Palak Paneer

Hey everyone!!
I am writing after so long, with a little one to handle alone and with all the festivals coming up these days and ofcourse not to forget the winters coming up I don't get much time to cook lavish preps. I am also being lazy to cook long menus. ok, now that I have given so many excuses I will move on. :P
I was not very fond of Palak <Spinach> during my childhood, but I would eat anything that's been cooked at home as that's the way I have been brought up by my parents. Now my husband though is not fussy eater but he is very choosy. Whole summers we ate 3-4 types of veggies only. So as the winter is coming up and we get many varieties of vegetables I wanted to bring some change in the menu. When I asked my dear husband to bring palak this time to make palak paneer, like a good hubby he brought. (:
So yesterday I made palak paneer and when the dinner was ready and I was serving him I got to know that he does not like palak paneer very much. I was heart broken.. :( And then when he tasted it He was like "This is the best Palak Paneer I have ever tasted!!!!" I was on cloud 9. :) ok, now enough of self praising... :P
Hope you all will also like it as much as  he did.

Ingredients:
Palak (Spinach): 1kg
Paneer 250 gms
Tomato: 1
ginger: 1 inch piece
Besan (Chickpea flour): 1Tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1tsp
Salt: to taste
Red Chilly powder: 1tsp
Coriander powder: 1tsp
Kasuri methi: 1tsp
Garam Masala: 1tsp
Ghee:1tbsp
Cream/ malai: 1tbsp

Method:
1. Wash and cut the spinach leaves. Pressure cook without water for two whistles.
2. While the Palak cooks and cools down a bit, take a pan. Add ghee in it and add cumin seeds, when they start popping add tomato and ginger paste. Saute until it leaves ghee. Add besan and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add all the spices and in the end add malai or cream.
3. Now make puree of palak with the hand blender.
4. Add tomato paste to palak.
5. Add paneer pieces.
6. Cook for 5 more minutes

Palak Paneer is ready, serve with hot missi roti and offer to Lord!!

Punjabi Pakoda kadhi

Kadhi chawal(rice) is staple dish of north India.. Specifically in Punjab we eat so many different curries with rice, like rajma rice, chane rice kadhi rice etc.. Kadhi is usually prepared with besan (chick pea flour) and buttermilk. The proportions of flour and buttermilk vary from state to state. In Rajasthani kadhi there is more besan less buttermilk, but in Punjabi kadhi buttermilk is more than besan. In Punjab the buttermilk is easily available for free.. (: but here in Delhi we don't get free buttermilk though we get packets of buttermilk of various milk brands like Amul, Motherdairy etc. I usually use plain chach packets of Motherdairy. Or else if you don't get buttermilk you can also make it by adding water to curd.
BTW I love kadhi chawal. I just start drooling even if I hear kadhi chawal. I can eat again even if I am full up to my neck..(;
Ok now lets move to recipe.

Ingredients:

For kadhi:

Buttermilk: 500 ml.
Besan (chick pea flour): 2-3 tbsp
potatos: 1
Ginger: 1inch piece
Green chilies: 1-2
Salt: to taste
Red chilly powder: 1tsp
Coriander powder: 1tsp
Tumeric Powder: 1tsp
Garam Masala: 1tsp
Kasuri Methi: 1 tbsp
Amchoor: 1tsp.(optional)
Cumin seeds: 1tsp
Water as required
Refined oil: 1tbsp.

For Pakodas:

Besan: 2 tbsp
salt, red chilly powder and spices to taste
water
oil
Method:
1. Add besan to buttermilk. Churn it well with blender.
2. Make paste of ginger and green chilies.
3. Cut potato in small cubes.
4. Put oil in a wok, add cumin seeds. Once the seeds starts crackling, put potato and saute for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add buttermilk mix in the wok and add all the spices except kasuri methi.
6. Let it cook on simmer.
7. Add pakodas when its almost done and then when the kadhi is ready add kasuri methi.

For Pakodas:
1. Make a batter with all the ingredients.
2. Heat oil in a wok and make small pakodas.

Kadhi is ready when you get the right consistency as you like. The best consistency is when a thin layer sticks to the spoon.
While making pakodas make sure you don't put too much pakodas at once in oil, the lesser the better. Pakodas will be soft this way...
Offer to Lord and enjoy!!!
:)
Hari bol!!!

Pudina Paneer Tikka

Hare Krishna!!
We all know that Krishna loves milk and milk products. Paneer(cottage cheese) is one of the products of milk. Paneer is made using curdling heated milk with lemon juice. It is also called chenna in some parts of India.

In our house we love paneer. My husband would eat anything that has paneer in it. So yesterday I tried a famous Punjabi Dish named Pudina Paneer Tikka. Traditionally Chunks of paneer are marinated in spices and are then arranged on a stick with capsicums, onions and tomatoes. These sticks are grilled in a tandoor and the dish is thereafter served hot, seasoned with lemon juice and chaat masala. It is sometimes accompanied by salad or mint chutney. Tikka dishes traditionally go well with mint chutney. The paneer, though tender, has a crisp singe on the surface. But I am going to make it without grilling and sticks as I don't have tandoor at home.  

Lets make Pudina Paneer Tikka without tandoor and skewers.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
Cottage Cheese(paneer): 250 gms
Tomato: 1 medium
Capsicum: 1 medium
Curd: 1 cup
butter/ghee: 2tbsp
Salt, pepper, chat masala: To taste
Ginger paste: 1tbsp
Mint leaves: 1 bunch


Method:
1. Add salt, pepper, mint leaves(blended in paste) and half tbsp of ginger paste in the curd.
2. add chunks of paneer in this curd. Keep for half an hour covered.
3. After half an hour, keep the paneer chunks and curd mixture in fridge for 1-2 hours.
4. Take a non stick pan and add butter/ ghee in it and roast marinated paneer chunks from both sides.
5. Now take the chunks out and cook capsicum for a minute in the same pan.
6. Add thinly sliced tomatoes in the pan.
7. Now add chat masala and roasted paneer chunks and cook for a minute covered.

offer to Lord and Enjoy
Hari bol
Shivani