Idli

Ingredients:

Rice: 2 cups
Urad Daal (white) : 1 cup
Salt : 1 1/2 tblsp
A pinch of Baking Soda
Oil for greasing


Prepration:

* Pick, wash and soak the daal overnight or for 8 hours.
* Pick, wash and drain the rice. Grind it coarsely in a blender.
* Grind the daal into a smooth and forthy paste.
* Now mix the grinded rice and daal together into a batter.
* Mix salt and set aside in a warm place for 8-9 hours or overnight for fermenting.
* Idlis are ready to be cooked when the batter is well fermented.
* Grease the idle holder or pan well and fill each of thm with 3/4th full of batter.
* Steam cook idlis on medium flame for about 10 minutes or until done.
* Use a butter knife to remove the idlis.
* Serve them with sambhar or chutney.

Tips:

* Cooking oil can be applied on the tray, before the dough is poured into the same, so its easier to take the cooked idlis from the tray.
* To make the idli soft, add two table spoons of cooked rice while grinding the rice in the grinder/mixie.
* One table spoon of Fenugreek may be added for extra flavor.

In My Next post I will give the recipe for sambhar and Chutney

Tikka Paneer Kebabs

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 – 15 mins
Number of Portions: 10
Portion Size: 100g

Ingredients:

31/2 x 227g (27oz) Packs of paneer
3 Red peppers
88g (3oz) Sharwood’s Tikka Paste
262g (9oz) Natural yoghurt
1 tbsp Gram or plain flour

Method:

1. Dice the paneer into 12.5g cubes, or each 227g into 18 portions (3 x 6).
2. Cut the red peppers into roughly equal size cubes.
3. Now place a cube of paneer onto a kebab skewer followed by a piece of
red pepper, repeat twice.
4. In a large mixing bowl blend the yoghurt, flour and paste together.
5. Now coat the kebabs with the tikka mix. Ideally allow marinading overnight
on a baking tray or in a large bowl.
6. Oven bake for 10 – 15 mins at 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
7. Serve with fresh leaves flavoured with chopped coriander and a warm naan.

mummaskitchen: Palak Paneer

mummaskitchen: Palak Paneer

Tomato Chutney (Tamatar Chutney):

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
6 to 8 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 to 6 green chilies, halved and seeded
1 lb. ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

Method :
Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the cumin
seeds and fry for 10 seconds. Add the garlic and halved
chilies and cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining
ingredients and stir to combine.
Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour,
stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are reduced to a
thick paste and the oil has separated. Cool and serve at
room temperature. Will keep covered and refrigerated for
1 week, and frozen for several months.
Makes about 1 cup.

Dal Dhokali

Ingredients:

250 grams tuver dal,
200 grams wheat flour,
3 green chilies
3 tbsp. -green chili paste
50 grams groundnut
25 grams cashewnut,
1 tbsp. Turmeric powder
1 tbsp. Mustard seeds,3-4 cloves
2 cinnamon2 tomatoes
1 tbsp. Tamarind100 grams brown sugar,
salt , 1 tbsp. Garam masala,
1 tsp. Ajama4-5 tbsp. Oil,
2 tbsp. Red chili powderasafetida
½ cup cilantro leaves3-4 tbsp. Ghee.


Method:

Shift wheat flour. Add salt, turmeric powder, ajama, red chili powder. Mix well. Add oil and knead the flour to roti like consistency. Wash tuver dal and pressure cook it for three whistles. Cool and remove the dal. Heat oil and ghee in a pot, then put cloves and cinnamon and then add mustard leaves. When they crackle add curry leaves, green chilies and a pinch of asafetida. Pour tover dal. Mix tamarind and brown sugar water, cashew nuts, groundnut, garam masala, red chili powder and mix well. Add tomato pulp, turmeric powder, salt and 2 cups of water. Boil the dal. roll out big rotis and cut them into pieces and add these pieces in boiling dal. Boil for 10 minutes and remove. serve warm. Sprinkle cilantro leaves.

Palak Paneer

Ingratiates :

* 3 bunches of spinach (fresh and cleaned)
* 100 gms paneer
* 1 onion
* 3 tablespoons of butter
* 3 to 4 bay leaves
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
* Salt to taste
* ¼ teaspoon of black pepper powder
* ¾ teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
* ½ teaspoon green chili paste
* 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
* 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil


Preparation of palak paneer:

* Mix the ginger-garlic paste, green chili paste and some water with spinach.
* Put the mixture in a pressure cooker, steaming it for about 7-8 minutes
* Blend the mixture in a blender to make an even thick spinach paste.
* Cut the paneer into small cubes.
* Heat oil in a pan and then deep fry the paneer cubes till it is light brown.
* In a cooking pan heat the butter and fry the bay leaves and cumin seeds. Add the chopped onion.
* Add salt, black pepper powder, garam masala.
* Add the fried paneer cubes and cooked spinach.
* Serve hot with rice

Samosa

Ingredients :

4 large white potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup boiled and drained green peas
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp amchoor(mango powder)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp saunf(fennel)powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tablespoon chopped cashewnuts
Salt to taste
3 cups maida(all purpose flour)
1/2 cup maida, for rolling out
1 tablespoon heated ghee or oil
Oil for deep frying the samosas
1 tablespoon ghee(clarified butter) for the stuffing
1 small bowl of cold water

Method
Heat the ghee for the stuffing and add the cumin seeds and
cashewnuts.
When the seeds splutter add the dry powders and fry for 10
seconds.
Add the mashed potatoes and green peas and mix well.
Mix in salt to taste.
Fry on a low flame for about 10 minutes.
Set aside.
Prepare the cover for the samosa by combining
the maida, hot ghee or oil and salt to taste.
Add enough water and knead the dough.
Set aside for about 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into round portions.
Take each portion and coat it with some maida so that
it does not stick to your hands.
Roll it into a not too thin perfect round.
With a pizza cutter, make 2 semi circles with the round.
Take one half circle. Dip your index finger into the cold water
and apply it to the straight edge of the semi circle.
Now hold the semicircle in your hand.
Fold the straight edge , bringing together the watered edges.
Seal the watered edges.
You should now have a small triangular maida pocket.
Stuff it with the potato mixture and now water-seal the
upper edges.
Repeat for the rest of the dough.
Deep fry in oil till golden brown and serve
with mint chutney or tomato sauce.
Do not overheat the oil, since this will cook only the
outer maida covering and the inner layer will remain
ncooked even if the samosa has turned dark brown
on the outside.