Palak Paneer

Ingredients-
Serves 4

Paneer - 10 cubes of 2 inches long each
Fresh Spinach – 5 oz
Tomato Puree of 2 large fresh tomatoes
Milk (optional) – 1/2 cup
Coriander powder – 1tbsp
Cumin powder- 1tsp
Aniseed/Saunf powder – 1tsp
Red chili powder – 1tsp
ginger paste – 1tsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Bay Leaves- 1-2
Black cardamom – 1
Green cardamom – 1
Cinnamon stick – 1 inch
turmeric powder- ½ tsp

Note- If the Paneer is hard soak them in warm water after frying with pinch of salt for 5-10 min. I prefer blanching over boiling spinach.For blanching, fill a large pot with water, bring it to a boil and add pre-washed spinach leaves. Don't cover it. Blanch the spinach for approximately 30 seconds or until they turn a brilliant green. Remove the spinach from the pot with a slotted spoon and drain. Plunge the leaves into a bowl of ice/cold water to stop the cooking. Drain the leaves.

Method -
Make pure of blanched spinach (try not to use water, if required used ¼ cup of water). It makes around 2 to 2 ½ cups pure. Take all the powdered spices and ginger paste in a bowl, add ¼ cup of water and make paste of it. Shallow fry the paneer on non-stick pan with 1 tsp oil. You can deep fry the Paneers too. Keep it aside. Now, in a pan take butter/ghee/oil, add all the whole spices. Now add the prepared paste. Roast it for 5-8 seconds on medium flame till oil starts appearing on the surface. Now add chopped onions. Stir it well. Allow it to cook till onions become translucent in color and oil starts separating from side. Add Tomato Pure. Cover and cook on medium heat till it becomes red it color. Now add the spinach pure. Cover it and cook for 2-3 minutes so that raw taste of spinach goes away. Now add fried paneer. Cover it and cook it on slow flame for another 2-3 min. If it looks too thick add ½ cup of milk instead of water which makes the dish rich too. You can add cream also but to avoid the calories I prefer adding milk. Garnish with cream or coriander leaves and serve hot with Rice, pulav or parathas :)

Malai Paneer

Ingredients-
Serves 4

Paneer - 10 cubes of 2 inches each
Tomato Puree of 3 large tomatoes
cashew – ½ cup
Poppy seeds – 1 ½ tbs
Milk – 1 cup
Coriander powder – 1tbsp
Cumin powder- 1tsp
Aniseed/Saunf powder – 1tsp
Red chili powder – 1tsp
ginger paste – 1tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Bay Leaves- 1-2
Black cardamom – 1
Green cardamom – 1
Cinnamon stick – 1 inch
turmeric powder- ½ tsp
salt to taste

Note- You can deep fry paneer cubes too. If the paneer is hard soak them in warm water after frying with pinch of salt for 5-10 min.

Method-
Soak cashew nuts and poppy seeds separately in lukewarm water for 30 min. Gind them with ½ cup milk in mixer in a smooth paste (if required u can use remaining ½ cup of milk too). If you want to make the recipe rich, you can add ¼ cup of heavy cream too.

In a pan take 1 tablespoon oil and roast the paneer cubes, keep them aside. Now in the same pan take 2 tbsp oil/ghee/butter. Add bay leaves, black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon stick. After approx 10 seconds, add the tomato puree. Cover it and allow it to cook till it reduces half of its size and becomes deep red in color. Now add salt and all the powdered spices one by one. Stir it well, cover the pan and cook it on medium flame till the oil starts separating from the pure. Now add the cashew-poppy seed paste/ mixer. Stir it well. If it’s too thick use some more milk. Allow it to simmer on low flame for almost 2 min. Now add the paneer cubes and cook it on medium-low flame for another 5 min. Keep it stirring from time to time to avoid it burning. Garnish it with either cream/coriander leaves and serve with rice, paratha or nan.

Onion-Cheese Paratha

Ingredients-
4-5 Parathas

Wheat flour- 3 cups
Mashed Boiled potato- 1 cup
Grated Cheese – 1cup
Chopped onion(optional)- ½ cup
Grated Ginger – 1tbsp
Chopped chili – 1tbsp
Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Green Coriander chopped – 2tbsp
Oil for roasting
Salt to taste

Note- For parathas the dough should be soft and potato for stuffing should be boiled one night/4-5 hours before preparation (preferably kept in refrigerator) which makes it hard and it doesn’t spill out while rolling the parathas.

Method-
For Dough-
Mix the flour, salt and water. Make the dough and keep it covered for 15-20 min (It will make the dough soft). Now knead the dough well (approx 5 min).And it’s ready for stuffing.

Stuffing-
Mix all the ingredients except wheat flour and oil.

Take stuffing and make small balls (size of golf ball). Take a small portion of dough. Roll it in small disk (puri). Take it in the Middle of your palm. Keep the stuffing ball at the center of the in the disk/ puri. Cover it from all the side with disk/puri and roll it smoothly. Roast it well on both the sides by applying oil. Before serving apply a teaspoon of butter and serve it with chilled curd, salad and pickle. Yum yum :)

Gobhi Paratha

Ahhh another paratha which I just love!!! Me being a north Indian want some or the other form of roti/paratha in my luch and dinner everyday. Since my husband also loves Parathas I try to make them atleast twice a week.
As everyone knows Cauliflower is a very versatile vegetable (atleast for me..I cook them with almost everything..hehehe). Like potato you can use it in mix veg, aloo gobhi, gobhi matar, pulav, gobhi manchurian and of course gobhi paratha. I love gobhi so I will be posting loads of recipes of gobhi in the blog. All the gobhi lovers can check this blog from time to time for other gobhi recipes :) Lets make yummy gobhi parathas..

Ingredients-
4-5 Parathas

Wheat Flour – 3cups
Finely chopped (approx ½ inch pieces) cauliflower – 2cups
Finally chopped Green chili – 1tbsp
Grated Ginger – 1tbsp
lemon juice(optional)- 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder – 1tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – 1tsp
Chopped green coriander – 2tbsp
Oil/butter/ghee for roasting
Salt to taste

Note- One can add 1/2 cup of boiled and grated potatoes in the filling to avoid the filling to spill out while rolling the parathas. Vegans avoid ghee/butter as it is made of milk.

Method-
For Dough-
Mix the flour, salt and water. Make the dough and keep it covered for 15-20 min (It will make the dough soft). Now knead the dough well (approx 5 min).And it’s ready for stuffing. This makes 4-5 parathas.

Stuffing-
In a pan take 2 tbsp of oil. Add green chilies, cumin seeds, grated ginger, and cauliflower pieces. Mix it well, cover it and cook for 1 min. Now add turmeric and salt in that and cover it and cook till it becomes tender. Now put garam masala and chili powder and cook it without covering it for few min so that it becomes dry. Ones its done add green coriander and lemon juice and mix it well. Allow it to cool naturally. Ones it cools down mash it well. It’s ready for stuffing.

Take a small portion of dough. Roll it in small disk (puri). Take it in the Middle of your palm. Put approx 2tbsp filling at the center of the in the disk/ puri, cover the stuffing from all the side with disk/puri and roll it smoothly. Roast it well on both the sides by applying oil. Before serving apply a teaspoon of butter(optional) and serve it with chilled curd, salad and pickle.

Spinach-Pesto Pasta

Ingredients-
Serves 2

Almonds – 3/4 cup
Fresh Spinach- 4 oz
Garlic cloves – 3 (big)
Olive oil – ½ cup
Pepper- ½ tsp
Grated Parmesan Cheese – 1/2 cup
Your choice of Pasta – approx 6 oz
Salt and pepper (optional) to taste

Method-
Cook the pasta as per package instruction (I have used whole wheat pasta). Roast the almond and allow them to cool naturally. Now in a food processor combine spinach, garlic, almonds and salt and grind it to a smooth paste. Add the cheese and grid again. Add the oil at regular interval until you get the desired consistency. I like to keep almonds bit coarse rather than a powder which gives it a crunchy taste. Mix pasta in the sauce, sprinkle some freshly ground pepper (optional), garnish it with some cheese and serve it with roasted garlic bread and salad. Note – You can blanch the spinach before using to reduce its bitterness. You can replace the spinach and almonds with fresh basil and Pine nuts, which is used in authentic Pesto sauce.

Bell Pepper-Carrot Fry

This is my entry for "power-less cooking event" !!

Ingredients-
Serves 2

Lengthwise chopped Carrot - 1 cup
Lengthwise chopped Red/yellow bell pepper– 1cup
Lengthwise chopped Onion – 1cup
Chopped Ginger – 1tbsp
Chopped Green chili – 1tbsp (or as per taste)
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Red chili powder(optional) – 1/2tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1tbsp
Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
Hing/asafetida powder (optional) – ¼ tsp
Green Coriander – 1tbsp
oil - 2 tbsp

Method-
In a pan take 2tbsp oil. When it’s hot add onions and cook it on medium pan without covering the pan till they become light brown in color. Now add green chili and ginger. Cook it for few seconds and add carrots, salt and all the spices. Stir it, cover the pan and cook it on low flame till the carrots are done but still crispy, for around 3-4 min. Now add the red bell pepper, stir it and cook for another 2 min without covering the pan. Add 1/ tsp garam masala (optional) and green coriander and serve hot.

Besan Chilla/Dosa(Gram Flour Pancake)

Ingredients-
Serves 2

Besan/Gram flour- 1 1/2 cup
Rice flour (optional)- 1/4 cup
Grated zucchini- 1/2 cup
Grated carrot - 1/2 cup
Chopped coriander - 2 tbsp
Chopped Green chillies - as per taste
Grated Ginger- 1 tsp
Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste.

Note- Rice flour helps in making the chilla/dosas crispy n makes the spreading of batter on pan easy. You can use any veges like finely chopped onions, grated squash or may be chopped spinach. Some people put Tomato too but I think it makes the chilla/dosas bit soft.

Method-
Make thick batter of all the ingredients with water. Add 1 tsp of oil (to make it crispy) in the batter. Put the pan on the flame (i prefer non-stick to avoid sticking and excess oil). grease the pan with 1/4 tsp of oil. Now make small pan cakes with the batter. Cook it both the sides by applying little oil. Serve hot with pickle or chutney or mango/peach salsa :)

Removing Odor From Room

Who doesn't like good smell and when it comes to good smelling house, I thoroughly believe that its well kept and clean:) But after cooking good spicy Indian food the whole house smells like a restaurant. And since in US one tends to use AC , it does wonders in spreading the smell in the entire house. It’s even worse when you have guests for lunch or dinner. Poor guests, sometimes they end up carrying the lovely aroma of spices in their hair and clothes!!!

In order to avoid such miracles I do following tricks (some of which I got from internet) -

• Lit few scented candles (candles absorbs the food odor really well) in the kitchen and living room while cooking along with switching on my exhaust fan. After finishing cooking, I spray an air freshener or sometimes warm scented oil in oil burner. Along with that opening window helps a lot in circulating fresh air in the room. Though it takes around an hour for the smell to completely go but it usually do the trick.
  
  
• keep potpourri in different corners of your house. Good Smell from that will help in reducing the cooking smell.
  
  
• Alternatively Combine 2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) water, 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) vinegar and 1 tsp. whole cloves in a shallow, wide pan. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat later if needed.
  
  
• You can pick up a few favorite essential oils. They can be found in many floral shops or even craft and department stores or use your favorite perfume. Depending upon the scent you want, choose oil and place a few drops of it on a cotton ball then stash the cotton ball somewhere in the room you wish to scent, preferably on a small dish.
  
  
• You can make your own air freshener by taking two tablespoons of cinnamon and some orange/lemon peels or just add drops of spicy oil and boil them in a cup of water. Then allow the fresh scent to permeate throughout your house giving it a pleasant fruity smell. This will also help humidify the house as well as make it seem fresher.
  
  
• For removing cigarette odor, place a bowl of water and vinegar in the room. The vinegar-water will absorb the smoke.
  
  
• In order to remove smell of wood or fresh paint, place a bowl of coffee beans for few days in the room. It will absorb all the smell.
  
  
• Take a fresh orange, and using a toothpick poke holes through the rind. Stuff whole cloves through the holes. This makes a wonderful scent and lasts a while. You can even wrap a 1/4" - 1/2" wide ribbon around the orange so it can hang.
  
  
• To remove pungent cooking odors from cooking things such as cabbage or cauliflower, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the cooking water. You can also add lemon juice to your dishwasher cup so that it smells lemony clean.
  
  
• Spicy air freshener using apple sauce and cinnamon-
  You need 1 cup of chilled apple sauce, 1/2 cup of ground cloves, 1/2 cup of ground cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of nutmeg. Mix all ingredients together and it will form a dough. Roll the dough out until it is 1/4" thick and cut into any shape you wish, with a cookie cutter or free hand.Using a straw poke a hole in the top of the shapes for hanging. Lay out shapes on wax paper until they are completely dry, which can take 24-48 hours. Insert ribbon or string through hole and hang as desired.