Creamy Palak Paneer (Cottage Cheese in Creamy Spinach Gravy)

The part of the country where I come from palak or spinach is not common. So it wouldn't be hard to believe when I say, this is my first attempt at this very popular North Indian delicacy; not that I haven't had the dish before, just that I haven't cooked it till now despite of it being one of my favorite dishes!

My refrigerator is often loaded with different cheese varieties, because I admire cheeses and love to experiment quite a lot. I enjoy very few vegetables and thankfully spinach is among them. So since I had both the main ingredients for this dish, I thought of making it today.

Usually my maid makes decent palak paneer, however, I wanted mine to taste a little different and hence I browsed and bumped into this recipe; coming from the master chef himself, it did not give me any reason to not try this one. So, the recipe below is adapted from here but with a simple twist of my own.

Time spent was mere 10-15 minutes and the outcome was totally exhilarating! 

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1 loose bunch, stems removed, blanched in salted boiling water, refreshed in chilled water, drained

Paneer - 250 grams, cut in cubes and slightly pan roasted in a teaspoon of butter

Green chilies - 3, chopped

Garlic - 6 cloves, crushed

Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon

Lemon juice - 1/2 tablespoon

Fresh cream - 2 tablespoon

Oil - 2 tablespoon

Salt to taste 

Preparation:

1. In a mixer, puree together the spinach and green chilies. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and splutter cumin seeds. To this add crushed garlic and saute for a couple of minutes, taking enough care not to burn it.

3. Add the spinach puree and salt to taste. Add water, if needed and bring it to boil. Add the roasted paneer pieces, followed by lemon juice and let it simmer for another 3-5 minutes.

4. When done, stir in the fresh cream, mix well, heat through and remove from heat. 

5. Serve with roti, naan or plain steamed rice.

Simple Egg Biryani (My Humble Easter Treat)

If there is a rice dish that I can finish a bowl full in one go then that is biryani! The rice, the texture, the outburst of flavors - there is just nothing this lacks. Whenever I visit my hometown, along with parotta this is something I dare not miss. Each part of Kerala has its own version of biryani but my favorite is the one they sell in Kannur railway station (reason - it has 2 eggs in a pack) and the one we get at Biryani Hut in Kochi. 

Being alone at home, these days I spend more time FB-ing and that's when I came across the actual connotation of Easter. It was an interesting read and of what I remember, it said about a pagan goddess and the connection of Ishtar (how Easter is pronounced) eggs and bunnies to fertility and sex. Just because I learned something interesting, I wanted to make the occasion special and I went ahead with an egg biryani, to celebrate it my way! In fact, this has been something I have been wanting to make for a while and since Pradeep is not a big fan of eggs, I sort of postponed it.

Until now I have been under the impression that I suck at biryani preparation. But, (you may find it on the verge of boasting) I feel I am pretty food at it! Well, this is my 2nd successful attempt and I hope many more will follow.

Not many ingredients, not much time investment, but the results is an absolute treat to your taste-buds.

Ingredients:

For Rice:

Basmati rice - 1/2 cup, cleaned, soaked for 30 min and darined

Whole spices - 1 teaspoon

Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 tablespoon

Salt to tate

Water - 1 cup

For Egg Masala:

Egg - 1 hard boiled and shell removed

Onion - 1 medium, sliced

Tomatoes - 2 small, diced

Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 teaspoon

Green chilies - 2, sliced

Yogurt - 2 tablespoon

Garam masala - 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder a pinch

Coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon, chopped

Salt to taste

Olive oil - 2 tablespoon

Biryani masala - 1 teaspoon

For Assembling:

Onion - 1 small, sliced and crispy fried

Lime - 1 small

Coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon, chopped

Mint leaves - 1 teaspoon, chopped

Preparation:

For the Rice:

1. In a pressure cooker, add ghee and saute the whole spices for a few seconds. Add the rice, stir fry until translucent. Pour water followed by salt to taste, stir and cover and pressure cook until done. Let it cool and transfer to a bowl.

For the Egg Masala:

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onions and saute it until browned. Add the chilies, tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste and saute for a while. Add the turmeric powder and salt; mix well. Let it cook until the tomatoes turn mushy.

3. Add the herbs, followed by yogurt, garam masala and coriander powder and mix well.

4. Cut the boiled egg into half and place yolk-side down on the pan and cover with the masala. Let it cook for a few minutes, turn over. Switch off and keep aside.

Assembling:

5. In the same pressure cooker, add a layer of egg masala, followed by rice, half of biryani masala, half of the fried onions, half of the herbs and a generous squeeze of lime. Again top it up with another layer of egg masala, rice and finish off with the rest. Cover and in very low flame, cook for 10 minutes. Switch off and let it be so until pressure is fully released or it is time to serve.

6. To serve, transfer rice into a bowl, top it with egg halves, sprinkle a bit of pepper powder (optional) and keep a slice of lime by the side. Enjoy! :-)

Quick Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice

So, Pradeep is away for his work and this time he wouldn't return before May. He has been around at a stretch for the past 2-3 weeks and yes, (I do not believe I am saying this) I got used to him being around and now I do miss him a lot. So for a few days now, there will not be any elaborate cooking experiments, but at least to kill the boredom especially on weekends, you will see more of simple and easy dishes.



Both I and Pradeep are selective when it comes to Chinese food, even after having spent 2 long years in Singapore! Fried rice is something I enjoy. Quite recently one of my friends introduced me to this wonderful accompaniment to fried rice that is "plain chili vinegar". Believe me or not, it sort of enhances the taste and makes the rice go easy on stomach, making you feel light. 

So today it is just me at the dining table :-( I decided to cook a very quick version of the Chinese Fried Rice and it got quicker with my maid doing all the veggie chopping part! 

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 1/2 cup, cooked

Onion - 1 small, chopped finely

Garlic - 5-6 cloves, crushed

Carrots - 2 medium, chopped finely

Violet cabbage - 1/4 of a medium cabbage, shredded

Capsicum - 1 medium, chopped finely

Pepper powder - 2 teaspoon

Soya sauce - 1 tablespoon

Chili vinegar - 2-3 tablespoon (more for serving)

Salt to taste

Olive oil - 3 tablespoon

Preparation:

1. Heat up oil in a pan and put onions and garlic. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. 

2. Add carrots and cabbage, stir fry until the vegetables are tender and raw smell leaves.

3. Add the capsicum and stir fry for a couple of seconds. You do not want it to be too tender.

4. Add soya sauce, followed by 1/2 the pepper powder, 1 tablespoon chili vinegar and salt to taste. Stir well to combine.

5. Add cooked rice, mix well using 2 spoons / forks. Finish off with the other 1/2 of pepper powder and the leftover chili vinegar. Adjust salt as needed.

6. Transfer to a serving plate or bowl and enjoy with a couple of spoons of chili vinegar over it! 

Chemmeen Biryani a.k.a Kerala Prawns Biryani

One of the advantages of living in the coastal band of India is fresh seafood at cheapest price. For hardcore seafood lovers like me, this is also the factor that gives us the courage to bear and live through the perennial humid summers of South. And the situation gets even better when you do not have to slog much going to mid-week and Sunday markets to buy your portion but all you got to do is to step out of your kitchen door to buy your pick from the fish lady. Ah, how convenient it is!

Well, the lady here comes every Tuesday and Friday and she comes loaded with prawns and other seafood varieties. For this reason, by now I must have tried making prawns biryani some 4-5 times. Yesterday I wanted Pradeep to buy coconut on his way back home for making cherupayar curry and as soon as he reached home he asked me in a very (cute) excited way "Why did you want me to buy coconut? Are you cooking prawns". Unfortunately I had to let him down yesterday but offered him prawns biryani today for lunch. I have kept my word and now hungry and waiting for him to show up.

This recipe is adapted from here and I have twisted it to suit our taste preference. As mentioned already, I must have made this almost 4-5 times, and every time it tasted different but tasty. But there was one day I remember preparing it just for me and I am still trying to figure out what change I made that day, because it tasted just out of the world. I will have to keep perfecting this till the time I come across, may be you can call it a blunder, I committed the other day. :-)

Ingredients:

For the Rice

Basmati rice - 1 cup, washed, soaked for 15 minutes and drained

Ghee/oil - 2 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Juice  of 1/2 a lime (large)

Water - 2 cups

For the Prawns Masala

Prawns - 1/2 Kg, size as you prefer, cleaned, and de-veined, marinated at least 1 hour with salt, ginger, garlic and green chili mix along with chili powder and 2 tablespoons of curd

Whole spices - 1 teaspoon, mix of cardamom, cloves, cinamon, whole pepper and cumin seeds

Onion - 1, medium, thinly sliced

Curd - 3 tablespoon

Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon

Coriander leaves - a few springs

Mint leaves - a few springs

Pepper powder - 1 teaspoon

Oil - 2 tablespoon

Biryani masala - 1 tablespoon

For Garnishing

Onion - 1 small, thinly sliced

You may also add cashews and fried grapes (I personally do not prefer these in my rice)

Preparation

1. In a deep wide mouthed pan, heat oil and add whole spices. To this add the marinated prawns and shallow fry it until cooked. Keep aside.

2. In the same pan, add ghee and add the drained rice. Fry in medium heat for 3-5 min. Add 2 cups of water, and salt, cover tight and cook until 80% done.

3. While the rice is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pressure cooker. Add the sliced onion (for prawns masala) and fry until almost brown. Add coriander powder and pepper powder, followed by shallow fried prawns and curd; cook for 5 minutes. Add the herbs (coriander and mint leaves), mix well to combine. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

4. When the rice is 80% done, layer rice and the prawns masala in the pressure cooker (you can do this is a steamer too). Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon biryani masala after the first layer and the other 1/2 tablespoon as a topping to the final layer. Squeeze the lime juice over it. Cover and cook in medium heat for  5-8 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. Open a few minutes before serving. For garnishing, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and fry onions until crisp and brown. Spread this over the rice.

6. You may serve this with some meat gravy or raita. I personally enjoy biryani (of all variety) with some tasty pickle. :-)

Kodampuliyittu Varutharacha Njandu Curry (Crabs in Roasted Coconut & Kokum Gravy)

Seafood is definitely my favorite; particularly those cooked in Kerala style, I can go totally crazy and can keep having them in all 3 meals of the day. Talking about seafood reminded me of our trip to Korea. Pradeep was sweet enough to take me to South Korea for 8 days vacation in the wake of 2011. It even coincided with my birthday that year and although it was not pre-planned, given his convincing skills he made it sound like a birthday present too! (these men have their way to twist things the way they want.) As it was January, the places we visited were all snow clad and on some days the temperature even went to minus degree. For this reason most of the food they served were steamboat sorts. One fine day the guide took us to a specialty seafood steamboat restaurant and even we were excited. But when they actually unveiled the seafood spread, I and Pradeep sort of looked at each other because we were not familiar with anything we saw there on the table. Whatever I saw there was exotic and I felt ashamed to have been from a coastal city and settled in another that I have never seen half of the things from the ocean. There was a group which even tried live octopus and that was totally uncalled for. By the end of it all, we said bye-bye to the restaurant owner and the guide (no, we did not eat a thing) and walked up to the nearest 7-11 store bought a few cups of noodles and had our dinner. So my point was, when I say I love seafood, I do not mean the exotic kind!

Yesterday from the fish lady I bought crabs and anchovies. The crabs were just medium in size but I bought it. This was the 2nd time I was cooking crab curry; the first time it was too watery although it tasted good. This time again I was worried about the same issue because I did not have an earthen pot, because such dishes call for earthen pots so that the gravy reduces well and gives the right consistency. Anyway, I just went head following the recipe I saw here (minus the homemade garam masala part)

Before you even get started, preparation is a little elaborate, but the end result is well worth the time you spend. 

Ingredients:

For the curry

Crabs - 6 small or 4 large ones, cleaned and legs separated (I have no clue how to clean any of the seafood varieties including fish, my maid does it for me)

Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped (original recipe calls for shallots)

Green chilies - 3 large, sliced lengthwise

Ginger - 2 inch piece, crushed

Garlic - 6 cloves, crushed

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon

Ground pepper - 1 teaspoon

Salt - to taste

Kudampuli (kokum) - 5 pieces

Curry leaf -  1 spring

Garam masala - 1 teaspoon

For the roasted coconut mix

Coconut - 1 cup, grated

Onion - 1 medium, chopped

Curry leaf - 1 spring

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Chilly powder - 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Olive oil - 1 tablespoon

For tempering

Coconut oil - 2 tablespoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 6 leaves

Onion - 1 small, finely chopped

Dried chilies - 2, halved

Preparation:

1. In a pan heat olive oil and roast all ingredients for the roasted coconut mix. Start by adding the coconut, curry leaf and onions and stir fry it until the coconut turns brown and gives out a nice flavor. This will take about 10 min in medium heat. 

2. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and cumin seeds and roast for another couple of minutes. Switch off and let this cool.

3. Heat up a heavy bottomed pot (earthen pot is ideal) and add the cleaned crabs along with legs (you can crack the legs for easy eating) chopped onions, green chilies, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, ground pepper, kudampuli, salt and curry leaf for making the curry.

4. Add water enough to cover the ingredients in the pot, bring to boil and cover and cook for nearly 10 minutes in medium heat.

5. In the meanwhile, grind the roasted coconut mix into a smooth paste with 5 tablespoons of water. 

6. Open the crab curry and add the roasted coconut and spice mix. Stir to combine, cover and cook for another 6 minutes.

7. Add the garam masala and let it cook open for another couple of minutes until the gravy thickens. Adjust salt and seasoning at this stage. Transfer to serving bowl when cooked.

8. Heat up coconut oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves, onions and chilies. When the onions are nicely browned, pour this over the cooked crabs.

9. Serve with steamed rice.

Herbed Fusilli Pasta With Citrus Dressing

Very light yet filling dinner for two!

Happy new year everyone! May be this dish has a special place in this food blog; for being the last dish I cooked in the year 2012 and the first I posted in the year 2013. 

So this time December 31st passed by with no noisy deal; no new year ball or partying, but just us both with good movie, food and drinks. To say the least, it was kind of fun! 

Well I love pasta (fusilli being my favorite) and probably anything Italian. I prefer it with cream sauce and I can adjust those with dressings, but I cannot handle the ones served with tomato based sauce (I feel it spoils the fun). So, it has been a while since I cooked pasta at home and I thought yesterday was the right time. 

Initially I wanted to cook shepherd's pie, however as the "raw materials" reached late, I went ahead with my own pasta recipe, because this is quick, light and healthy! 

Ingredients

Wholewheat pasta - 2 1/2 Cups (I used fusilli, you may use any other type)

Chicken mince - 1 Cup (as I said the raw materials for the pie reached late but well in time to make paste)

Onion - 1 medium, coarsely chopped

Garlic - 1 medium bulb, coarsely chopped

Dried chilies - 3

Olive oil - 25 ml plus 50 ml for dressing

Lime - 1 large, juiced (or vinegar)

Salt - to taste (when cooking pasta)

Italian herb mix - 2 tablespoon

Preparation

1. Cook the pasta with double the water, 2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of oil. Drain and keep aside.

2. Heat up a sauce pan with some oil and cook the chicken mince, with some salt and turmeric. I even added garam masala to give it some flavor.

3. In a blender, coarsely crush together the onions, garlic and chilies. Keep aside.

Cooking

3. Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the crushed onions, garlic and chilies mix. Fry for a couple of minutes. 

4. Add cooked pasta and mix well to combine. Pour in the lime juice. Stir again.

5. Add the cooked chicken mince, mix to combine. Pour in the olive oil reserved for dressing. Toss to combine.

6. Top with Italian herb mix.

Serving

7. Pair it up with some red wine.

Quick Butter Chicken (From Leftover Chicken Roast)

Best way to use up roast chicken leftover post holidays!

Holiday cooking is sure to leave you with quite a lot of leftovers. This Christmas we also ventured out and tried making something that probably was out of our reach - a whole chicken roast! Well, I wouldn't say it was a total disaster, but yes we have to work on it. The marinade was great, and the output was also decent enough! 

We are just two and we had half of a whole chicken still left after the Christmas lunch, which we chopped into curry size pieces  and stored in the refrigerator. Today, one day after Christmas, was the right time to put the leftover to use. As the chicken was already marinated, roasted and chopped, I felt it was best to make butter chicken than anything else. Moreover, butter chicken is supposed to be Pradeep's favorite!

If starting from scratch, making butter chicken is an elaborate one. You have to first marinate the chicken with spices and curd, leave it for an hour or more and then roast it either in the oven or in a pan. The process may take anything between 30-60 minutes, apart from the marination time. I was lucky enough that I had the chicken already marinated, roasted and chopped. So this made my job easy and the dish was ready in less than 30 min.

Ingredients

Chicken - 0.4 kg, pre-marinated and roasted, cut in curry size pieces (I used simple lemon, ginger-garlic, pepper and olive oil marinade)

Butter - 3 tablespoons (the dish is called butter chicken so I did not want to substitute butter with anything else)

Whole spice mix - 1 teaspoon (mix of cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon and bay leaf)

Onions - 1 medium, coarsely ground

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Chili powder - 1 tablespoon

Garam masala - 1 tablespoon

Tomato puree - 150 ml (of 2-3 medium sided tomatoes)

Kasuri methi - 1 tablespoon

Sugar - 1 teaspoon

Fresh cream - 4 tablespoon

Preparation

1. If using leftover, dry heat the chicken pieces in a pan for a few minutes. Keep aside.

Cooking

2. Heat butter in a wide mouthed pan, add the spice mix and onions; fry until transparent. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes.

3. Add turmeric powder, salt, chili powder and garam masala. Mix well to combine and fry for another couple of minutes.

4. Add the tomato puree and let it boil. Add in the chicken pieces and if you feel the gravy is too thick, pour in 1/2 a glass of water, or as much as you wish. Let it cook for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the cream and mix well to combine, but do not let it boil. Sprinkle sugar and kasuri methi and switch off the stove

Serving

6. Serve hot with naan or tandoori roti. 

Mock Spanish Paella with Prawns and Sausages

Why mock, because I did not bake it!

Of all things why Spanish and why paella? Even I am wondering why! I remember having seafood paella from a restaurant in Singapore but then I did not enjoy it much. Now that's even more contradicting! 

I had prawns and sausages and wanted to cook up something different, especially for Sunday lunch as Pradeep was coming back home after a week. Thus I bumped into this Spanish Paella recipe which I have tweaked to my convenience. A decent main course to serve for social gatherings.

Ingredients

Chicken sausages - 4 long ones, sliced

Prawns - 1/2 kg, cleaned, deveined, cooked (specifications given in preparation section)

Onion - 1 medium, chopped

Garlic - 5 cloves, crushed

Dried chilies - 3, chrushed

Tomatoes - 2 medium, diced

Basmati rice - 1 cup

Broth or stock - 1 cup (I did not have any store bough broth so I made my own)

Vegetable soup mix - 1/2 cup

Black pepper - to taste, freshly ground

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Coriander leaves - a few springs

Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Cook the prawns in 2 cups of water with a pinch of turmeric, salt, pepper powder and a few springs of coriander leaves. Once the shrimp is cooked half way through drain about 11/2 cup of the broth and keep it aside. Let the water be absorbed and prawns be cooked completely.

2. Wash rice and soak it in water for about 10-15 min

Cooking

3. In wide mouthed cook and serve pan, put the sliced sausages and dry roast until browned.

4. Add oil to the pan and put onions and cook until golden brown. Add garlic & dried chilies and saute for another 2 min.

5. Add the tomatoes and saute it until well combined, for about 5 min.

6. Drain the soaked rice and add it to the pan. Fry for about 1-2 min, until the rice turns translucent and pour the soup mix. Mix well to combine.

7. Pour in the broth, check salt and adjust as needed. Cover with a lid and cook until most of the water evaporates. Around 10-15 min. 

8. Open the lid, add in the prawns, give it a nice stir to combine. Cook in simmer for about 5 min. Switch off when rice is fully cooked and water has evaporated.

Serving

9. Fluff up the rice with a fork. Serve with side dish of your choice. I serve this with Pan Roasted Pearl Onions in Yogurt Sauce. It tasted yum!