Chilli Paneer

These days, there is a gradual change in the food habits of people here in India. We are willing to try out ( mind you, only try out) various cuisines and experiment with different tastes. So with the first tastes of pizzas and burgers and other American Fast food taking hold, soon there was no stopping the Indian palate. Thai, Japanese, Mexican... all cuisines are tried and tested. But you will find the Indian touch in most every cuisine served in India. The pastas with Makhni sauce, the pizzas topped with tikkas...

Chinese is one which has always been popular in India. I think more because of the Indian Chinese cuisine. The original Chinese cuisine is far removed from our Indian Chinese. But this tastes good and I think that is the point. Whatever appeals to the tongue is good!!!.

Chilli Paneer is a spicy starter which is easy to make. The bland paneer lends itself well to the ginger, garlic and chilli flavors with the tang coming from the tomato sauce. One can use firm tofu also in the place of paneer. Usually Chilli Paneer calls for the paneer to be battered with cornflour and deep fried. But for health reasons, I prefer not to deep fry food. Therefore, this other method of simply shallow frying it in a saucepan till it is lightly browned.

Ingredients:

200 grams Paneer or Tofu diced into 1 inch cubes

1 teaspoon ginger very finely chopped

1 teaspoon garlic very finely chopped

4 green chillies chopped finely

1 onion diced broadly

1 capsicum diced in to 1 inch pieces

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

3 tablespoons Oil

1 teaspoon coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan. On medium heat, place the paneer pieces flat till lightly browned. Turn over and brown the other sides as well. Keep aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Add the ginger and garlic to the hot oil and let it sizzle ( drooling here at the thought of the aromas in the kitchen at this point).

Add the green chillies and fry for a minute.

Now add the onions and caspicum pieces and let fry for a bit. They need to be left a little crisp and not cooked till totally soft.

Add the soya and tomato sauces and salt.

Mix in the paneer and sauté gently for a couple of minutes till the flavors come together.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Bellam Avakai / Sweet Mango Pickle- Andhra Food Series

When I first started this series, I never ever thought I would know enough to continue it for so long. But it seems that I do and I am mighty pleased. I was not planning to only concentrate on this series but also have a more wide variety on my blog but I think I shall let it take its own course. I guess that is the best way.

When I was a kid, I remember eating out at one of my mom's friends houses. She served this most amazing sweet mango pickle with my curd rice. I think I have never forgotten the taste of that. Though not too much of a pickle person, I was used to eating Avakai ( recipe here ) but always with the mango piece washed to take off the spicy masala. This pickle did not need any of that. It tasted good, masala and all...

And not coming from a family that made pickles regularly, I never had a chance to taste it again.

Now couple of summers ago, I suddenly got a craving for the sweet mango pickle. Luckily for me the urge struck during the mango season when I could indulge myself. Found a recipe and immediately got around to making it. It came out very well. I now only make a small quantity as I am the only fan of this pickle at home.

So here's the recipe... Maybe a little late for this years mango season but nevertheless can still be made...This pickle should easily last a year or more ( if you haven't finished it by then....)

Ingredients:

Raw sour mango cut into pieces - 1 kg

250 grams salt

125 grams chilli powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

600 grams grated jaggery

250 ml til oil/sesame oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon methi (fenugreek seeds)

Mix salt chilli powder, turmeric and jaggery in a clean DRY vessel.

Heat the oil and fry the mustard and fenugreek seeds for the seasoning.

Cool and pour over the mixed powders

Mix in the mango pieces and mix really well till all the mango pieces are coated well with the powder/oil mixture.

Store the pickle in an airtight jar.

Always use a dry spoon to take out the pickle.

Enjoy!!!!!!

Nuvvula Podi, Ellu Podi - Andhra Food Series

Andhra food is replete with different kinds of powders or podis. I have not seen this variety of podis in any other cuisine of India. It is eaten as the first course mixed with hot, fresh off the stove steamed rice and a dollop of home made ghee. First course mainly because the plate is still dry and one has not yet added any wet, gravy like item yet. This helps in keeping the podi-rice combination from getting soggy.

Podi is almost an instant food. Combined with rice, it is an instant meal. It is made with various dals found in most Indian pantries and flavored with red chillies and asafoetida. Different proportions of dals, chillis etc can be roasted, mixed and ground to make various podis. There are as many permutations and combinations of dals, chillis and other condiments as there are cooks. Each one will have their own personal favorites always in stock ready.

The variety of podis served up in Andhra is simply mind boggling. You have Idli podi (mixed dals), kandi podi (just toor dal), pesara podi (moong dal), karvepaku podi ( podi made with dried curry leaves, kothmir podi ( coriander leaves)... the list goes on.

My sister simply loves all podis and nuvvula podi or sesame seed powder in particular is her favorite. I thought I would learn this just to make some for her. Like I said, there are as many variations of podis as there are cooks. So this particular recipe is from my mom's repertoire. It is simple and has very few ingredients. Just the 4 main ones...

COMPARISON OF COLOURS OF ROASTED VS UNROASTED SEEDS (just to make absolutely clear, left side of the image below is roasted and the right side is raw).

Ingredients:


200 grams sesame seeds
6-8 red chillies
1/2 teaspoon powdered asafoetida
salt to taste
1 tablespoon oil ( preferably sesame oil)


Method:

Roast sesame seeds till golden brown and fully roasted. See picture above for a comparison of colours of unroasted/raw vs roasted sesame seeds. Keep stirring while roasting to avoid it getting overburnt.

Take off the flame and leave it to cool.

Heat oil in the same pan and add the red chillies. Fry till they darken without getting burnt. Take off the flame and leave to cool.

Grind the sesame seeds, red chillies, asafoetida and salt till well blended.

CAUTION: Do not over grind as the sesame seeds will let out oil and the whole mixture will get lumpy instead of having a nice powdery consistency. Just one pulse (or whirr as I like to call it) of the machine should do it.

Serve with hot rice and ghee poured generously over.

Enjoy!!!!!!

RECIPE INDEX

APPETIZERS/ STARTERS/ SALADS

Carrot salad

Hara Bhara Kababs

Kosambari

Bruschetta

MAIN COURSE/ENTREES

Stuffed Bhindi

Pumpkin Kootu

Green Moong Dal

Aloo Jeera South Indian style

Moghlai Egg Curry

Paneer Bhurji

Macaroni Hotpot

Dal Palak

Mattar Paneer

Sambharyu Shaak

Gujarati Kadhi

Olan

Poondu Kozhambu

Aloo Sabji

Tinda Masala

Kanda Bachali

Dondakai Ulli Kharam/Tindora Sabji

Palak Paneer

Majiga Pulusu

Ridge Gourd Curry

Mukkala Pulusu

Yam Fry

RICE DISHES

Pudina Pulao/ Mint Rice

Gujarati Khichadi

Maangai Saadam/Raw Mango Rice

Layered Biryani

Vangi Bhaath/ Brinjal Rice

BREADS/ROTIS

Cauliflower Parathas

Baby Butter Naans

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Flaky Paratha

DESSERTS/SWEETS

Lemon Cheesecake

Banana Halwa

Apple Pie

Rabdi

Malpuas

Badam Halwa

Gajar Halwa/ Carrot Halwa

Peach Pie

Chocolate Eclair Pudding

Badam Burfi

Fruit Trifle

Besan Laddoo

Rava Laddoo

Chocolate Fudge

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Boorelu - Andhra Sweet

No Bake Cheesecake

Apple Crumble

CAKES /COOKIES/BAKED GOODS

Banana Bread

Chocolate Cake

The Perfect Brownie

Tutti Frutti Cookies

Traditional Shortbread

Citrus Cake

Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate Chip Cookies

SNACKS/TIFFINS

Kathi Rolls

Dibba Roti

Adai

Batata Poha

Falafel

Corn on Toast

Veggie Burgers

Aloo Tikki

Ragada Pattice

PICKLES/CHUTNEYS

Usirikai Pachadi/ Gooseberry chutney

Kandi Pachadi

Avakai

Dosakai Pachadi

Green Coriander Chutney

Sweet Date Chutney

Yam Fry

I think highly starchy foods like potatoes, yam, sweet potatoes etc etc have to rank highly on the popularity scale. Potatoes needless to say will top the list worldwide. Though much maligned now because of all the health conscious folks out there. But in my opinion there has to be some good to it too. Most foods eaten in moderation are good for you. Yams have a lot of pluses. They contain small amounts of Vitamin B and lots of vitamin C. They also provide iron. They are a very good source of energy. They need to be paired with other foods to balance out the lack of other nutrients.
They can be stored for long periods of time without going bad.

But there are a few local vegetables that are unique to each country. I think this is one of those "local " vegetables. It is also known as Kanda in Telugu, Sena Kizhangu in Tamil and Suran in Hindi.

Ever since we turned vegetarian, one thing that my husband misses is fish fry. He used to enjoy it so much. But now he cannot imagine eating it at all.
Yam fry is a very suitable vegetarian substitute for fish. It looks like masala fried fish and tastes somewhat like it too. Very simple to make. This was introduced to us by our cook lady who makes it really well. It is a very sought after dish at our lunch table.








Ingredients:


500 grams Yam
lime sized tamarind soaked in 1/4 cup of water and juice extracted
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method

Peel and slice the yam into 2" X 3 " X 1/2 " pieces.
Boil in lightly salted water till almost cooked (do not over cook as it may disintegrate while frying)
Mix the tamarind juice and the powders.
Soak the boiled yam in this for an hour or so till it absorbs the flavors.
When ready to serve, heat a pan. Place the pieces on a medium hot pan in single layers. Pour little oil over each piece. Turn over when golden brown and fry the other side.
Serve hot.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!