PANEER STUFFED CALZONE

A calzone , sometimes referred to as a italian pouch, is an Italian turnover made from pizza dough and stuffed with cheese usually mozarella and ricotta, meat, vegetables, or a variety of other stuffings. It is typically served with marinara sauce on the side for dipping. The dough is folded over, sealed on one edge, and baked.

Calzones are not folded pizzas, they do resemble pizzas in some ways, but are far from it. A dough is rolled out evenly into a circle instead of molded into a bread pan.

Calzones are similar to stromboli, but traditionally the two are distinct dishes, as stromboli usually contains mozzarella cheese and is served with marinara sauce on the side. Moreover, stromboli is rolled to resemble a loaf, whereas a calzone is folded to resemble a semi-circle.(source - wikipedia)

Here i have stuffed the calzone with a spicy tangy paneer filling.Its was so soft and crisp right from the oven.You can also eat this at room temperature.I didnt use any tomato sauce to dip it in,had it just like that straight from the oven.The filling was really good,beyond my expections. Calzones are so ful filling enough to have as a main course than as a snack.

I am sending this to DK's A.W.E.D - Italian event and Vandana Rajesh's paneer - a delicacy event.

(Recipe for the crust adopted from the book Tastes of Home-The baking book)

INGREDIENTS

Unbleached flour - 3 1/4 cups

Active dry yeast - 2 1/4 tsp

Warm water - 1/2 cup

Warm milk - 3/4 cup

Salt - 1 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Olive oil - 3 tbsp

For the filling:-

Paneer cubes - 1 1/2 cups (i used home made paneer)

onions - 2 medium size , chopped fine

tomatoes - 2 medium size , chopped

green bell pepper - 1 medium size, diced small

gin-gar paste - 1 1/2 tsp

turmeric pdr - 1 tsp

red chilli pdr - 1/2 tsp

green chillies - 3,chopped

curry leaves - 1 sprig, chopped

coriander pdr - 2 tsp

garam masala - 1 tsp

tomato paste - 1 tbsp

cilantro - a small bunch,chopped

salt and pepper

METHOD

In a small glass bowl,dissolve yeast in a warm water.Let it stand for 5 - 10 mins.

In a large mixing bowl, sift flour,salt and sugar.Make a well in the center and add the yeast water ,milk and oil.Stir in enough flour to make a paste and use the rest to make a soft firm dough.Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 mins.Place in a greased bowl,turning ones to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled,about 1 hr.

In the meantime make the filling.Heat some oil in a pan and cook the paneer cubes until they are slightly brown.Remove and set aside.In the same pan add gin-gar paste,green chillies and curry leaves.Saute for a few seconds.Then add turmeric, chopped onions,bell pepper and tomato.Add salt and saute until the vegetables become soft.Add red chilli pdr,coriander pdr and garam masala.Stir everything together until everything is combined.Add tomato paste and sprinkle with some water to help stir the paste easily.Roast the mixture until it gets brown.Add cilantro and the cooked paneer cubes in the end.Combine it well and keep it aside to cool.

Punch down the dough and rest for 10 mins.Divide into 4 equal pieces.Make it into a smooth round and let it rest for another 30 mins,covered.Preheat oven to 400 deg F .Then roll out each piece into a circle 1/4 " thick. Top each with the paneer filling and fold dough over it.Pinch the sides to seal. Give 3 slits on top for the steam to escape.Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil for easy clean up. Sprinkle with some corn meal to avoid the sticking of the dough.Place the filled dough on the baking sheet.Brush some olive oil on top and bake for 15-20 mins or until its golden brown.

Let it cool a bit before cutting.As it cools it becomes softer.Serve warm.

BLUEBERRY MUFFIN

A muffin is somewhat like a small cake, and though it does resemble a cupcake, in that they both have cylindrical bases and rounded conical tops, they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting.Its a very popular breakfast item in usa.

We love to have muffins ones in a while not for breakfast but as a dessert after a light meal.We usually get muffins from the supermarkets but then they have this intense eggy taste which i hate even though i eat eggs.So i baked some at home that suits to my taste and flavor.My hubby's favorite flavor is blueberry muffins and so thats what i made.

This is my day 1 post for Recipe marathon ,a brilliant and fun idea by siri and dhivya.This is also my entry to the sugar friday-citrus event hosted by helen-tartelette originally started by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess .

INGREDIENTS

All purpose flour/maida - 2 cups

sugar - 1 cup

baking powder - 1 tsp

baking soda - 1/2 tsp

salt - 1/4 tsp

egg - 1 , slightly beaten

milk - 3/4 cup

yogurt or sour cream - 1/4 cup

oil - 1/4 cup

zest of 1 lemon or orange

blueberry - 1 cup , fresh or frozen(i used frozen)

vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Makes 12 muffins

METHOD

Preheat oven to 400 deg F.Fit the moulds of the muffin tray with paper cups and spray it with non stick vegetable spray and keep it aside. Sift the flour,baking soda,baking powder and salt into a bowl and keep aside.In another bowl whisk together sugar,egg,vanilla essence,milk,lemon zest,yogurt/sour cream and oil until its well blended.Now slowly add in the dry ingredients ,small quantity at a time and mix it just long enough to moisten the dry ingredients.Do not overmix the batter at this point as this will make the muffins tough and chewy.Overmixing will also pop the gas bubbles produced by the leaveners, resulting in flat muffins.

Now using an ice-cream scoop fill in the paper cups with the batter. Fill it up about 3/4th of the way.Place on top or center rack of the oven and bake for 15-20 mins.Prick the center of a muffin and if it comes clean then its done.Its very important not to peep into the oven for the 1st 15 mins as the temperature drops every time you open it.

Let it completely cool before eating it.refrigerate the remaining.

Also check what my marathon buddies are upto in their kitchen:).

Day 3 posts:-

Siri - Fatayer Bisabanikh (Spinach Pastry) Sambosic

Srivalli - Majjiga Mirapakaya/Dahi Mirchi

Swathi - Shimla mirch Paneer Bhurji Paneer stuffed capsicum and potato stuffed capsicum in makhani gravy

Dhivya - Spicy-Roti

Divya Vikram - Sour Cream Corn Cranberry muffins and a Click

Bhags - vegetable Stock

Arundhathi - Grape Jam

Lakshmi- Onion kulcha

Raaga Jackfruit Curry

Day 2 posts:-

Siri - Kosambari

Lakshmi - Coconut Dosa

Srivalli - Home made Sambhar Powder

Raaga - Chickpea Sundal.

Divya vikram - vegetable puffs

Dhivya - Peas Pulao

Swati -Bread Upma

Bhags - Coffee Cake.

Day 1 posts:-

Siri - baked cauliflower with puck's marinara sauce

Bhags -Tomato Shorba.

Dhivya - Bhindi Jaipuri

Swati - Dum Ka Murg Zafrani

Divya Vikram - Peas Kurma

Srivalli - Chicken Semi Gravy

Raaga - Masala Lauki Chana Dal

Lakshmi - Sour Cream Cake

HOME-MADE PANEER

Paneer is the most common cheese used in India. It is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or vinegar.The former is added when one has to make a sweet paneer dish and the latter is added when making a savory dish.
Like most of the Indians i also prefer to make paneer at home.Its very easy to make ,just follow some simple steps so if have lots of milk leftover and is few days away from its expiry date then this is the best way to get rid of it.

INGREDIENTS

Milk - 8-10 cups(preferably whole milk or 2 %)

Vinegar or lime juice or yogurt - 1 tbsp

muslin cloth

METHOD

In a vessel pour the milk and bring it to a boil.When it starts to boil reduce the flame and add the vinegar.This will enable the curds to separate from the whey.Let it boil till the whey turns pale green in color.Switch off the stove and let it cool a little before handling it.Ones it cools discard the whey using a strainer.Wash the curd under a running tap to get rid of the sour vinegar smell. To remove the remaining excess water from the curd pour it onto a 2-4 layer muslin/cheese cloth.Bring the 4 corners of the cloth together and gently twist it as much as u can to squeeze out the liquid and keep it under a heavy weight for 3-4 hrs as shown in the photo below.This will produce a very firm paneer.For a more softer version reduce the time to half an hr or so.The softer ones can be turned into a dough and used to make rossogulla and rasmalai which i will post some other day.

Cut the pressed paneer into cubes and use it in curries.