Charred Aubergine & Cottage Cheese in a White Gravy (Hubby Cooks & Clicks)

Last week when Wikipedia shut down for 24 hours under a self-imposed ban to protest SOPA, I read an article in one of the social readers as to what will happen If the Internet itself goes Kaput for a day? While it is really difficult to imagine such a situation, I did a small test on myself to see if I am immune to being online 24*7. 
It is not that I am addicted to the net or checking FB & Twitter status every second - more often than not the unscheduled power cuts & kids make sure that I stay away from computer. Still, the very thought of being totally cut was challenging  and I decided to stay off for a day but not before I paid all the bills/dues online ;)


It's nothing great that's what I told myself and started off on a positive note.While the first few hours went well with me getting friendly with newspapers & a few books which I have been meaning to read for quite some time, the fact that the net was out of reach made me long for surfing after some time. But truthfully, staying offline helped me  to finish so many work that had been pending for a while and the kids got more MUMMY time ! There was an ache to check mails & surf late in the day but managed to curtail those thoughts with some outdoor activity with kids.


The next day I was very glad to get back to my beloved laptop & getting connected all over again ! :D The self imposed ban made one thing clear - it is not entirely impossible to survive without being plugged (people have lived their life in the past without being perpetually on net), but it's more imperative to appreciate the resources availble & use them judiciously. Taking things for granted never pays.


Today's post has my favourite bharta getting a glamorous makeover. Hubby Dearest likes to don the apron every once in a while and experiment with the available ingredients. More often than not, the simple & routine dishes gets a glossy look with his magic touch. And he absolutely loves the fact that we go totally gaga over his culinary skills and is in a constant ache to WOW us.


Last week, he was early from work and decided to give the aubergine a different twist with a rich gravy & added cottage cheese to further pep it up.It was finger-licking good and my daughter, who was thrilled to see her favourite cheese in the gravy wiped her plate clean.


The fun part was seeing my hubby juggle the camera as well as the ingredients ; the kitchen resembled a war zone for those 40 minutes ~X(

The smoky eggplant & the cottage cheese spiced up was a yum treat !

Here's How :-

Wash the aubergine & pat dry. Grease it all around with  little oil and put it directly on the stove top @ medium flame. Let the eggplant char complete, constantly turning it all around, so that it is cooked from inside too.

Grind the Cashew nuts along with milk to a fine paste.Once the aubergine cools off, peel its skin & take of its crown. Mash it with a masher /fork & set aside.

In a pan/wok, add oil and as it warms, add the garlic and saute till the aroma of the . pods tickle you & then tip in the chopped green chillis, mint leaves and coriander leaves and saute for a few minutes. Then add the shallots and the onion and saute for a few minutes.

Spice up the mix with red chilli powder & garam masala. Saute till the raw smell goes away. Add the chopped tomatoes and let it cook till they are mushy.  Let the mix cook on a low-medium flame till the oil starts leaving sides.

Add the mashed eggplant and cook for a few minutes till the mix blends well with other ingredients. Now dunk the cashewnut paste and cook for a few minutes. Finally add the cottage cheese and give the mix a good swirl. Season it with salt as per taste.

Garnish with coriander leaves & take off flame. Serve hot..
Linking it to Vardhini's Dish it Out- Brinjal & Garlic ; hosted by Sangee

Kadhai Mattar Paneer (Cottage Cheese & Peas in a Gravy)

As a school & college student, yours truly  had a love-hate relationship with kitchen.Helping mom with chopping vegetables & doing dishes were definitely on the like-to-do list but cooking was never my scene. My mom would always chide me by quoting the evergreen ' way to a man's heart through stomach' line. I would tell her that if my man will love me for what I am , he will cook for me too !!! :D . Well, I am indeed a very lucky woman to have a loving & supportive spouse, a man who is also hands on in kitchen, but it soon dawned that he will defenitely not be standing beside me 24 *7 and I had to COOK and shun away my averse feelings for warming up the hearth. All that happened and a girl who hated kitchen, has turned in to a pro decent chef !


These thoughts were predominant in my mind while I was prowling kavita's space @ Edible Entertainment.  What amazed me  about her blog was not only the vast array of dishes under a variety of cuisines, but also the posts written meticulously, laced with a funky narrative. All this by a young girl who is still a student !!! 
Radhika's Blog-Hop Wenesday is indeed widening my horizon to different blogs & people.The dish that I cooked from kavita's space is Kadai Mattar Paneer. 

My daughter's love for paneer in any form is well known, and this dish was dot on to warm her heart & our hearth.

A few subtle changes to the recipe to suit our palate were made like refrigerating the marinade, adding garlic to the gravy and spice quantity modifications. The dish with luscious cubes of cottage cheese in a lovely cashew gravy garnished with dried fenugreek leaves was a runaway hit with my folks.

Ingredients - Preparation Time : 90 minutes , Cooking Time : 15 minutes (Serves : 3 to 4)


The Main Ingredients

• Cottage Cheese / Paneer - 400 grams
• Onion - 3 - large - thinly sliced
• Green Peas / Mattar - fistful
• Tomato - 3 - small - finely chopped
• Bell Pepper (Green)  - 1/2 - finely chopped
• Cashew Nuts - a fistful
• Garlic - 3 pods- large
• Green Chili - 1 to 2 - to taste - finely chopped
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons (used store bought else dry roast coriander seeds & grind them into a fine powder)
• Red Chili Powder - 3-4 tsp - to taste
• Garam Masala Powder - 2 tsp - to taste - store bought
• Dried Fenugreek Leaves / Kasoori Methi - 1 tbsp
• Salt - as per taste 
• Cooking Oil - 2 tsp

For the Marinade

• Yogurt / Curd - 2 to 3 tablespoon
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 1/2 tsp - to taste
• Salt - a little

Here's How :-

Start with marinating the cottage cheese.Cut them into cubes, and mix with the yogurt/curd, little salt , 1 tsp red chili powder and let it rest in the fridge for about 90 minutes hours.

Boil the peas in microwave or on the stove, strain water & keep aside. Making the base for the gravy is the next step. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add the green chillis, garlic,half of the sliced onions, tomatoes & cashew nuts and stir till they start changing color. Take off flame, let it cool and transfer the mix to a blender. Add garam masala, coriander powder and blend until you get a smooth paste. Add little water if required.
Again, heat 1 tsp oil, add the remaining cut onions & satué for 30 seconds & add the capsicum. Add the pureed blend to the onion-capsicum in the pan and give it all a nice mix. Let it cook on medium-high flame for at least 5 minutes or till the raw smell evaporates. You can add around 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to it & let it boil. Meanwhile - take half cup of warm water. Add the dried fenugreek leaves & let it rest for a few minutes. Take the marinade from the fridge and tip it to the gravy cooking it on medium flame. It has to cook for around 2-3 minutes. Add the boiled peas, dried fenugreek to it . Mix well and once it simmers take it off flame.
Serve it hot with rotis/phulkas/parathas (Indian Flat Bread) ; tortillas or rice. 

Enjoy !

Also linking it to Julie's Christmas Delicacy

Quicky Spicy Cottage Cheese Stir Fry & an announcement

The rich tributes flowing in for Steve Jobs is fitting - a visionary par excellence, the man followed his heart and stooped to conquer - May you Rest in Peace Steve !

Let's not forget the message he reiterated

Stay Hungry,Stay Foolish !! 

The week that's buzzed past was monotonous and to top it I was struck with - Don't feel like Blogging Block !!! There were some good dishes my hearth produced but the urge to blog about them was missing ! The weekend was no better and the lazy Sunday afternoon got even more lazier with a steady shower and all I wanted was a steaming cuppa with something to tuck in. Nope I didn't want to move a muscle , so it was Lazy calling Gallant - yup Hubby Dearest to the rescue ! When he agreed to dish out something simple but appetizing it was happy hoots...Succulent cubes of Cottage Cheese tossed in a tempered spice mix was just perrfect ! Spice Quotient was given  by Milgai Podi (Red Chillis&Lentils Blend) and that added to the crunchy and flavourful taste of the dish. The dish was also a perfect accompaniment to the good 'ol Curd Rice !

What's in it :-

• Cottage Cheese- 200 grams - washed & cubed
• Butter & Olive Oil Mix - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds,Urad Dal - 1 tsp each
• Curry Leaves - a few 
• Green Chilli - 1 - halved & sliced - optional
• Red Chillis & Lentils Powder - 1 1/4 tbsp - to taste
• Salt - to taste
• Asafoetida - a generous pinch

How:-

In a wok, add the mix of butter & olive oil and as it warms up let the mustard seeds & urad dal crackle. Drop in the curry leaves, green chilli and season it with salt & asafoetida.. Now tip in the Red Chillis & Lentils Powder and saute the mix for a few seconds. Finally dunk the cubed cottage cheese and toss it well. Let the spice blend coat every piece of the cottage cheese. The dish is ready. Serve Hot with your afternoon tea or enjoy it as a side-dish !

Finally an Announcement ----

Indus Ladies is currently accepting entries from all bloggers for its E-book compilation - "100 Yummy Diwali Sweets". Send in your entries by Oct 10th 2011 and about 1.3 lakh readers can access your recipe and your blog.
For Participation Rules - Click here.Fellow Bloggers if you want your sweet/dessert recipe to be part of this tasty saga do send in your entries to partners@indusladies.com by Oct 8th, 2011.

I have sent 2 entries for the same - Papaya Halwa & Choco Rose Jamuns

Come on...hurry! What are you waiting for?? 

Paneer Lajawab for Bonjour Friday

My guest post for Jabeen @ Jabeen's Corner is up on her page. When Mehjabeen invited me to do a post for her new series BONJOUR FRIDAYS that not only had to dish out something special but also had to bare a little about oneself, I was truly delighted. After much thinking about the dish I would post, I settled on this delectable paneer gravy that my hubby cooked for me the first time after marriage (a good 10 yrs back and the taste still lingers!!!); since then, the dish has been part of our special menu and it's close to my heart for all the obvious reasons. Hop on to Jabeen's space and do check out the devilishly good
Paneer Lajawab as well as have a peek-a boo in to my world !

Paneer Lajawab

It's been a while I dished out this paneer special and thanks to Jabeen the dish revived a lot of happy memories.

Thank you Jabeen for this wonderful opportunity !

Mint N Cilantro Pulao

Cooking is one happy song when the ingredients in hand are your darlings - Mint & Cilantro the two versatile herbs are easily my favourite greens. They add the necessary spunk to any dish and rightly so ! The aromatic & very refreshing mint is a superstar in my hearth as it finds its way in to all n sundry like salad, soups,gravies,beverages, etc . Its invigorating smell just lifts up the spirits and spells fun while the sweet & pungent coriander /cilantro leaves adds flavour to any dish. Also the health & medicinal uses of mint & cilantro are widely documented. Do you need any more reason to join the fan club of these herbs ??

It is no suprise that this mint & cilantro pulav is my favourite and I dish out different versions of this regularly - my version of this pulav for today's lunch was happily gulped down by kids.The herbs did not overpower the dish but its fragrance wafted all around n taste lingered.For added effect, I shallow fried succulent cubes of cottage cheese & added to the rice. It was a winner all the way ! 

What's in it :-


For the masala paste :-

•  Mint & Coriander leaves - a bunch - washed
• Green chillis-  3 to 4 - to taste
• garlic Pods - 2 (large)
• Ginger - a small piece
• Coconut - few pieces
• Lemon - one or two  squeeze (helps retain its colour) , optional

Other ingredients :-

• Raw Rice - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 large - diced
• Green Peas - a fistful
• Baby Corn - 1 - diced
• Cottage Cheese - 150 gms - cubed in to small pieces

To temper :-

• Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Whole Spices - cinnamon, bay leaf, aniseed, mace,cardamom- to taste
• Cashew nuts - a few

How :-


Add little water and grind all the ingredients for the masala in to a paste & set aside.

Wash the rice and keep it aside. In the meanwhile shallow fry the pieces of cottage cheese to be added later.
In a wok , add olive oil and as it warms up tip in the whole spices and let it spread across its buzz. Add the cashewnuts & fry it golden brown. Now add the diced onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the green peas & baby corn and stir fry. Add the ground paste and mix well. Saute this for a few minutes adding little water if the mix gets too dry. 

Season it with salt and add the rice with enough water and let it cook. In case of using  a pressure cooker wait for 2 beeps from it; otherwise close the pan and let it simmer on low-medium flame till done. Finally add the paneer pieces and mix well.
Serve hot with choice accompaniments.





Enjoy !

Tomato & Paneer Kadhi

I saw this suprisingly simple and lovely curry/gravy from Sanjeev Kapur's video on youtube. With tomatoes and little gram flour a delicious looking kadhi was tempting me.

I made it immediately and my whole family enjoyed it thoroughly. 

It does not have onions & garlic which appealed to my granny and i added paneer (cottage cheese) to it ,that made my daughter happy ! The best thing about this dish is it has ZERO OIL ! With steaming rice as well as phulkas, it tasted divine !

What goes:-

• Tomatoes - 8 to 9 (medium sized) - washed & pureed
• Paneer (Cottage Cheese) - 200 gm ( cubed in to small pieces) - optional
• Gram Flour - 3 tsp
• Red Chilli Flour - 1 tbsp - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Water - 1/2 cup

For the Tempering & Garnish:-

• Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Asafoetida- a pinch or two
• Coriander leaves - a small bunch (finely chopped)
• Green Mangoes - a few  pieces - chopped (garnish) - optional

How:-

In a mixing bowl add the pureed tomatoes and mix salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and the gram flour. The garbanzo flour is for thickening the mix. Blend well and add little water to it. 

Set aside and prepare the tempering. Heat a pan and allow mustard & cumin seeds to splutter. Add curry leaves and asafoetida and let the aroma waft around the kitchen. (Note no oil for tempering)

Now add the tomato mix and little water (if required ) and bring it to a boil. Lower the flame and let it cook well till the rawness of the flour & tomatoes escape.

Add the chopped cilantro leaves and bring the mix to a required consistency.

Add paneer (or soya chunks or tofu to make it more healthier) and let it simmer for a few minutes. 

Switch off the flame, garnish with chopped raw mangoes and serve hot with rice or rotis !

Enjoy !

Sending it to Priya's Fast Food Not Fat Food and also to her guest hosting event  Kids Delight by srivalli

Linking it to Aipi's Bookmarked Tuesdays event announcement by Priya & A moderate life's Hearth & Soul Blog Hop :39

  

Also to Sanyuktha's Whole Foods - Tomato , event announcement by Kiran

Methi-Paneer Rice(Fenugreek Greens & Cottage Cheese Rice)

Preparing a lunch box for school kids is one challenging task as many of the mothers would agree! 
Bringing variety, keeping it healthy and tasty as well as finishing off before 7:45 in the morning knocks off air from me many a days.The lunch should also be filling also as by the time my daughter comes back from school it is almost 4:30 in the evening.  I still wonder how my mom used to juggle all this comfortably before rushing off to work !!


This Methi-Paneer rice is one such dish that packs a punch --  my daughter is happy that paneer is in her dish, i am happy that greens are in her dish.  The goodness of methi leaves is well documented .It is also not a very difficult dish to assemble in the morning !


My mom makes this dish using sambhar powder instead of garam masala or any biryani powder. I have added a little garam masala too other than the Sambhar powder--


The other variations you can bring to this dish is by adding tofu or soya chunks instead of paneer !!

Here's my take :-
Ingredients:-

• Rice - 1 cup (cooked)
• Fresh Methi Leaves (Fenugreek greens) - A bunch (washed & roughly chopped)
• Paneer (cottage cheese) - 200 gms (cubed)
• Onions - 2 (chopped)
• Green Peas - 1 cup 
• Bell Pepper - 1 (diced)
• Baby corn - a cup (diced)
• Sambhar Powder - 1 tbsp
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• garam Masala - 1 tsp (optional)
• Salt - to taste
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
• Mace - little
• Coriander Leaves - a handful (for garnish)

How:-

Keep the methi leaves and rice ready . Soak the paneer if using store bought in hot water for some time to remove impurities. Cube then and set aside.

In a kadai add butter and let the fennel seeds splutter ! Add mace and cardamom and stir it before adding onions. Saute the onions till they turn a lovely pink, add peas and pepper ! Let the cook for some time ! Now add baby corn and give them a quick toss.

Add all the masalas (spices) as per taste - let the taste buds dictate the spices to add sizzle to the dish. Cook the whole mix with a little water till the rawness dissipates.

Add the methi greens and cook them till it wilts before adding the cubed paneer. Add salt to taste and give it a good mix.

Finally add the cooked rice and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and fried bread pieces.

Enjoy with crunchies or salads or raitha

Linking this to Torview's Food Palette : Green

Paneer Kofta (Cottage Cheese Balls in Rich Gravy)

Kofta is a Middle Eastern and South Asian name for a Meatloaf ! It has a variety of vegetarian versions with Bottle Gourd, Potato, Cabbage, Peas, carrots, corn, Cottage Cheese etc and they go well with Naan/Parathas (Indian FlatBread). The dish is extremely versatile in sense that the ingredients can be spiced up in a whole lot of ways !

The star ingredient for the kofta is spiced as per taste buds and rolled in to a particular shape -cylinderical (oblong), spherical (round). They are then grilled or poached or fried or marinated or baked acordingly.These koftas are then served in a hot spicy sauce/gravy.


The kofta that gets a repeat entry in my kitchen is with Paneer. Potatoes and Cottage cheese spiced up and rolled are deep fried. They are then dumped in to a rich gravy of Cashews & Alomonds....

 Here's how:-


Ingredients---


For the Kofta:- (12 nos)

• Paneer (200 gms) - Grated very finely
• Potato - 1 large (Boiled & Grated)
• Ginger - a small piece (grated)
• Garlic -2 (minced )
• Green chilli - 2 (finely chopped)
• Coriander a handful (chopped finely)
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Cashewnuts - a few (roughly broken)
• Raisins - a  few
• Salt to taste
• Cornflour - 3 to4 tbsp
• Oil to deep fry

For the Spicy  Gravy

• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Cazrdamom - 2 to 3 pods (roughly crushed)
• Almonds - a handful
• Cashews - a handful
• Onion- 3 (roughly chopped)
• Tomato - 2 (pureed)
• Green Chilli - 1
• Ginger - Garlic Paste - 1tbsp
• Red chillie Powder - 1 tsp- to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1tsp
• Garam Masala- 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1tsp
• Salt to taste
• Coriander - finely chopped

Method:-
 Get the Koftas Ready - Mix together grated paneer and potatoes along with green chilli,ginger , garlic, salt and pepper. Add chopped cashewnuts and raisins.

Finally blend it with lemon juice, cornflour and the coriander leaves . Make it in to a dough and divide them in to lemon sized balls .

Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep fry the balls a few at a time until golden brown. Drain on  to an absorbent paper and keep aside.

In the meanwhile soak the cashews and almonds in hot water and grind it in to a fine paste.

Also puree the onions and green chilli powder and set aside.

In a separate pan add butter and sizzle fennel seeds along with cardamom . Now add the pureed onions and saute till it turns translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste and sitr fry till the raw smell evaporates.

Now add coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and garam masala. Stir well and saute . Leave to cook on low heat for some time. Add little water if required.

Now add the pureed tomatoes along with salt to taste and let it cook for a while.  Add the cashew- almond paste. Stir well and cook on low heat for seven to eight minutes.

Once the mix attains the desired consistency drop the paneer koftas in the gravy.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Serve Hot with Rotis or Naan

Enjoy !