one. I opted for the oven technique and it turned out good anyway. I may try the stove top version when I get a grill.
I served it with Shahi Paneer for dinner.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour (Maida) - 3 cups
Instant dry yeast - 1 sachet
Water - 1/2 cup (lukewarm)
Milk - 1 cup
Egg - 1 (optional)
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp
Extra flour - for rolling out

Method:

Sieve the flour into a bowl.
Prepare the yeast mixture first. In a small bowl filled with 1/2 cup lukewarm water, add the instant yeast. Stir with a plastic spoon to mix, the yeast will start to get activated. To help this, add in the salt and sugar. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add the milk, and egg if using. Egg will make the naan softer. Also add a tablespoon of oil in the mixture.
Pour the yeast mixture a little at time into the bowl of flour and knead with your hands. The video shows that you need to get a very sticky and smooth dough, so its ok if its sticks a lot on your hands. I did not have to use the entire yeast mixture to get the consistency shown in the video (that's why I use only 1/2 cup water in this recipe). Drizzle some oil over the top so that it doesn't dry when letting it rest. Rest for about 1/2 hour or even an hour, to let the dough rise. In the meantime, I prepared the curry that I would serve with it.
Preheat your oven to the highest possible temparature (broiler mode). Flour your work surface and your hands. Start pulling out portions of the sticky dough and form a rough ball with it. The extra flour will help prevent it from sticking to your hands. Once you've made the balls, cover them with a kitchen towel and rest again for about 10 to 20 mins. Then take eash dough ball and flatten them out with your palm. Keep tossing them between your palms like you would a pizza dough. The video shows you how to do this. Beware he's goofy, so it's hard to take him seriously at first lol!

Place them on a non-stick cookie sheet or on an oiled pan. If you like garlic naan, spread minced garlic over the naan at this stage. Bake it in the oven for 2 and a half minutes. Anymore and you will burn the naan (Oven temperatures may differ so keep a close eye on the first batch to calculate what works best). Take it out and flip it, and place it back in the oven for only 30 seconds. Get them out and immediately dab salted butter on it, if you like butter naan.
Serve hot with your favorite curry.

Read More

Shrimp and Veggie Pasta Casserole

This is one my most favorite casseroles. I love shrimp and I love white sauce. Combine it with pasta, mixed veggies and you've got a solid meal!
This recipe is inspired from a mix of two recipes. One from the heritagecook and the other from stacey snacks.

Ingredients:

For shrimp:
Large shrimp - 1 pound (1/2 kg) - shelled and deveined
Garlic - 3 cloves - minced
Green onions (spring onions) - 2 stalks
Butter - 4 tbsp - softened
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Ground black pepper - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste

For garnish:
Panko breadcrumbs - 4 tbsp
Canola oil - 1 tsp
Parsley - 3 sprigs - minced
Grated parmesan cheese (optional) - as per taste

Pasta:
Linguine pasta - as per serving nos.
Water - to fill 3/4 of a stock pot
Salt to taste
Olive oil - 1 tbsp

For Bechamel (white sauce):
Butter - 2 tbsp
Flour - 2 tbsp
Milk - 1 cup (warmed or at least at room temperature)
Cream - 1/4 cup (optional)
Pepper - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

For veggie mix:
Cooking wine - 3/4 cup (I used rice cooking wine)
Green onions - 2 stalks
Yellow onion - 1/2 chopped
Frozen mixed vegetables - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix salt and lemon juice with shrimp and leave for 10 minutes. Meanwhile mix all the other ingredients in the shrimp section to form a buttery paste. Add this paste to the shrimp and coat well.
Lightly cook linguine pasta in boiling water in a stock pot with salt and olive oil. Drain and place onto the casserole dish. This is your first layer.
Onto the sauce. In a sauce pan, melt butter on medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth and also giving some time for the flour to cook. This mixture is called the 'roux'. To this add a small amount of milk and whisk so that no lumps are formed. Add the rest of the milk and cream if using. You could also use half and half. The sauce will thicken. Season with salt, pepper and paprika if desired, and your bechamel sauce is ready.
In a separate pan, heat oil on medium heat. Fry the onions and whites of the green onions until soft. Then add the thawed mix of frozen vegetables. You could also use a mix of fresh vegetables. You can use your preferred combination like green peas, french beans, carrots, broccoli, corn kernels. Add remaining green onions. Pour the white wine into this and allow to cook until its reduced and thickened (for about 2-3 minutes). The alcohol would evaporate at this stage, but you could leave the wine out if you dont want the flavor. Pour this mixture into the bechamel sauce and combine well.
Pour this mixture all over the paste in the casserole. Use a fork to shake it a little so that the sauce seeps through the pasta.
Now for the third layer - place the shrimp mixture over this.
For the garnish, mix the canola oil with the panko or breadcrumbs so that its lightly coated but still fluffy. Mix grated parmesan cheese if desired. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle chopped parsley over this.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. I had some leftover cooked bacon strips that I crumbled on top as well, so that I don't have to throw them away. It added more flavor to the already awesome dish!

Note: For a simple shrimp appetizer, you can just bake the shrimp mixture alone with the garnishing at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, until the crumbs are golden brown and shrimp is cooked through.
Also the recipe of the bechamel sauce is very versatile and is used in many continental dishes.

Read More

Egg and Vegetable Stew (with variations for chicken, beef or lamb)

This stew is a traditional Syrian Christian curry served for breakfast with Appam (lacy rice pancakes). I like to have it any time of the day with toasted bread, if there's no ready batter for appams. It's very rustic and hearty, like the filling of a pot pie. (Maybe I will try it in a pot pie someday).

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

Eggs - 4 large
Onion - 1 medium size, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, minced
Green chillies - 3 or as per your spice level
Chopped Vegetables - 2 cups (preferably potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, french beans, green peas)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon sticks - 1 large broken to small pieces
Cloves - 4-6
Green cardamom pods - 4
Bay leaf - 1
Curry leaves - 1 sprig (optional)
Black pepper corns - 6-8
White pepper powder - 2 tsp (optional)
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Red chilli powder - a pinch (optional)
Coriander powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Garam masala - a pinch (optional)
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Oil (vegetable/canola) - 2 tbsp (For authenticity, use coconut oil - its an acquired taste)

Method:

Hard boil the eggs and keep aside to cool. Meanwhile chop all the vegetables and store in a mixing bowl.
In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Add mustards seeds and let is splutter. Add the whole spices - cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, peppercorns. Once their aroma starts to exude, add the chopped onions, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute until the onions are translucent. Then add the powdered spices - turmeric, white pepper, black pepper, red chilli powder, coriander powder. Mix for a minute. Then add the chopped vegetables and enough water to just cover the vegetables. Cover and cook until the vegetables are cooked through. Meanwhile peel the cooled eggs and halve them, if desired. Once vegetables are cooked, reduce the heat, and pour coconut milk. Let it cook and reduce until you get the desired consistency of gravy. Finally sprinkle garam masala and add the hardboiled eggs. Serve with appams, chappathis or toasted slices of bread.

Note: You can make different variations of this stew. Leave the eggs out and it becomes a vegetable stew. Add cubed chicken pieces instead of the vegetables and it becomes a chicken stew. For beef or lamb stew, cook the meat separately with a small amount of water or even pressure cook it, before adding it to the stew.
If you don't have coconut milk, use regular milk.

Read More

Canneloni Florentine

This is a dish I first ate at a vegetarian Italian restaurant in Bangalore called Little Italy. Its one of the fewest restaurants where I did not miss meat!

Ingredients:

Canneloni tubes - 12 tubes

For canneloni filling:
Butter - 4 tbsp
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Garlic - 6 large cloves, minced
Carrot - 2, peeled and grated
Spinach - 2 cups,chopped
White pepper powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp
Feta cheese/Grated paneer/Ricotta cheese - 1/2 cup, crumbled

Cheesy Bechamel sauce:
Butter - 4 tbsp
Flour - 2 tbsp
Milk - 2 cups
Shallot - 1, whole, peeled
Cloves - 6
White cheddar cheese - 1/4 cup grated
Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp. grated
Salt
White pepper powder - 1 tsp
Nutmeg powder - a pinch

Spinach layer: (optional)
Spinach - 1 cup, chopped coarsely
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Rosemary - a small sprig

Tomato pasta sauce - 4 tbsp (optional)
White Cheddar cheese for garnish - 1/2 cup, grated
Parmesan cheese for garnish - 3 tbsp

Method:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
Start with Bechamel sauce:
Take the whole peeled shallot and pierce cloves into it.
In a saucepan, pour milk and warm on low-medium. Place the piece of shallot with cloves into it, to allow the flavor to seep in.
In another saucepan, melt butter and add flour to make the roux. Mix for about a minute till the raw smell of flour is gone. Whisk in milk, little by little to get a creamy but less thick sauce. Add grated cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. Take a taste test and adjust salt (as cheese contains salt too). Add white pepper powder and nutmeg powder.

For filling:
Melt butter in a pan. Saute chopped onions and garlic till its translucent. Then add grated carrots and salt. Now add chopped spinach, white pepper powder and allow for spinach to wilt. Turn off heat and allow the mixture to cool. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add crumbled feta cheese, breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp of the bechamel sauce.
Fill the canneloni tubes with this filling

Spinach layer:
Heat olive oil in the same pan used for filling. Add rosemary (rub it with your fingers first to release flavor). Then add chopped spinach and allow it to wilt.

Assembly:
In a casserole dish, first pour the cheese bechamel sauce.

Spread the spinach layer on top of this. Now arrange 6 or 7 canneloni tubes to form a layer. Pour more bechamel sauce over this. Sprinkle white cheddar sauce. Place remaining canneloni tubes to form second layer.

Pour remaining bechamel sauce. Spread pasta sauce or marinara sauce, if using. Finally sprinkle white cheddar and parmesan over it.

Bake the casserole for 40 mins.
Note: Do not make the bechamel sauce too thick, or the canneloni tubes will not cook.

Read More

Keema Matar

Keema matar is one of my favorite dishes. My mom used to make this for me and my sister when she feels like treating us to something special. She used to also make a pan grilled bread that was a lot like naan to go with this. When I started to cook on my own, this is one of the first recipes that I decided to master. Its quite simple and delicious!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (you can use ground lamb, chicken or turkey too)
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 inch piece ginger
2 green chillies sliced fine
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 inch piece cinnamon
4 cloves
2 cardamom
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp asafoetida
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
4 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp yoghurt
2 tsp lemon juice

Method:

Heat oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom and cloves. Then add onion and salt. Saute on medium heat for about 10 mins, till  it turns brown. Add ginger, garlic and green chillies. Continue sauteeing for a long time till everything softens up. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and asafoetida. Mix till raw smell disappears. Add tomato puree. Cook till raw smell goes. Then add ground beef. Mix thoroughly so that no chunks form. Add 2 tbsp milk. When beef turns brown, add more tomato puree if required. Adjust salt as well. Add green peas and cook further for another 5 minutes. Take off heat and let cool down. Mix yoghurt and sprinkle lemon juice before serving.

Read More

Stir-fry noodles

This recipe is very similar to my Pancit Bihon recipe. The main difference is that I use rice noodle in the Pancit recipe. In this one, I use either Udon noodles or Ramen (Maggi noodles is also Ramen).

Ingredients:

Noodles: 2 packets
Bacon - 4 strips
Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped fine
Ginger - 1 inch piece, chopped fine
Onion - 1 chopped (optional)
Assorted vegetables (choice of grated carrots, sliced french beans, corn kernels, green peas, sliced bell pepper, bean sprouts)
Green onions (spring onion/scallion) - 2 stalks, chopped
Sambal oelek - 1 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Noodle flavor sachet (your choice of flavor)- 2
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tp (optional)

Method:

Cook noodles, drain and keep aside.
Heat a wide pan, cook 4 bacon strips till crisp. (no need to use oil as bacon has fat). Take bacon out on a plate, keep aside. In the same pan with bacon fat, fry onions, garlic and ginger. Once onions soften, add the vegetables. Cover and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes. Add green onions, soy sauce and mix. Then add sambal. Add in the noodles, noodle flavor, black pepper and mix until well combined. Serve hot with spicy ketchup or siracha sauce, if desired.

Read More