Seyal Paneer

Once during one of my conversations with a lady in my condominium, she mentioned how much she relished the "Seyal Paneer" she had ordered at a local Indian restaurant over the weekend. I wasn't even sure I heard the name right and on my next trip to that restaurant (intentional) I made sure the dish was ordered. It indeed was very delicious but a little too spicy for my palate. I came back home and tried to search for the recipe and interestingly, there were no recipes at all. All I could find out was that it was a Sindhi dish. Thankfully, I have a few Sindhi friends from Facebook and they helped me out with their mother's recipes and with a little tweaking from my end, the "Seyal Paneer" was finally prepared. I am still not sure if that's the actual name of this dish or just a name given by the restaurant. Whatever it may be, I can assure you that this is the easiest paneer you would ever make and one of the most delicious too. I put everything in a pan, lowered the flame to minimum, covered it, and went for my shower. When I came back after 20 minutes, my masala was ready (without any stirring) and the paneer cubes were ready to go in and ready to eat in 5 minutes!! It is this unbelievably easy. Now go make it!

Ingredients 

300 gms paneer cubes

3 big onions finely chopped 

2 tbsp chopped garlic (green garlic is used traditionally, use it if you can find it)

1 medium tomato 

2 tbsp tomato puree (or 1/2 medium tomato)

1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp garam masala powder 

2 tsp coriander powder 

1 tsp cumin powder 

1 tsp cumin seeds 

3 tbsp Fresh coriander leaves chopped 

1-2 green chillies (optional)

Salt

1-2 tbsp ghee 

Direction 

Take a pan and heat the ghee. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle. Now lower the flame and add the finely chopped onions, garlic, tomatoes, puree (if using), dry spices, coriander, green chillies and salt. Mix them all together. There is no need to make anything soft or fried. Just mix and cover and leave it on the lowest flame for 15-20 minutes. This is how the masala gets it's taste and flavor through undisturbed slow cooking. When you see the oil droplets appear on top and along the sides, give a stir and add the paneer cubes. You can add 1/4-1/2 cup water at this point if you find the masala too dry or you intend to eat it with rice. Once the paneer is added, give a stir, and then cover again and leave again for 5-7 minutes till the paneer is well soaked and the gravy looks good to serve immediately. Serve hot with rice or roti/naan/paratha. 

No Onion No Garlic Paneer Curry

It was my Mother in Law's fifteenth death anniversary today and while she was a very sweet lady and had known her since my childhood, one thing I remember about her, among other things, is she was a big foodie. She loved my Mom's cooking and always used to keep longing for a daughter who would cook and serve her favourite dishes. Today, fifteen years after she left for her heavenly abode, I finally got an opportunity to make some yummy dishes for her and make her soul happy. The priest who had come home for the prayer service was absolutely delighted with the menu and I hope that she feels happy and satisfied seeing someone relish the dishes prepared in her fond remembrance. This no onion no garlic paneer preparation was one of the stars of the menu which everyone enjoyed thoroughly. 

Ingredients 

500 gms paneer cubed

1/4 cup cashew 

3-4 Kashmiri red chilli 

2 tsp ginger paste (fresh)

2 each of cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, and 1" cinnamon 

1 tsp cumin seeds 

1 tsp saunf

1/2 tsp heeng/asafoetida

1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

1 1/2 tsp kitchen king masala (you can substitute it with an equal mix of cumin powder and coriander powder)

1 large tomato 

1-2 tbsp cream (optional)

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1 tbsp roasted and crushed kasuri methi

1 tbsp oil

Direction 

Soak the cashew and whole red chillies for 10 minutes. Grind them to a fine paste along with the tomato. Keep aside. 

In a pan, heat oil and splutter the cumin seeds, saunf, and whole garam masala. Now add the ginger paste and heeng and fry for a few seconds and then add the cashew and tomato paste. Mix well and fry till oil starts appearing from the sides. Now add the dry spices except the sugar and kasuri methi and mix. Add about 1/2 cup water and bring the gravy to a boil. You can add more water as per your requirement but do not make it too watery. The gravy is supposed to be thick. Now add the paneer cubes and cover and cook on a medium low for 5-10 minutes till droplets of oil start appearing on top. Add the sugar and check for the seasoning. Add the cream if using and the crushed kasuri methi. Mix and remove from heat. Serve hot!

Baked Stuffed Capsicum

I always found stuffed veggies very interesting but the idea of getting them done, right from the scraping to filling to cooking deterred me. I had to organise a full vegetarian meal recently for some friends visiting from India, and with not too many options present, I decided to give it a try at last. The filling was super yummy and the sweet and rustic flavor of the capsicum complimented it very well. Very easy to prepare and no mess while cooking as well, I received rave reviews from my guests and family too. This is going to be a keeper now.

Ingredients 

For the filling 

4-5 medium tomatoes boiled and mashed

200 gms paneer crumbled 

2 tbsp cashew nuts finely chopped 

2 tbsp raisins 

1/2 tsp amchoor/dry mango powder 

1 tsp cumin powder 

1 tsp coriander powder 

1 tsp garam masala powder 

1 tsp red chilli powder 

Salt to taste

1 onion chopped 

1" piece ginger chopped 

1-2 green chillies finely chopped (optional)

Fresh coriander leaves chopped 

1 tsp oil

6 capsicums

Direction 

Wash and dry the capsicums with a kitchen towel and keep aside. 

In a bowl, mix the mashed potatoes, crumbled paneer, dry spices, nuts and salt. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped onions till soft. Add the ginger and fry for 2 more minutes. Now add the mashed potato mixture and mix well. Add coriander leaves and mix. Remove from heat and let it cool. 

Meanwhile, prepare the capsicums and pre-heat the oven at 200 degree celsius. Cut the top of the capsicums in a way to remove the seeds without spoiling the shape as shown in the picture below. 

Discard the seeds and keep the cap intact. Now carefully slice a bit of the base to make the capsicums stand straight without making any hole in the bottom. 

Now line a baking tray with aluminium foul and start filling the capsicums with the help of a spoon. Fill all the capsicums till the brim and grease the body with a bit of oil. Cover the top with the lid and place in the prepared baking tray. 

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes till slightly soft from the outside and the body lightly roasted. Serve hot!

Malai Kofta in Appe Pan

Appe pan is a must-have in the kitchen these days, especially if you want to serve healthy yet yummy treats to your friends and family. I prepared the kofta balls one day in advance and kept them in the refrigerator in an air tight container and put them in the kitchen counter out from the fridge to bring them to room temperature 1 hour prior to making them.  It was quite easy to fry the balls in the lightly greased appe pan and all I had to do to uniformly brown the balls was to keep turning them on all sides. This was quite simple to do and I could do it alongside making the rich and yummy gravy. No deep frying involved and no compromise on taste as well!! If you are still considering buying the pan, then think no more. 

Ingredients 

For the koftas (makes 18-20)

350 gms paneer (I used homemade)

2 medium potatoes boiled and grated

2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves finely chopped 

1 tsp red chilli powder 

1/2 tsp cumin powder 

1/2 tsp coriander powder 

1/4 tsp heeng 

Salt to taste

Oil to grease the appe pan

For the gravy

1 big onion chopped 

1" piece ginger chopped 

3-4 cloves garlic chopped 

2 medium tomatoes blanched (make slight cuts/insertions on the skin and boil for 5 mins. Remove from heat and once cooled, remove the skin and eyes)

8-9 cashews soaked

3-4 kashmiri whole red chillies soaked

1" piece cinnamon, 3 green cardamom, 1 black cardamom, 4 cloves

1 tsp cumin seeds (I did 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp shahjeera or caraway seeds)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder 

1/2 tsp cumin powder 

1 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder 

1 tbsp roasted and crushed kasuri methi

2 tbsp cream plus more for garnishing 

Direction 

Start with making the koftas. Crumble the paneer with your hands if using homemade or grate them finely if using store bought. Add all other ingredients except the oil and mix well. Taste the koftas for adequate seasoning keeping in mind that the gravy will have salt as well. If you are making the balls in advance, then keep them in an air tight container in the refrigerator until further use. Else, just keep them aside for a while as you prepare for the gravy. 

Heat oil in a pan and add the whole garam masala and let it splutter. Add the chopped onions, ginger and garlic and fry till soft. Remove from heat and let it cool. In a grinder, blend together the blanched tomatoes (skin removed) and the fried onion mix and the soaked cashews and kashmiri whole chillies. Make a smooth paste and keep aside. 

Now grease the appe pan and heat it. Add the balls to each pocket and fry them on a low heat uniformly on all sides by turning them carefully without breaking. 

While making the koftas, start preparing the gravy. Heat oil (just 1 tsp is sufficient) and add cumin seeds and let them crackle. Add the spice paste and saute on medium flame till oil starts appearing from the sides. Add the dry spices and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. The gravy should not be too thick nor too thin as it will dry up when cooled down. Add the crushed kasuri methi and cream and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning as required. I like to add a dash of sugar at the fag end. You may skip this step. Remove from heat and transfer to the serving bowl. Now add the fried koftas to the gravy and let them soak the gravy for at least 30 minutes. Serve hot garnished with some more cream. 

Rasmalai in Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery) Syrup

Once you achieve the Rasgulla breakthrough, all other derivables seem like a cake walk! With friends now coming over to learn the procedure and a few others who never forget to mention the soft and cottony Rasgullas they had at my place, I am quite enjoying my Rasgulla fame in Singapore. These Rasmalais were in fact too good to be true. So soft and cottony, drenched in a milk syrup sweetened with Nolen Gur or date palm jaggery (famous in Bengal), I prepared these for my Hubby's colleagues from India. I love sweets and learning to make these were the best thing I ever did!! 😆😆

Ingredients (Makes 16)

For the chenna 

2 ltr low fat milk (I use Farmhouse in Singapore)

2 tbsp vinegar 

For the first sugar syrup

2 1/2 cup water

1 cup sugar

For the ras or milk syrup

1 ltr full cream milk

1/4-1/3 cup nolen gur/date palm jaggert as per your taste (you can substitute this with regular sugar as per your taste)

1 tsp cardamom powder (if not using jaggery)

A pinch of kesar (if not using Jaggery)

Direction 

For the chenna balls

Boil milk in a deep bottom pan and bring to a boil. 

Now add the vinegar and reduce the flame to minimum for a minute and switch it off. The milk will start churning and the chenna will start separating from the whey. 

Now drain the whey and wash the chenna a couple of times with clean drinking water and either tie in a muslin cloth and put a weight to drain for 5 minutes or use a paneer maker. 

After draining the liquid for 10-15 minutes, take the chenna in a bowl or plate wide enough to knead and start kneading. 

Make sure the chenna is crumbly and grainy and not pasty in texture. 

Start kneading using your fingers and the heel of your palm and knead till the mixture starts releasing the fat and your fingers feel oily. 

Meanwhile, heat the sugar and water for the syrup until sugar is dissolved. Make discs from the chenna and make them smooth. Lower the heat to medium and add the discs. Cover and let them double for 12-15 minutes. 

I used a smaller vessel else the discs had more capacity to double. Now take a bowl of clean drinking water and place one disc in the water. If it sinks, they ate cooked and time for the next step. 

Let the discs remain in the drinking water for about 30 minutes while you prepare the ras or milk syrup. 

Heat the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame and thicken the milk until it reduces to half. Add the jaggery/sugar as per your taste and let it dissolve. If ysing sugar, add the saffron/kesar and cardamom powder. You may do this ras one day in advance or even in the beginning of the process which makes it easier. If prepared in advance, bring the milk syrup to slightly warm.

 Gently squeeze out the water from the discs and place in the milk syrup. When it  is cool enough transfer to a serving bowl and chill before serving. 

Paneer Jalfrezi

Paneer is such an easy ingredient to cook but it is equally easy to get bored with the regular curries and recipes. A change in the recipe is always refreshing and this recipe is the perfect one to go with rotis/naan/parathas. So easy to prepare and so yummy to eat, try this recipe the next time you are making paneer and rest assured, you won't be disappointed. 

Ingredients 

300 gms paneer cubes

1 large onion finely sliced 

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste 

1 green bell pepper cubed (cut the pepper according to the shape of the paneer)

1 large tomato cubed (or 2 small)

3-4 tbsp tomato purée 

1 tsp kalonji/onion seeds 

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder 

1 tsp coriander powder 

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

1 tsp kitchen king masala (or garam masala powder)

1/2 tbsp roasted and crushed kasuri methi

1/2 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves for garnishing 

Oil as required 

Direction 

Get all the core ingredients ready. 

Heat oil in a pan and fry the paneer cubes till slightly golden. Remove from heat and keep aside. 

Heat oil in a pan and splutter the onion seeds and cumin seeds. Add the onions and fry till translucent. 

Tip in the ginger and garlic pastes and fry till raw smell disappears. 

Add the dry spices except kasuri methi and stir well. 

Next add the tomato purée, tomatoes, and pepper and stir well. Fry till the tomatoes are cooked and the pepper slightly softened. 

Add salt and sugar and tip in the fried paneer chunks. 

Cover and simmer the flame and cook for 5 minutes. Add the crushed kasuri methi and stir. Adjust the seasoning and remove from heat. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with roti/naan/parathas or steamed rice. 

Bengal Special Rasgulla

First, a confession. I do not like Rasgullas! In fact, I never liked it as a child and the only sweet that I crave and which I can have anytime of the day is Gulab Jamun. While I have successfully made Gulab Jamuns at home twice and highly appreciated by friends and family, I have failed several times (4 times to be precise) and just to get it right I did not lose hope and tried it for the fifth time and nailed it! Soft and spongy, it was such a delight to taste my first successful Rasgulla. Imagine the smile at that moment of triumph after 4 failed attempts. Priceless!!! The guests, for whom I especially made these, loved them thoroughly and kept asking me for the recipe!! Success is sweet, truly!! 💃💃😀

A special thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Garima Serera Narolia who is officially crowned the Rasgulla Queen by my most favorite food group!

P.S: Do remember to read my notes for 

dos and don'ts at the end of this post.

Ingredients (Makes 9-10)

1 liter low fat milk

1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice

For the sugar syrup

1 cup sugar

4 cups water

2 pieces of cardamom or cardamom powder

For adding later

1 cup sugar 

1/2 cup water

Few strands of saffron

Few drops of rose essence

Direction

Bring the milk to a full boil. Reduce the flame to minimum and add the vinegar or lemon juice. The milk will curdle immediately and the chenna or paneer will form on top leaving behind a clear greenish liquid below it. Switch off the flame and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. 

Now strain this using either a muslin cloth placed properly over a colander or seive or using a paneer maker like I do. Once all the paneer/chenna is collected and the whey drained (you can reserve this liquid which is very high in nutrition to make chapati dough later on the same day). Wash the paneer/chenna with clean drinking water to get rid of the lemony/vinegary taste. Now tightly tie the muslin cloth and hang it in a place to drain the excess liquid. If using a paneer maker, place a heavy weight on top and let the water drain. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes. 

Now take the paneer out in a broad vessel with a rim. This will help in kneading the paneer without spilling around. First crumble the paneer with your hands and then start kneading. This is how it will look in the beginning. 

Continue kneading the paneer starting with your fingers and ending with the heel of your palm till you see a slightly greasy base and a thin film forming as your press the paneer with the heel of your palm as shown in this picture. 

Now get the dough together to form a soft yet smooth ball without any cracks or crumbs. Pinch out equal sized balls and roll them smooth without any cracks and keep aside. 

Meanwhile, as you near your kneading process start preparing the light sugar syrup. You can keep the sugar and water ready in a wide mouthed vessel and switch on the flame as you reach the final stage of kneading. Bring the sugar syrup to a roaring boil and then add the chenna balls carefully into the hot syrup without breaking. 

Keep the vessel covered and let it cook on a medium flame for 12-15 minutes. Make sure there is enough space for the balls to expand in size and move about without crushing each other. After 10 minutes they will look all puffed up and almost doubled in size. 

To check if the chenna is cooked, drop a ball in a bowl of clean drinking water. If it sinks, the chenna is cooked. Take the balls out of the syrup and dunk them in the bowl of clean drinking water at room temperature. Once again, the bowl should be big enough to allow sufficient space for the balls. All the balls would be sinking to the bottom of the vessel. Keep it aside while you prepare the syrup further. 

Add the remaining sugar and water and bring it to a boil till the sugar dissolves. Now switch off the flame and let the syrup come to room temperature. When the syrup is just warm, add the saffron and rose essence. I like the kesari color and so added the saffron while the syrup was still hot to get beautiful kesari rasgullas. 

Now squeeze out the excess water from the chenna balls by gently pressing with your hands and dunk them back into the room temperature or lukewarm syrup. Keep them covered and leave them for 3-4 hours before transfering to your serving bowl. 

Now most important part of this post

Dos and Don'ts

1. Use low fat milk. If you have access to fresh cow's milk, use that. Else, low fat milk is the best option. I used Farmhouse low fat milk available in Singapore. 

2. Do Not let the paneer/chenna hanging in the muslin cloth or paneer maker for too long. The longer you leave it the drier it becomes and your success rate goes down considerably. 10 minutes is sufficient time to let the excess water drain out. The chenna should be just moist, neither wet nor dry. 

3. Bring the milk to a roaring boil before adding the vinegar/lemon juice. 

4. Keep the flame on medium high while boiling the chenna balls. 

5. Do Not overcook the balls. Check if they are done at around 10 minutes by dropping a ball into the clear drinking water bowl. The ball should sink within 3-4 secs. If not, put it back into the syrup and check after 2-3 minutes. They should be done by then. 

6. The rasgullas get sweeter as they remain longer in the final sugar syrup. Do not disturb them for the next 2-3 hours. Although you can check the sponginess within an hour or so by tasting one of them. It won't be very sweet then but good enough to relax your nerves to know your success. 

7. Do Not be disheartened if you do not nail it at the first attempt. I tried 5 times and finally achieved success. Remember that spider's tale if you fail. Keep trying until you succeed. 

By the way, I love Rasgullas now. My success really made me fall in love with this Bengal delicacy. 

Mushrooms in a Cottage Cheese (Paneer) Gravy

It is always a struggle for me whenever I have vegetarian guests over for dinner along with non vegetarians and the biggest challenge is to make something different with the regular vegetarian options that we commonly have. I had pinned this recipe from a fellow blogger and a very experienced chef, Jaspreet ji, but never really got around to making it. Last weekend I finally gave it a try for a vegetarian friend and it was an instant hit and was savored even by the non vegetarians !! I did a few changes to the recipe to adapt to my taste and it was such a delightfully yummy and different dish to serve your Vegetarian guests!!! 😊

So here it is, Mushrooms in a Paneer gravy/sauce!!

Ingredients 

12-15 whole mushrooms (or as per your requirement)

200 gms paneer crumbled (I used homemade)

3 medium onions

3 fat cloves of garlic

1" piece ginger  

1 tsp cumin seeds 

2 tsp Kashmiri Mirch powder (non spicy)

2 tsp Roasted Coriander powder 

2 tsp Roasted Cumin powder 

2 tsp Garam Masala powder 

2 tbsp Cream 

Salt to taste

Fresh Coriander chopped 

Oil (usage is upon your discretion) 

For Tomato paste

2 medium Tomatoes blanched, skinned and pureed with 2-3 Kashmiri Whole Chilies  soaked in warm water

4 fat Garlic cloves minced

Oil (again use as per your discretion)

Salt to taste

Direction 

Start with the mushrooms. Wash and clean the mushrooms nicely in tap water and wipe them dry. Keep them on a slotted bowl/plate so that the excess moisture dries out. 

Now start making the tomato paste. Heat oil in a pan and add the minced  garlic cloves and sauté for a minute. Now add the tomato puree along with salt. Cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the oil leaves the masala. Keep it aside.

Make a smooth paste with the onions and ginger and garlic and keep aside. 

Take the same pan where you prepared the tomato paste and add some more oil. Add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Now add the onion paste and sauté. Keep stirring until golden brown. Now add the dry spices along with some water and mix well. Cook until oil leaves the masala. Now add the tomato paste and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Now crumble the paneer with hands and mix into the masala (keeping aside some paneer for garnish). Mix well and stir for a couple of minutes. Add water (I added about 1/2 cup as the mushrooms will also release some water) to liquidize the gravy. Now add the mushrooms and keep on low heat for 7-10 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked and shrunk in size. 

 Remove from flame and mix in cream. Stir nicely and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with green coriander and a little crumbled paneer. Serve hot with Rice or Roti.