Aachari Paneer

1Cup Sliced Onions
1/4 tsp each of - Saunf (Fennel), Kalonji (Onion seeds), yellow mustard Seeds - used in pickles, Cumin seeds (Jeera), Fenugreek seeds(Methi Dana)
A pinch of Asafoetida
1tsp fresh chillies - red / green - chopped / sliced
1.5 cups of diced bell peppers
1 cup diced cottage cheese (Paneer)
1tsp Red chilly powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup beaten Curd
3Tbsp Freshly chopped coriander
2Tbps Oil
Salt to taste

In a bowl mix fennel, mustard, Fenugreek, onion and cumin seeds along with asafoetida

Heat oil in a pan and add the above mixture, once it crackles add onion and fresh chilly and saute until translucent

Now add the bell peppers and saute for a min or two
Add the paneer along with the dry masalas and mix thoroughly

Cover it with a lid and allow it to cook for 5 - 6 mins on low to medium flame
Once done add in the curd and stir it for 2 - 3 minutes

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately


Note:

If you dont have the yellow mustard seeds - whole or broken , you can use the normal mustard you have
You can omit the curd and this can also be used as a filling for wraps / pies / rolls along with some shredded cheese
To make it more of a gravy consistency, add in more curd along with some water and allow it to cook

Vazhakkai Vathakkal ~ Roasted Raw Bananas

I had got 2 raw bananas from the Indian Street this weekend and after much thought , my childhood and office days back in India tempted me to check out of a South Indian side dish - roasted Raw banana.......and after much research I found this one which matches my taste buds ...........


Vazhakkai Vathakkal ~ Roasted Raw Bananas
Recipe source - Bharathy of Spicy Chilly

Ingredients

Vazhakkai/Raw banana- 2
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- to taste
Sambhar powder(better option) or red chilly powder - 1tsp

To temper-

Oil- 1-2 tbsps
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
Urad dhal-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- a sprig


Method

Peel the green skin of the raw bananas and immerse in a pan of water.[this is to prevent the brown coloration of the peeled veggie]
Slice them into thin rounds (not too thin: say, slightly less than half cm each).
Simultaneously boil a wide pan of water( 2 cups more or less, to immerse the slices comfortably) along with salt and turmeric powder.
Throw in the slices as soon as you are done, boil for a few seconds and drain the slices from the hot water using a colander.
Be careful not to over cook the pieces and see to it they are firm and half cooked. Be careful with the boiling water while you drain too :)

Heat oil in a wide non stick kadai.
Splutter mustard seeds, brown the urad dal, throw in the curry leaves and finally the pre cooked slices.Add the chilly/sambhar powder.Toss the slices.
Check salt and toss once a minute.
Let them get fried for 10-15 minutes in low flame until roasted and browned on both sides.
Remove from fire and serve hot with rice and curry.

Buttered Vegetable

Irene is now a history........but it gave me an opportunity to cook meals for windy - rainy day......from the 4 - 5 dishes I made , this one is the most healthy option.....has loads of veggies , actually just veggies

5 - 6 large florets of Cauliflower
1 Carrot - peeled and cut lengthwise /Baton
4 - 5 beans - cut into 1" long
1 Medium sized potato - peeled and cut lengthwise
1/2 Zucchini

1/4 tsp red chilli flakes
4 - 5 baby corns
1/2 bell pepper - assorted - I used diced green and red ones
Sat to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4tsp white pepper powder
1/2tsp mixed herbs - I used dried oregano and rosemary - you can also substitute it with fresh herbs
1tsp fresh mint leaves - finely chopped
1Tbsp butter  - salted / unsalted
1/4tsp cooking oil / olive oil


In a pan boil water and add a pinch of salt , now add the cauliflower and heat for 2 -3 mins, drain and keep aside
Now wash and cut all vegetables accordingly and place all in a steamer and steam until done - except the bell peppers and zucchini
[ I used a pressure cooker without a whistle and 1/4 cup water along with salt]
The above step can be done in advanced
Once the vegetables are done, cool them
In a pan heat butter and oil ( we are adding oil so that the butter does not burns) and add the zucchini and bell peppers
Saute for 2 - 3 mins and add the boiled vegetables , mix well so that butter is coated evenly all over
Add the seasonings and dry ingredients and mix well
Serve immediately

Saute`d veggies...Final touch

Note:
You can add any vegetables of your choice such as onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumber etc
Seasonings can also be altered according to your taste buds
This can be served with a bed of salad , french fries - fried or baked , chips
I had some left over vegetables, so made a tikka out of it
I had also added some saute corn kernels and lemon rind to give it an extra zing !!!

Finally My platter.........The baked french fried are missing from this pic

American baby Aloo......

Last week as I was browsing the Indian store, found a stack of potatoes, in which I could spot  the baby potatoes also....I picked them up ( around 8-10) in hopes to prepare a traditional Kashmiri Aloo, but ending up experimenting these

I was trying to find a name , and my Husband suggested that since these are American potatoes ....it should be American Baby Aloo :)

Ingredients

5 -6 Baby potatoes

Gravy
2 Tbsp broken Cashewnuts / 4-5 whole
4Tbsp Curd
1 medium sized tomato
1 dry red chilli ( to give it a good color)
1 green chilly

Other Ingredients

1/2 Onion finely chopped
1/2 Onion grated
1 tomato grated
1/4tsp turmeric powder
1Tbsp red chilly powder ( choose the one which gives you more color but is less hot)
1tsp corainder powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
A pinch of asafoetida / Hing
A pinch of Saunf powder / fennel seed powder / coarsely crushed 
A pinch of chat masala
Salt To Taste
Full Cream - 3Tbsp
2Tbsp Oil

Oil for deep frying
Cilantro / Corainder leaves for garnish

How I made these

Thoroughly wash the potatoes
In a vessel boil water and add some salt , place the potatoes in the boiling water for 5 minutes
Once par boiled drain and let it dry / use a cloth to pat dry them
Prick the potatoes with a fork on all sides , to ensure that it cooks evenly from inside while fried
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the potatoes

Once you are able to see the fork pricks clearly / the potatoes are cooked and are deep brown remove and drain on an absorbent paper

Now for the gravy

Heat oil in a deep vessel / pan ( prepared for a slight mess if you don't use a deep pan cos the gravy will bubble all over your stove top)
Once heated add asafoetida and the chopped onions
Saute for a minute and add the grated onion, cook for 3 - 4 mins or until the onions are cooked well
Now add the grated tomatoes and cook for 3 -4 mins, stirring it occasionally 
Mean while combine all the ingredients for the gravy and give it a good blend for a smooth textured gravy
Add this to the pan along with the dry masala 's , saunf and salt

Simmer the flame and let it cook for 5 - 6 mins / until the oil is visible at the sides of the dish
Once done add the potatoes and let it cook for another 5mins
Remove from heat add the chat masala and garnish with corainder
Serve with rice / rotis

I kept aside a part of it and added cream to the rest

NOTE's


- If you are on your diet plan , you can grill the potatoes at 150 degrees , by marinating them 15mins earlier with salt , turmeric, red chilly powder and oil 
- If you want the onions to cook faster and completely add a pinch of salt 
- The dish is not very hot , because of the addition of cream, but if you still wish to give it a more sweet touch you can add in 1/4tsp sugar / honey / jaggery
- The gravy gets thicker on sitting for a while , so add cream white reheating, rather than adding it before
- If you want a more thicker gravy , you can increase the quantity of cashewnuts



For those who want to cook this using a microwave please let me know, shall post the same :) or if you have a different version please share it with others also


Happy experimenting !!!!!

Mango-Tomato Summer Salsa Recipe

This is one of my fav from ifood and this recipe fits in with many cuisines such as Thai, Mexican, American, Vegetarian, Summer Parties, and is kid friendly. It is a Healthy Choices dish easy to make just dice and mix! It is Weight Watcher  friendly too!!!!!!

The marriage of the flavours is exciting and refreshing. Tomatoes with mangoes and avocado is spiced up with the Thai chiles and lime juice plus plenty of garlic. The cucumber adds a cooling effect and great texture contrast to the smooth sweetness of the mangoes and avocado buttery flavours. This can be chilled and served in individual small soup bowls, or as a salsa-type dip for corn chips or toasted nan or pita wedges. It is also a wonderful side or garnish
The avocado should be just ripe but not too soft, the same for the mango.
Choose tomatoes that are meaty and not with large gel areas. Using fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro is key to a great flavour. Please use fresh garlic not the already crushed preserved type of garlic. Even Spring garlic is nice in this recipe if it is available. Another nice way to serve this is on grilled baguette bread slices on a long diagonal sort of a Thai bruschetta.
This refreshing Summer recipe is perfect if you are watching your calories
I personally omitted Garlic since I am not very fond of raw garlic

1 mangoes - peeled, seeded and diced

1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced

5 medium tomatoes, diced and seeded

3 Thai Dragon Chiles (Phrik Chee Fa), minced and seeded, to your taste or You can also use fresh green chillies / Jalpenos

1 medium, diced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (Pak Chee/ coriander leaves)

5 cloves garlic, minced

salt to taste


In a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, chiles, cilantro, and garlic. Stir in the salt, lime juice, red onion, and lime juice.

To blend the flavors, refrigerate for about 30 minutes or longer before serving.



Note:

A variation can be made by using green papaya shredded in place of cucumber if you want a firmer contrasting texture. You also can use slivers of mint or Thai basil (bai Horapha) in place of cilantro (Pak Chee), or slivers of Kaffir Lime leaf (bai Magroot).

Raw Mango Launji

This weekend was great...tried a couple of new experiments ( will post it one by one) and of all I got a surprise gift which would now enable me to post my recipe pics ....all stages of the recipe..... So here s one of my weekend accompaniment / instant pickle

1 Raw Mango  - cut into cubes   
1tsp Fennel / Saunf  
1/2 tsp Onion Seeds / Kalonji / nigella seeds 
1/4 tsp Turmeric pwd  
1/2 tsp Red Chilly pwd
Salt - As required
1/2 tsp Sugar              
4-5 Tbsp Oil                  

Wash and cut the raw mango into cubes, mix in red chilly powder and keep aside
Heat oil in a pan ( preferably not to use non stick , steel or aluminium works best) and once heated add the fennel and onion seeds
Now add in the turmeric powder ( remember to reduce the heat once the onion seeds are added else the turmeric powder may turn into a more darker brownish color giving your recipe an untidy appearance) along with the raw mango cubes
Mix in well and add salt as per your taste ( also would depend on the sourness level of the raw mango)
Let it cook for 2 mins and then add the sugar
Stir well and allow to cook until the mango is cut easily with a spoon
If you want to have it in a more soft / tender form cook for a longer period
This can be served as an accompaniment for rice , rotis, bread , dosa ........as you want to ......I simply love eating it just as it is......

Note : I had a medium sized mango.....so depending on the size please increase - reduce the amount of Oil and other ingredients