paneer manchurian

We are fond of indo-chinese food ,have tried veg manchurian ,gobi manchurian ( dry /gravy both )in the past so this time i wanted to try paneer manchurian.I had made chilli paneer which was a great hit in my family and so this is my another way of making paneer manchurian with gravy.I made paneer balls instead of  whole marinated fried paneer pieces for the gravy and it turned out super delicious.Actually its more or less like veg balls ,instead of vegetables i used  grated paneer for a change.The paneer balls itself on its own were very yummy and scrumptious,we also njoyed without adding them in the gravy just like a hot fried snack.My husband luved this indianised chinese paneer manchurian very much and will surely keep making it again and again,it was much easier and comfortable and less time consuming then making veg manchurian balls,whenever u feel like having ,manchurian and still lazy to buy so many vegetables and then grating or chopping it,you can surely go for this type of manchurian,i am sure you wont repent it ;).Sending this fusion of indo-chinese dish to priya's now serving ,for hosting the only-fusion recipes event started by pari of food delicious.

for approx 4-5 ppl
ingredients for paneer balls :
200 gms paneer,grated
2 tsps garlic-ginger paste
1-2 green chillies,chopped finely
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
2 tbsp cornflour
black pepper pwd or white pepper pwd to taste
salt  to taste
oil for deep frying

 ingredients for gravy :
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tsps chilli sauce
1 tsp vinegar
2 tbsp chopped ginger-garlic
salt to taste
sugar to taste
2 tbsp capsicum chopped
2 tbsp onions chopped
2 tbsp spring onions
1-1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
2 tbsp oil

method :
Add all the ingredients under paneer balls except oil ,together and make walnut size balls.Heat oil and deep fry in medium flame till brown in colour.Remove the paneer balls from oil and strain the excess oil on paper towel.Keep the fried paneer balls aside.
Heat 2 tbsp ,add onions,saute on high flame for 2 mins,add spring onions,capsicum ,ginger and garlic and stir fry on high for a min,add all the sauces,salt and sugar.Mix cornflour with very little water to make a thick paste.Add vegetable stock/water in vegetables and stir in cornflour paste continuosly till the gravy  gets  thicks ,simmer for a while.Add the paneer balls 10-12 mins before serving .

pls note :
1.while making paneer balls,make one ball and try deep frying it,if dosent break in oil that means its perfect and if it spread in oil then either ur oil is not too hot and ready for deep frying or u have to increase the amt of cornflour.Cornflour is used here as a binding agent and u can increase the quantity by adding 1 more tbsp .
2.Again in gravy u can adjust the thickness and quantity according to ur needs.If u want the gravy more thick make the cornflour paste more then the given quantity,or if u want to increase the gravy add some more water and boil for few more mins.Similarly if you dont want much gravy add less water and adjust the thickn ess of gravy by using cornflour.
3.Also you can skip capsicum / spring onions /onions in the gravy and just make plain with ginger-garlic flavour gravy.

tomato and carrot soup

This soup is very light,healthy and simple clear soup,perfect for the cold weather here with less ingredients,my daughter specially luves this tomato & carrot combination soup and she keeps saying me to make this everynow and then.When she was not well a couple of weeks back i made this for her and it really helped her in all means.She liked sipping the soup whole day and i was relieved a bit.

for 2 ppl

ingredients :

2-3 medium size tomatoes ( preferable little ripened )

1 large carrot or 2 small ones

black pepper pwd to taste

roasted cumin pwd to taste

salt to taste

butter to taste ,optional

chopped corriander / basil leaves to garnish ( optional)

method :

Wash tomatoes and carrots,cut tomatoes in quaters,dont peel the carrot ,just knock off both the ends and cut into medium size pieces.Pressure cook tomatoes and carrots with little water and cook till tender (around 2-3 whistles ).Let it cool,grind and strain them into thick puree,add little water if required.Boil the puree for few mins,add pepper pwd ,cumin pwd and salt and mix well.Add a blob of butter and serve hot.

kesar nankhatai /saffaron cookies

Last week was not a good week for me as my daughter was suffering from viral fever,cold & cough,all together...kids getting sick is just too tiring for us ..they are so very cranky and need pampering every now and then that we start feeling sick :(.Anyways i really dont know what's store in this year, 2011 for me,nothing is working out too well.."hope for the best and prepare for the worst" is my father in law's fav quote and i too believe in it ,i am surely hoping some good things in coming days.Therefore, these days im not able to concentrate much on my cooking and blogging as well ,not trying out too many new dishes but yes this nankhatai recipe which i posted today was made for our last to last long weekend trip where we had been to buchan caves and lake enterance in east gippsland,outskirts of melbourne with some friends and had nice outing with overnight stay for a change!This is yet another tried & tasted dish from my blogger friend aipi's kitchen.Hope u all njoy the recipe as much as we all did !Sending this to priya for her bookmarked recipes-every tuesday ,co-hosted by aipi and also for hosting this month's  t & t event  started zlamushka & now owned by lakshmi.

original recipe is here.
ingredients :
11/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
7-8 tbsp melted ghee
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp kesar/saffaron ( powdered in a pestle or mashed by the back of the spoon )
1/2 tsp cardomon pwd
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (pistachios /almonds/cashew nuts)
method :
Mix flour,baking soda,baking powder and salt together and sieve it for 1-2 times.Add sugar,saffaron,milk and mix well.Add ghee little at a time and make a smooth soft dough without any cracks.Cover the dough with cling sheet or plastic wrap and keep in fridge for 15-20 mins.Preheat the oven to 350F ,divide the dough into 22 equal portions,shape them round,flatten them little by your palm and garnish it with the nuts.Place them on the baking sheets and bake them for 15-20 mins or till golden brown in colour.Let it cool down for 10-12 mins and then remove from the sheet as they might be soft whislt hot.You can store it in airtight containers for few days and njoy eating !

tawa pulao, a tried & tasted dish !

In this blogosphere, more or less we all know this month is the tried & tasted dishes from the very vibrant AIPI's blog,the usmasala chef :),I am overwhelmed to try some of the dishes from one of my favourite blogs,i  have been eyeing her blog for an year now but really never had a chance to make , now im njoying this since i have a wonderful opputurnity to make all those bookmarked recipes and will definately not let it go..:).So here is my first dish ,tawa pulao ,i tried this as in the past i never  made this pulao and was very keen to try a different flavoured rice and was really looking forward to know how a rice would taste with our very favourite and authentic street food ,paav bhaji masala.And to be very honest i just njoyed every grain of this pulao.Mmmmm still my mouth is watering with the flavour of the fantabulous multi-spiced paav bhaji masala...yumm !Thanx Aipi for sharing such wonderful and deluctable dishes with us and needless to say im sending this pulao to Priya for hosting T&T event which was started by Zlamushkha and now owned by Lakshmi.

original recipe is here.
approx for 2-3 ppl

ingredients :

2 cups basmati rice

1 cup mix veggies (  potatoes,carrot,brinjal,beans,cauliflower,peas ,capsicum etc)
1 tsp red chilli pwd
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
2-3 tsp store bought paav bhaji masala (i used everest, adjust acc to your taste )
2 tbsp oil
a pinch if hing/asafoetida
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
2 tsp ginger -garlic paste
salt to taste
lemon juice to taste
chopped corriander leaves for garnishing

method :
Cook rice and spread it ( the grains should be seperated ),let it cool down.Meanwhile heat oil,splutter cumin seeds,add hing,onions,salt and turmeric powder.Fry onions till transparentadd ginger garlic paste,tomatoes.Cook for few mins,add all the veggies and cook till tender.Add red chilli pwd and paav bhaji masala and fry for 2 mins,then add rice and mix well.Squeeze in some lemon juice and cover and cook rice for few mins.Turn off the flame ,garnish with corriander and serve hot !

aaloo do pyaaza

The name itself says everything....a potato and 2 onions ,which are very common ingredients in almost every homes ,a very simple dish with less ingredients .It gives a tinge of chinese flavour with the sauces used and is a combination of  salty,sour,sweet and hot ,basically an ultimate blend of aromatic flavours.This dish was introduced to me by my co-sister and now its very common in my kitchen,i and my hubby we both luv this simple potato and onion fry which is having a different authentic flavour of its own.Thanx Tisha for this wonderful recipe .Linking this to bookmarked recipes-every tuesday event started by priya and co-hosted by aipi,also to anyone can cook series started by taste of pearl city.

approx for 2 ppl

ingredients :

1 large boiled potato

2 large onions finely sliced

1 green chilli ,slit lengthwise

2 tsp soya sauce

2tsp chilli sauce ( pls adjust acc to taste )

2 tsp tomato ketchup

salt to taste

red chilli pwd to taste

black pepper pwd to taste

3-4 tbsp oil

method :

Peel the boiled potato,cut into cubes.Heat oil,fry potato pieces on high flame for 3-5 mins,sprinkle salt and pepper pwd, remove the pieces and keep it aside.In the remaining oil,add green chilli and fry onions till translucent,add potatoes.Mix soya sauce,chilli sauce and tomato ketch up together and add in onions and potatoes.Sprinkle salt and red chilli pwd,mix well,simmer for a while and serve hot with rotis/naans/parathas.

banana-choclate muffins

I am not fond of bananas but i definately love the flavour of this high calorie fruit in muffins,breads & cakes,it really gives a beautiful aroma and  is a fantastic replacement for eggs.Though have not used much of banana puree for my baking goodies but my earlier banana bread post was surely a hit.I actually had a fully ripened huge banana left and wanted to use it as soon as possible or else i had to throw it ,which i am strongly against and so to avoid all this i jumped on my (new..yes ,finally i got one..yay! im sooo happy) laptop to hunt an eggless banana muffin recipe,there i landed upon jayashree's space and my eyes caught on this recipe,which i found was very clear,easy , few ingredients to use,also the best part was she had used chocolate powder which is my all time favourite ingredient and i blindly can use anywhere :P and so without spending a minute i went into my kitchen and tried this  recipe immediately.Now the best part of this muffins is that being eggless also it was super moist and soft as she said in her post and was just perfect,i never ever imagined that an eggless muffin would ever turn out this good ! thank u jayashree for sharing such a wonderful eggless banana choclate muffin.

recipe source : spice & curry
dry ingredients :
11/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup chocolate/cocoa pwd ( i used drinking chocolate )
11/2 tsp baking soda
wet ingredients :
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup yogurt at room tempereature
1 cup mashed riped banana / banana pulp
method :
Sieve all the dry ingredients together for 2-3 times and keep it aside.Mix butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl,add vanilla essence and yogurt.Mix well.Add mashed banana and mix thoroughly.Fold in dry ingredients and mix well till no lumps.Grease the muffin trays or line the muffin trays and fill 3/4 th cup of the mixture .Bake in a preheated oven at 175c for 20 mins .( keep checking time varies from oven to oven ,can check by inserting a toothpick/skewers in the muffins,if it comes out  clean tht means its done. ).Cool it down for few mins and remove from the muffin trays and njoy eating !