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Capsicum Paneer Masala

Try this recipe next time you have a dinner party at home. Its high on calories but whats wrong with a little indulgence on festivals or when you meet friends after ages? Pamper yourself to this sabzi which gives paneer an exotic dressing.

Ingredients :

• 2 Tomatoes
• one onion
• few cloves of garlic
• Small piece of ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Few laung
• Few Eliachi
• 1 teaspoon Black pepper cloves
• 1 teaspoon Dhania powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Haldi powder
• 1 teaspoon Jeera powder
• 3 large capsicums
• 1 cup paneer cubes
• 1/4 cup of peas
• Few teaspoons of Soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon of Vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 1 tablespoon of fresh cream
• Pinch of Sugar

Procedure :

Grind the following into a paste :

• Tomatoes
• onion
• garlic cloves
• ginger
• dalchini
• laung
• eliachi
• black pepper cloves

1. Fry the paste in oil till it releases fat from the sides. Fry for long on low flame for a better taste.
2. Heat oil in a separate kadai. Add some dhania powder, haldi powder, jeera powder and let the masalas go brown. Add the fried paste to this.
3. Add cut paneer cubes, capsicum and peas. Add salt and mix well.
4. After few minutes of stirring, add milk to thicken the gravy. Cover and let it cook on sim. Once the veggies are cooked add some soya sauce, vinegar, pinch of sugar and stir well.
5. Your Paneer capsicum masala is ready to be served. Add a spoon of fresh cream to the dish at the end.

Please NOTE :

After the paste is fried (refer step 1) you can store it in the fridge for upto few days. Whenever you want to make Capsicum Paneer Masala just leave the fried paste out of the refrigerator for like 1/2 hr.

Groundnut Munch (Recipe source : Swati Gore)

This salad at first looks, appears like a sabzi owing to its tempering and groundnut powder. This is also one of the reasons behind its unique taste.

You can make roasted groundnut powder and store it in an air tight container for upto one month. You can also try mixing the same tempering and powder in your vegetables that you cook for lunch/dinner.

Ingredients :

• 1/4 Groundnuts
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cucumber, finely chopped
• Finely chopped coriander leaves
• Finely chopped green chilly
• Rai

Procedure :

1. Roast Groundnuts. Removed peel and grind into a coarse powder.
2. Mix grated carrot with tiny cucumber pieces. You can add grated radish also if you like.
3. Add salt, groundnut powder and coriander leaves.
4. Heat oil. Add rai, green chillies and mix tempering into the salad.

Please NOTE :

1. While grinding the roasted groundnuts, run the mixie for just 2-3 seconds, switch off turn contents and then continue in the same manner till the powder is evenly formed. If you run mixie at a stretch the groundnut will turn into a paste. Also, ensure your mixie jar is completely dry before starting.
2. The same salad can be made with finely chopped tomatoes and grated red carrot.

Stuffed Vegetable Patties

Ingredients :

• 1/4 cup finely chopped beans
• 1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
• 1/4 cup peas
• 3 potatoes
• Small piece of ginger (grated)
• 1 finely chopped green chilly
• 1/2 teaspoon jeera powder
• Pinch of black pepper
• Few tablespoons of rice flour

Procedure :

For the stuffing :

• Finely chop beans, carrot, onion (optional). Mix in peas.
• Heat oil. Add veggies, salt and pepper. Cook till done.

For the cutlet :

1. Boil potatoes. Cool and mash well. To this add ginger, green chillies, jeera powder and salt. Knead well into a smooth dough.
2. Make equal sized patties of the potato dough and stuff in the vegetable mixture.
3. Keep the cutlets in the fridge for about 2 hours or more so that the potato dries up.
4. Once you take it out of the fridge keep aside for 30 minutes so it can reach room temperature.
5. Heat oil well. Dust the patties in rice flour and deep fry.
6. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or Spring onion chutney.

Please NOTE :

1. When you take patties out of the fridge you need to let them reach room temperature before frying, else the temperature mis-match can cause them to split and scatter.
2. Temperature control of oil is essential in this snack. Fry patties in hot oil. Dont fry more than 2-3 at a time else the oil will go cold.
3. Once you take them out, allow the oil to heat up again before frying more patties.

Alu Methi Kadhi

There is a sweet history behind this recipe. It dates back to Feb, 2005 . One fine night when I walked into the kitchen there was nothing but a cup of curds and some methi leaves in the fridge. Potatoes are usually always there at home and I needed a curry that goes with rice. Thats how alu methi kadhi was created. Now its my husband’s favorite dish and is made regularly at home.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup curd
• 3 tablespoons besan
• 1 large potato
• 2 cups methi leaves (stems removed well)
• 1 teaspoon Rai (Big)
• Few Red Chilly flakes
• 2-3 teaspoons of vinegar
• Pinch of Hing
• Pinch of haldi powder
• Few curry leaves
• Finely chopped Coriander leaves

Procedure :

1. Boil Potatoes and chopped Methi leaves. You can microwave them in water for 10 minutes to speed up the process.
2. Blend the following ingredients in a mixie jar with 2-3 cups of water:

• Curd
• Hing
• Salt
• Besan
• Haldi

1. Heat oil. Add rai, red chilly flakes, curry leaves and fry for a minute.
2. Now add the curd mixture and let it boil till the raw smell of besan goes away.
3. Strain the potatoes and methi leaves and mix them into the curry. Bring to boil.
4. Once done, add vinegar and turn off the heat. Garnish with finely chopped Coriander leaves.
5. Serve hot with plain rice.

Diet Pakodas

On a diet? Ever felt yourself reaching out for a sinful bite of delicious pakodas? Well, then this is an answer to what will satisfy your taste buds and keep a check on the calorie meter. Its a healthy snack which is not only nutritious but also keeps you full for longer. Try it for kids who like deep fried junk food. Don’t forget to give it a tastier name before you present it to them

Ingredients :

• 4 slices of bread
• 1 cup whole green moong dal
• 2 teaspoons of Besan
• 2 teaspoons of Pudina chutney

Procedure :

1. Soak moong dal overnight.
2. Grind it into a paste with water, besan and pudina chutney. Since chutney already contains salt you might need to taste and add more salt accordingly.
3. Make bread cubes. Dip each cube into the dal batter and toast on a hot greased pan.
4. Once done on both sides, serve hot with tomato ketchup.