Monday, December 29, 2008

Paneer Makhani

Panner makhani recipe



Paneer Makhani

A north indian dish made with Paneer(Indian cottage cheese) cooked in rich creamy tomato gravy. Makhani( something cooked and sauteed in butter or thick cream)




Ingredients

1 cup
Paneer / Feta cheese(cubed)
1 no
Onion (diced)
1 inch
Ginger (finely minced)
2 cup
Tomato puree

2 tsp
Kasturi methi
2 nos
Bay leaf
1 tsp
Cumin seeds
2 nos
Cloves
5 nos
Cardamon (crushed)
¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds
3 tspRed chilli powder

1 tsp
Garam masala powder
½ tsp
Sugar
1 tsp
Salt (or to taste)
½ cup
Fresh cream (half & half)
1 tsp
Butter
3 tsp
Oil














Heat oil and butter in a suace pan and fry the cubed paneer pieces until they turn slightly golden. Remove them from the pan and keep aside. In the same oil add clove, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and bay leaves and toast them for a while. Then saute the onions and ginger until they turn golden. Now add the pureed tomatoes along with red cilli powder, garam masala, kasturi methi, crushed or powdered cardamon, sugar and salt. Close with a lid and cook on low flame for 5 minutes. Then add half & half cream and fried paneer cubes and let cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the oil seperates. Garnish with little kasturi methi leaves and serve hot.


Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Aloo Tamatar Subzi - Curried Potatoes In Tomato Sauce

Aloo Tamatar Subzi - Curried Potatoes In Tomato Sauce

Simple,comforting and flavorful – is how I would describe today’s vegetarian dish with overtones of North Indian style of cooking.I learnt this recipe during my college days from one of my numerous North Indian friends who would bring it in her tiffin dabba with rotis.I reminse the days when we would swap our tiffin dabbas and how I'd lap up delicious North Indian fare like stuffed paranthas and chole while my friends would relish our South Indian tiffins like masala dosas,idlis and garellu.

I always tried out different combinations of a particular dish(which is new to me) using different spices with recipes like curried baby potatoes and aloo palak and finally settle for one which is suited to my palate in terms of spice and flavor.North Indian cuisine calls for the use of less spice than our Andhra cuisine.If I feel that the flavor of a dish needs to be peped up a bit in terms of spice then I do make a subtle change without playing too much with the ingredients and cooking style of the authentic original recipe.The end result has never been disappointing so far and I always had my family and friends relish the food served to them..:)

Aloo Tamatar Sabzi or Curried Potatoes in Tomato Sauce is very simple,everyday dish regularly cooked in many North Indian kitchens.Boiled potatoes are cooked in a spiced gravy of onions and tomatoes and it makes a great curry with rotis and chapatis.I also make this sometimes as an accompaniment to a subtle flavored rice or steamed white rice.
Aloo Tamatar Subzi (Potato-Tomato Curry)

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes (boiled and slightly mash with hand roughly to form small chunks)
1 large onion chopped finely
3 cloves garlic finely minced
1" ginger finely minced
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 dry red chillis
10-12 curry leaves
2 green chilli slit length wise
1 tsp red chilli pwd (adjust according to your choice)
1 tbsp coriander pwd
1/2 tsp cumin pwd
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
salt to taste
3 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp oil
chopped coriander leaves for garnish
1 tsp jaggery or sugar (optional)

Heat oil in a cooking vessel and add the mustard seeds and let them pop.Now add the red chillis and curry leaves and stir fry for a few seconds till the flavors are released in the oil.Now add onions,ginger and garlic and saute till the onions turn light brown.Add the green chillis and all the pwds.Combine.
Add the tomatoes and stir fry till the oil seperates and it gets mushy.
Add the potatoes and combine and keep covered with a lid on low heat for 3-4 minutes.
Remove lid and cook further for another 3-4 mts stirring once in a while.
Add salt and enough water to cover the potatoes.
Bring to a boil and let it simmer on low heat till you get the desired curry consistency.Finally add the jaggery/sugar and combine.Turn off heat.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rotis/chapatis/steamed white rice.