Balti paneer

Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 40 min

Difficulty level: moderate
Source: foodviva.com with certain alteration
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

Paneer, cubed: 20 - 24 (1/2 inch) cubes

Bell pepper: 3 large, cut into 1-inch square pieces

Tomato, pureed: 2 medium sized or 2 tblsp tomato paste

Onions: 2 medium sized, finely chopped

Ginger paste: 1 tsp

(optional) Shredded Dry or fresh Coconut: 1 tblsp

Dry Coriander Seeds: 1/2 tbsp

4 Cashew Nuts, roughly chopped

(optional) Poppy Seeds (khus khus): 1/2 tsp

1 Dry Kashmiri Red Chili, halved

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder: 1/8 tsp

Red Chili Powder: 1/2 tsp 

Garam Masala Powder: 1/4 tsp

Water: 1 cup

Kasuri Methi: 1 tsp

Fresh cream or milk: 2 tblsp

Oil: 3 tblsp

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander for garnishing

Procedure:

Heat 1/2 tblsp oil in a heavy based pan or pot over medium heat. Add chopped bell pepper and sprinkle a little salt over it. Saute until bell pepper is slightly cooked but crunchy. Transfer it to a plate and keep aside. Heat 1½ tblsp oil in the same pan over medium hear. Add ginger paste, shredded coconut, dry coriander seeds, cashew nuts, poppy seeds, dry kashmiri red chill and cumin seeds; sauté for 30-40 seconds. Add chopped onion and sauté until it turns light brown. Turn off heat and let it cool for 3-4 minutes. Then, transfer it to a grinder jar, add adequate amounts of water and grind to a medium coarse paste. Return the ground paste to the same pot, and stir-fry to light brown, 3-4 minutes. Add red chili powder, turmeric powder and mix well. Add tomato puree. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add garam masala, salt and 3/4 to 1 cup water for a thick gravy consistency. Bring mixture to boil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add bell pepper and paneer cubes to this. Rub the kasuri methi between your palms and sprinkle over the gravy. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir occasionally. Turn off heat. Let stand for 5 minutes and then add milk or fresh cream. Transfer to your prepared balti or any serving dish; garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot, with roti, naan, chapati or jeera rice!

Tips:

• If using frozen shredded coconut and/or frozen paneer, let adequate thawing time before you start.
• Do not boil after adding cream or milk.

Pineapple quinoa

Preparation time: 35 min
Cooking time: 35 min

Difficulty level: moderate
Source: self
Servings: 5-6 people

Ingredients:

Quinoa: 3 cups

Water: 4 cups 

Pineapple: 2 cups (ripe fruit, diced)

Pineapple juice: 3/4 cup (you can use the juice drained from cutting pineapple)
Oil: 1-2 tsp
Cashews: about 12 (coarsely chopped)

Green peas (fresh or frozen): 1/2 cup
Bell pepper: 1, julienne cut
Red chili powder: 2 small tsp

Turmeric powder: 1 small tsp

Chili garlic paste: 1 1/2 tblsp

Salt: to taste
Coriander leaves: for garnishing
Mint leaves: for garnishing

(optional) for additional spice, Thai chilies: 1 green & 1 red chilly

Procedure:

Slice a whole pineapple vertically, such that the whole stem is on one portion (slice at a slight offset from the center). Scoop out the pulp using a sharp narrow knife. Dice the fruit into 1/2" cubes. Keep aside the drained juice from chopped fruit.

In a pot or deep pan, add quinoa and water. Bring to boil, then cover with a lid until the water is almost drained, then cook uncovered until quinoa is completely done. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pot, add cashews and fry until golden brown. If you're using Thai chilies, fry them in now; then add peas, saute for a couple of minutes until almost cooked. Add bell pepper and continue to saute for a few minutes until done but still crunchy. Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt; cook for a minute. Add  chili garlic paste; cook for a minute. Pour in pineapple juice; cook for a couple of minutes. Finally add quinoa. Mix well. Turn off heat. Mix in the pineapple cubes. You can use the scooped out pineapple bowl as your serving dish! Garnish with coriander and mint leaves.

Tips:

• Use 1 1/3 cups of water to cook 1 cup of quinoa.
• Use pineapple juice while cooking quinoa for a dryer texture for your dish.

Mirch ka salan

Preparation time: 30 min
Cooking time: 40 - 50 min

Difficulty level: moderate
Source: self
Servings: 6 people

Ingredients:

For paste:

Oil: 1 tsp (and more for the gravy, see below)

Onions: 1 large (chopped)

Peanuts: 1 cup (roasted)

Sesame seeds: 2 tblsp (roasted)

Shredded coconut: 1 cup

Ginger: 1/2 inch (chopped)

Garlic: 8 pods (minced)

Cloves ('lavang'): 5-6

Tamarind juice: 7 tblsp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp (and more for the gravy, see below)

For gravy: (tsp == small spoon in your Indian spices box!)

Oil: 1 tsp

Anaheim chilies: 6-7 (long)

Curry leaves: 5-6

Dried red chilies: 2 (hand crushed)

Cumin seeds: 2 tsp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Cumin powder: 4 tsp

Coriander powder: 1.5 tsp

Turmeric powder: 1 to 1.5 tsp

Black pepper: 2 tsp

Salt: to taste

Lemon: 2 1/2

Chili powder: 4-5 tsp

Garam masala: 6 tsp

Procedure:

For paste:

Heat oil in a saucepan, add mustard seeds & cloves. Once you hear them sputter, add chopped onion and saute until golden brown. Then, mix in the coconut and fry for about 1 or 2 minutes. Add chopped ginger and garlic. Fry for another minute. Turn off heat and let cool for a few minutes. Transfer this to a blender jar. Add the roasted peanuts and sesame seeds to the jar. Add little water and grind to a fine paste (add water as required).

For gravy:

Slice chilies on the sides but, letting the ends stay in tact (refer to pic). Keep chilly stock if you'd like to. Heat oil in a pot, add cumin and mustard seeds. Once they sputter, add curry leaves and crushed dried red chilies. Add paste from the blender jar and bring to boil. Add tamarind juice, boil for a minute. Then, add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, black pepper and squeeze in lemon. Mix well and let cook for about a minute. Add water to create a thick pasty liquid. Now would be a good idea to taste this before you add chili powder so you could adjust salt and lemon as required. Add chili powder, continue to cook for a minute and then add the sliced chilies. Let cook for about 15 minutes till the chilies are completely done. Finally, add garam masala. Mix well and turn off heat. Cover pot for about 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy mirch ka salaan with naan, jeera rice or biryani.

Kitchen cheat chit

My quick guide to measures:

1 tomato = 1/2 cup diced tomato
4.2 oz puree = 1 tomato
8 oz =  1cup
1 medium onion = 1 cup diced onion


Baking guidelines:
12 cupcakes: bake at 350 F for 25 min
3 icing bags: ice up to 12 cupcakes

Bread sticks

Preparation time: 30 min
Dough raising time: about 40 min

Baking time: 20 min at 350 F
Difficulty level: easy
Source: tasteofhome.com with slight modification
Servings: makes about 20 bread sticks

Ingredients:

Bread flour: 3 cups
Dry yeast: 2 tsp
Garlic powder: 3 tsp
Sugar: 2 tblsp
Parmesan cheese (grated): 3 -4 tblsp
Dried basil: 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1.5 tsp
Evoo: 2 tblsp
Water: 4
Butter (melted): 1 tblsp (to glaze bread sticks)

Procedure:

In a mixing bowl, add bread flour, yeast, garlic powder, sugar, Parmesan cheese, basil, salt, Evoo and water. Using the dough hook attachment of a stand mixer, kneed into a dough. If you don't have stand mixer, you can kneed by hand. Add a little water if the dough is too hard. It must be of a soft consistency. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 9 or 10 portions. Shape them each into a ball and roll each into a 9" rope. Place them on a greased baking sheet with about 1" spacing between each. Cover and let raise in a warm place for at least 40 minutes or until doubled.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F and bake for about 20 min or until the bread sticks turn golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Brush warm bread sticks with butter and serve hot. Sit back and enjoy break sticks with marinara sauce or dip of your choice!

Foods for the God

This is my Christmas Special cake, rich in nuts & fruit; very festive in deed ~ I always bake this during the year end holiday season for friends and colleagues and is a favorite of everybody's. This again, is a mom's creation and I owe it completely to her. Compliment it with a cup of hot coffee or cocoa to further savor the flavor.

Preparation time: 40 min
Baking time: 40 min
Difficulty level: moderate
Source: Mom
Pan size: 13" x 9" pan or 24 regular muffins or 9" round pan

Serves: up to 24 people

Ingredients:

Coarsely ground dates, melted butter and eggs

For cake batter -

Eggs: 4

Sugar: 1 3/4 cup

Cake flour: 2 cups

Baking powder: 2 tsp

Butter: 1 cup

Dates: about 35 soaked in 1/2 cup milk and coarsely ground (not to paste)

Almonds: 1/2 cup (chopped & roasted)

Cashews: 1/2 cup (chopped & roasted)

Cardamom powder: a pinch

Raisins (optional): 1/4 cup

For caramel -

Sugar: 2 tblsp

Water: 1/4 cup

Procedure for caramel:

Heat sugar in a pot until the sugar burns. Turn off heat and pour water into the pot. Keep aside for it to cool.

Procedure for cake batter:

Before you start with the batter -

Soak dates in milk for about 20 minutes. Sieve cake flour and baking powder. Grease baking pan(s) with oil (or butter) & flour. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. 

For cake batter - 

Beat the eggs using a wire whip to a frothy consistency. Then add sugar and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes.  Add the sieved flour, little by little to the egg-sugar mixture, waiting in between for it to blend into a uniform batter with no lumps. Add butter to this and mix well for 2 minutes. Then, use a spatula to mix in the dates, nuts, and raisins. Finally, pour in the cooled caramel and add a pinch of cardamom powder to the batter. Mix well using the spatula. 

Pour the batter into the greased pan(s) and bake for about 40 minutes. At the end of 40 minutes, check if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick; the toothpick must come out clean or with a few cake crumbs. Take the pan out from the oven and let it cool completely (for about 40 - 60 minutes) before flipping the pan over on a wire rack. If you're baking muffins, indulge straight outta the oven!!!

Dal Fry

I tried this recipe as a trial for the Diwali dinner I'm hosting this year. It turned out Ummmmm Yummm - very flavorful with the right tangy hint. My husband and I scraped it to the last bit in the pan.!

Image: Coming soon

Preparation time: 25 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Difficulty level: easy
Source: tadka (seasoning) from vegrecipesofindia.com with my own modification to it

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

Tuvar dal (pigeon pea lentils) - 1 cup

Water - 4 cups

Oil - 2-3 tblsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Onion, finely chopped - 3/4 large onion (or 1 medium sized)

Tomato, diced - 1 (medium sized)

Green chilies - 1-2

Dry red chilies - 2-3

Curry leaves - 8-9

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Asafoetida powder (hing) - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves): 1 tsp

Lemon - 1 (medium sized)

Fresh coriander leaves - to garnish

Salt - to taste

Procedure:

Pressure cook lentils in 3 cups of water with a pinch of turmeric powder. It takes about 10-15 min on medium heat (5-6 cooker whistles). Mash the lentils to a complete pasty consistency. Keep aside. In another pan, heat oil, add mustard and cumin seeds. Once they sputter, add onions and fry them till they turn translucent. Then add ginger and garlic pastes and fry until the raw aroma goes away. Add the green chilies, red chilies and curry leaves and fry for a bit. Then add turmeric powder, red chilly powder and hing. Fry for half a minute before you mix in the diced tomato. Cook until tomato softens (for about 4-5 min). Now add mashed lentils to the pot. Add 1 cup of water and salt; stir well and bring to boil for half a minute (it should be of semi-liquid consistency). Add crushed kasuri methi and lemon juice. Simmer for a minute and turn off heat. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with roti/naan/rice. It also tastes great with pulav and vegetable biryani.