Spicy Paneer Pakoda

Paneer Pakoda, is one of the most popular Indian snacks. Be it wedding or a kitty party or a cocktail party, Paneer Pakoda is always in demand.
Its easy to make & great in taste, so let's get started.

INGREDIENTS:

• PANEER ( Cottage Cheese)                   250 gms
• Besan ( Gram Flour)                                2 Cups
• Green Chilly                                            2 or as per your taste
• Onion                                                     2 Medium size
• Yoghurt (Dahi)                                        1/2 Cup
• Red Chilli Powder                                   1/2 tsp( or as per your taste)
• Baking Powder                                        Just a pinch
• Salt                                                          As per taste
• Oil                                                           Enough for Deep frying
• Chat Masala                                            For sprinkling over the top

RECIPE:

• Cut paneer, green chilli and onions into small square pieces.
• Mix  salt, red chilli, baking powder and Yoghurt in to besan and make a thick batter using water.
• Heat oil on a medium-high heat. (Make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a small drop of batter, it should come up instantly)
• Dip a piece of paneer, green chilli and onion together in the batter and deep fry in the oil.
• Sprinkle some Pakora masala on the top and serve them hot.

SPECIAL TIPS:

• Pay attention to batter's consistency. If it's runny, it won't stick to paneer and If it's too thick, pakoda's would be hard. So it should be somewhere in between the too.
• Another thing is flame and the tmperature of oil. If the oil is too hot, pakodas would brown outside & remain raw inside but if its not hot enough, pakodas would become hard. So, flame should be medium -high and lower it if it becomes too hot subsequently.
• Beat the batter well, make sure there are no lumps.
• Pakodas taste best, when served with hot Dhaniya chutney.

So, Enjoy the pakodas and Have Fun Cooking !!

MUGHLAI PANEER

Mughlai Paneer is a rich and traditional recipe which has the flavour of moghul style cooking (as the name suggests). Its quite simple to make and is an amazing dish for any occassion .

INGREDIENTS :

1. Paneer :                               250gms
2. Thickened Cream :               1 Cup
3. Khus Khus seeds :               1tsp
4. Watermelon seeds :              1tsp
5. Yoghurt :                              1 Cup ( whip it well)
6. Onion :                                 1 Large ( grated )
7. Red chill powder :                 1/2 tsp
8. Garam masala :                     1/2 tsp
9. Salt :                                     To taste
10. Fresh Corriander Leaves :      For Dressing

RECIPE:

• Soak khus-khus and watermelon seeds in water overnight and then grind it to a fine paste.
• Heat 2 tbsp Oil and cook the grated onion till transparent.
• Add seeds paste and cook for  about 2-3 mins.
• Now add Yoghurt to the mix.
• Cook for about 5-7 mins till it turns golden brown and leaves oil at the corners.
• Add Garam masala & Red chilli powder along with Cream.
• Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add paneer and 1 cup water and let it cook till the paneer softens and the gravy becomes thick.
• Pour it in your serving dish and add dress it up with Corriander leaves .

IMPORTANT POINTS:

• Make sure to stir consistently after adding paneer, else it would stick to pan.
• You can use freshly grounded Cinnamon & Black caedammon seeds for dressing along with corriander. They smell heavenly.
• Cook onion only till it softens, dont let it turn brown or golden.

Enjoy Cooking. CHOP--CHOP !!

Bhature

Well, Cholle Bhature is undoubtedly one of the most popular dish of Punjab. While, making Cholle is easy, Bhature can be a bit tricky.
So, here's the easiest way to make Bhature.

Paneer Jalfarezi

Paneer Dishes are hot favourite for all the celebrations, functions & special occasions. This recipe is slightly different from Matar-Paneer or Shahi-Paneer but its got its own refreshing taste & flavour..

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup                      Paneer ( in form of small cubes)
1/2 cup                   Green capsicum ( in form of small squares)
1                             large Onion ( Finely chopped)
1                             Tomato  ( Finely chopped)
2Tb Spoon              Oil
1 T Spoon               Cumin (Zeera)
1 Tb Spoon             Ginger-garlic Paste
                                Salt ( as per your taste)
1/2 T spoon              Red chilli Powder
1/2 T Spoon             Turmeric powder
1/2 T Spoon             Coriander (Dhaniya) powder
1 T Spoon                 Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup                     Fresh Coriander (Dhaniya) leaves for garnishing

RECIPE:

Heat Oil in a Pan
Add Cumin & let it crackle to golden brown
Add Ginger-Garlic Paste, Capsicum & salt
Keep the flame low. 
Cook for sometime, stirring consistently to avoid sticking of ginger-garlic paste.
Add Red chilli, Turmeric & Coriander Powder.
Add Paneer & Tomato after 5 minutes
Cook till the Spice mixture ( Masala) binds with the paneer.
Add Lime juice before removing from flame.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves before serving.

KHEER - KESARI

Let's Start the blog with something sweet.


Kheer is one of the most traditional dessert which is specially cooked for festivals & special occasions at home.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice (small grain or broken grain - preferred) - 1cup
Ghee                                                             - 3 Table spoons
Milk                                                              - 1&1/2 litre
Sugar (can vary as per your preference)         - 1 cup
cardamon seeds                                             - about 3-4 cardamons
unsalted cashews (finely chopped)                  - 2 Table spoons
almonds (finely chopped)                               - 2 Table spoons
fine almond flakes                                          - 4 Table spoons
Raisins (preferably small ones)                       - 2 Table spoons
saffron flakes                                                 - 2 pinches

RECIPE:
Heat ghee in a spacious saucepan (preferably non-stick, so that milk won't stick while condensing). When the ghee is hot enough, add rice to it, roast them to golden, stirring continuously.
Then Add milk slowly while stirring.
Let the milk come to boil then lower the flame & let the rice cook, while stirring at regular intervals.
Add cashews, almonds & raisins.
Cook the mix till the rice is cooked & the milk has thickened so that the mix is semi liquid.
Now add sugar & keep stirring still at low flame.
Dissolve Saffron (KESAR) flakes in 2 tea spoons of water & add to your kheer.
Make sure, the Kheer is neither too liquid nor too solid, it should be more runny then you would prefer it to be finally (as it thickens after cooling off).
Take the Kheer, off the flame.
Now Add finely grounded cardamon seeds to the Kheer & serve.
The Kheer tastes even better when served cold with lots of almond flakes on the top.

Highlights of the Dish:
1 Prefer broken rice over basmati
2 Add Sugar after the rice has been cooked & the milk has thickened else it would take lot longer to cook.
3 Consistency should be always semi liquid, add more milk if the milk has been thickened more than desired.
4 You can add condensed milk with 750 mls of milk to save the time on thickening the milk but no sugar with sweetened condensed milk.
5 Make sure to stir continuously, else rice & milk stick to the bottom & smell burnt.

ENJOY COOKING !!!!!!!!!!!!

Indian Cooking an Introduction

Most of the people believe Indian cooking is all about spices. Well, Its true to some extent but not entirely. Spices are the backbone of Indian food but getting the right ingredients & right flame settings also form a very important part of cooking.
My Mum always say, "Tadka" is best when its cooked on low flame, stirring consistently whereas, "ROTI" is best cooked on high flame. So, flame varies with different dishes & at different times.

 We Indians, love our food & that's why, Indian women spend half of their life in Kitchen. But Indian cooking has evolved with time & has been modified to match our hectic life style & our calorie conscious brain setting.
In this blog, I would try to post the recipes that I have cooked & improvised over years.