Malai Kofta Curry

This month Nupur of UKRasoi has challenged the south team with this rich and creamy Malai Kofta Curry for the South Vs North Challenge initiated by Divya of You too can cook. Here every month, someone from north team would challenge the south team with north indian recipes and vice versa.

Ingredients:

For the gravy: 

Tomatoes medium 3
Onions medium 2
Garlic 4
Finely chopped ginger 1 1/2 tbsp
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Kasoori methi 1 tbsp
Cream 3/4 cup or full cream milk 1 cup
Salt
Water

For Khofta:

Paneer from 750 ml of milk - grated
Potatoes - medium -2 ; boiled and grated
Milk Powder 1 tbsp
Corn Flour 1 tbsp
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala a pinch
Salt

Whole spices

Cardamom Green 2
Cloves 2
Cinnamon 1 inch
Bay leaf 1

For garnishing:

Grated Paneer
Cream
Chopped Coriander Leaves

Preparation:

Chop the Onions and tomatoes.Puree the tomatoes and then strain.

To make Paneer:

Boil milk as usual. Lower the flame and add 1/2 tbsp of vinegar. Keep on stirring and then add another 1/2 tbsp of vinegar. When the whey separates, switch off the flame. Strain and then hang it in a cheese or muslin cloth to remove the excess water for at least half an hour.  Remove and then place a weight on the covered cheese for at least an hour. Refrigerate for further use. 

Boil, peel and grate the potatoes. Grate Paneer.

Method:

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Make equal sized balls out of it. Deep or shallow fry until brown. Keep it aside.

In a pan, heat little oil. Add the whole spices. Fry till they turn slightly brown and releases nice flavor. Add the chopped onions. Fry till they turn slightly brown. Cool and then grind it to a fine paste.

In the same pan, add little more oil, pour the ground onions-spices mixture. Fry for a while. Now add the tomato puree. Allow boiling till the oil leaves along the sides of the gravy.

Now add water, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder and kasuri methi. Stir and allow boiling. When it is reaches the desired consistency, reduce the flame, pour in the milk/cream stirring the gravy simultaneously.

Arrange the gravy in a bowl. Drop the koftas. Garnish with grated paneer, cream and coriander leaves. 

Serves:3-4
Serve with Chapati or Naan.

Paneer Jalebi for SNC 9

SNC created by Divya Pramil of You too can cook is a group of bloggers with two teams North and South. Each month a host from North team would challenge the South team and vice versa.  This month Chandrani (Cuisine Delights) of North team has challenged the South team with this Paneer Jalebi and Priya Suresh (Priya's versatile recipes) of South team has challenged the North team with Chettinad Pakoda Kuzhambu.

Paneer Jalebi is a Bengali sweet (or treat!!! ). It is made by soaking the deep fried paneer in cardamom flavored sugar syrup. We loved it very much except for the little disappointment that I didn't get perfect shapes of Jalebis as in shops. The first time I made, I was not at all able to twist the ends of a paneer, then I realized that I didn't extract excess water completely. So I made it sit for one hour and I was able to twist well. The taste was extremely good. Thanks chandrani for this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients:

Full fat Milk 1 litre
Vinegar 2-3 tbsp (or curd or lemon juice)
All purpose flour / Maida 2 tsp
Baking Powder 1/2 tsp
Cardamom pods 4-5
Sugar ¾ cup
Water 1 ½ cups
Pistachios for garnishing

Method:

Boil Milk in a Pan. When it starts bubbling around, add vinegar in intervals. Boil till the whey separates. Remove the Paneer (Chana / Cottage Cheese) and strain the excess water using a strainer. Let this sit aside for one hour.

Now add Maida, Baking Powder and Cardamom Powder to the Paneer. Mix well and knead for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat water in a Pan. When it starts bubbling well, add the sugar and the cardamom pods. Stir well and allow the sugar to dissolve in medium heat. Stir until the syrup becomes thick and sticky.

Now take a small ball of the Paneer and make a thin strip of it. Twist the ends of the strip and roll to form the shape of a jalebi. If it cracks, roll with wet hands.

Deep fry them and add to the sugar syrup. (Make sure the oil is neither very hot nor warm). Let this sit for few hours and serve with finely chopped pistachios.

Linking the recipe to SNC of this month.

Subz Makhani

Everyone of us like Paneer Makhani. Have you heard of Subz Makhani? I saw this interesting recipe in Tarla Dalal’s CookBook. When I tried this two weeks back with few modifications, it came out amazing. We have become fans of this Gravy and so started making this  often.

Here is the tasty recipe.

Ingredients:

Mixed Vegetables (Peas, Beans,Cauliflower and Carrot) 1 cup

Paneer 4-6 cubes

Onion(Medium) 1

Tomatoes (Medium) 3

Ginger-Garlic Paste 1 tsp

Chilli Powder ½ tsp

Coriander Powder ¾ tsp

Cumin Powder ¼ tsp

Garam Masala 1/8 tsp

Cashews 6

Cream 2 tbsp

Kasoori Methi ¾ tsp

Tomato Ketchup 1 tbsp

Sugar 1/8 tsp

Cloves 2

Cumin 1/8 tsp

Milk ¼ cup

Water ½ cup

Salt

Butter + Oil

Preparation:

Chop Onions into fine pieces and Vegetables into medium pieces. Soak Cashews in Water for one hour. Soak Paneer in Milk for 15 mins.

Method:

Cut Tomatoes. Grind along with Cashews and strain.

Heat Butter and Oil in a Pan. When hot, add Cumin and Cloves. When Cumin seeds start cracking, add Ginger-Garlic paste and chopped Onions.

When they turn slightly brown, add strained Tomato Paste. Fry till the oil separates. Now add all the Powders, Kasoori Methi, Cream, Ketchup and Sugar. Mix well.

When it starts boiling, add the vegetables and Water. Continue to boil. When it is almost done, add Paneer along with milk. Simmer for 5 more minutes or till done.

Serves: 2

Serve with Chapati or any Indian Bread.

Linking this recipe to Priya & Aipi's Bookmarked Recipes Event-- Every Tuesday.

Mutter (Peas) Paneer

I have seen Mutter Paneer recipes in 2-3 TV Shows. This is combined version of them and somehow I am very much comfortable with this gravy. This can be made faster, yet very tasty.

Ingredients:

Peas ¾ cup (200ml cup)

Paneer 6 cubes

Tomatoes (Medium) 3

Onion (Medium) 1

Chilli Powder ½ tsp

Coriander Powder ¾ tsp

Garam Masala 1/8 tsp

Cumin Powder ¼ tsp

Kasoori Methi ½ tsp

Cream 4tsp

Cloves 2

Cumin 1/8 tsp

Milk ¼ cup

Water ½ cup

Butter

Oil

Preparation:

Chop Onion into very fine pieces. Cut and grind Tomatoes to a fine paste. Soak Paneer in Milk for 10-15 minutes.

Method:

Heat Butter and Oil in a Pan. When hot, add Cloves and Cumin. When Cumin seeds crackle, add chopped Onions and fry till slightly brown.

Now add the Tomato Paste and saute till the oil separates. Now add all the Powders and Kasoori Methi. Saute for a while and then add Peas, Water and Salt. Continue to boil.

When the gravy is almost done, pour the paneer cubes along with milk and boil till done.

Serves: 2

Serve with Chapati or any Indian Bread.

Notes:

Some more Peas or Paneer can be added as per your taste.

Paneer can also be shallow fried before adding.

Need not soak Paneer in Milk if it is home made. But if it is more than 3-4 days old, it becomes hard and so can be soaked in Milk to turn it soft.

Adding Cream and Milk enhances the taste of the gravy.

Paneer and Peas are good sources of Protein. This goes to Sobha Shyam’s Cook IT Healthy -- PROTEINcious Event and Bookmarked Recipes Event of Priya & Aipi.

Chilli Paneer

I never had Chilli Paneer in restaurants thinking it would be too hot. But when I saw the recipe of Chilli Potatoes in Tarla Dalal's Recipe, I really got interested as it was not much hot. She has mentioned that we can replace Potatoes by Paneer. As we eat Potatoes in various forms, I tried with Paneer. It came out well.

Ingredients:

Paneer Cubes 150g

Finely chopped Ginger ½ tsp

Finely chopped Garlic 1 tsp

Chillies 2-3 or as per your taste

Tomato Sauce 1 tsp

Soya Sauce 2 tbsp

Chilli Sauce 1 tbsp

Cornflour 2 tsp

Spring Onions

Water

Salt

Oil

Preparation:

Slit Chillies.

Method:

Heat Oil in a Pan. Add Paneer Cubes. Shallow fry until all sides of the cubes turn golden brown. Keep it aside in an absorbent Paper.

Heat Oil in a Pan. Add chopped Garlic, Ginger and chillies. Fry till they turn slightly brown. Add fried Paneer cubes, Soya Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Chilli Sauce and Salt. Mix well and fry for few seconds.

Now mix Cornflour in ½ cup of Water and add. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with Spring Onions.

Serves: 2

Serve as a Starter or side dish to Vegetable Fried Rice or Schezwan Rice.

Notes: In the original Recipe, 1 tsp chopped Chillies are used. But I slit chillies as we may bite them if chopped very small.

Sending this recipe to Radhika's Chinese Cuisine CBB#4 Event and Bookmarked Recipes- Every Tuesday Event by Priya and Aipi.