Paneer masala

This is one of my favourites among North Indian cuisine, and a usual order at any Indian restaurant. Paneer is a protein rich food, and can be made at home,
but most of the time I end up buying it from the Indian store although not home made but equally good.

here goes my recipe

what u need:

paneer : 250 gms
onion : 1 chopped grind into paste
ginger: 1 teaspoon
garlic : 1 teaspoon
tomato: 1 chopped or tomato paste: 1 tablespoon
garam masala: 1 teaspoon
turmeric: 1/2 teaspoon
chilly pwd:1/2 teaspoon
jeera : 1 teaspoon


half and half: 1/3rd cup or cream also can be used.
salt and oil as needed
cilantro to garnish

In a pan add oil u can use butter also , if needed
add jeera after 1-2 mins add the onion paste if u r using red onions the dish will a little to the sweeter side, once the onion is almost translucent add the ginger garlic in paste form.
cook f0r 5-7 mind till oil separates out.

To this add turmeric , chilly pwd, garam masala and mix well.


Again a little trick if u need the fiery red color and not the spice,


add tomato paste instead of raw tomato, it gives a good red color without increasing the heat of the dish,


or else u can just puree tomatoes in a blender and add to the pan.
cook for 5-7 mins till the tomatoes are totally cooked, meanwhile make a flat griddle hot add some oil again u can use butter if needed, cut paneer into cubes size and shallow fry them on the griddle, turning each side every few mins.




add the paneer cubes in to the pan and mix carefully.

cook for another 2-3 mins till the spices blend into the paneer cubes.
Add the half and half , usually I would just use whole milk also .
cover the dish and let it simmer few mins then put it off.
Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with rotis or naan

Entering this interactive world of blogging.

For the last few weeks I have been an anonymous reader of most blogs; amusing and teaching me a lot about cooking and cultures that ripple through India as a heartbeat.
At this point I don't know what new I have to offer , I do have one thing in common with all the foodies..LOVE TO COOK and try out new dishes too, but the cuisine that I just can't get enough of is "namade naadan kerala cuisine".

My cooking has always been inspired by two very strong ladies, my mom and my mom in law both of who were working ladies and excellent cooks, to finish it up a little of this and that of my own tricks!!

Let me start with our patent weekend breakfast; idli, dosa , or appam

When growing up I always remember my mom being a working lady who was busy all week but come Sunday morning, we would be waking up to the aroma of piping hot dosas with chamanthi and a smiling face which made every day seem like a special day.

DOSA

What you need

___________

Idli rice : 1 cup

Urad dal : 1/2 cup

Salt : to taste

yeast: 1 pinch

Soak the rice and urad for 6-8 hours, then grind it in a mixer (I use the Indian one I got from back home). Over the last few years, I went through several trial and errors to make soft dosas and idlis in this cold country. Quite a few attempts were disasters with idlis as hard as rock, but at other times it turned out to be great.

I tried a little trick , after the batter is mixed into a paste , take a pinch of yeast in warm water

and add to the batter just like u would do for making appams but only the quantity is less as compared .

Cover this batter and leave it over night, next morning add salt, if the batter is to make dosas

make it thin and for idlis keep the consistency thick.

Make a griddle hot and pour the batter to make fresh piping hot delicious dosas.

Coconut is the most widely used element in kerala cuisine, needless to say that it is usually a prominent member in each dish, but the best part is that it adds a different flavour to each

be it an avial , or theeyal, or chamanthi.

Now there are a lot of ways of making the coconut chutney that goes so well with idlis or dosas, here is my version.

what u need:

grated coconut : 1/2 cup

ginger: 1 inch

red dried chillies: 2-3 add more if u like it hot!

curry leaves : 4-5

shallots: one chopped

mustard seeds: 1/2 teaspoon

salt to taste

grind the coconut with ginger and red chillies to a fine paste add water if needed.make a kadai hot add oil, and mustard seeds when they start to pop add the curry leaves and chopped shallots.

cook for few minutes till translucent,add the coconut mix, and mix keep the flame low or else the chutney with curdle.

cook for 1-2 mins then add salt.

serve with hot dosas or idilis.