Lets Try Kadai Paneer With Some New Idea

Paneer is one of the all time favourite food at our house ( specialy for hubby ). We make various types of dishes with it & alaways tastes great . Last week I made this kadai paneer for dinner . I add some ingredients which normally I don't use in kadai paneer . But it was so good that I thought to stick in this recipe . I added capsicum & onion pieces & made it like how I normally make manchurian . But it was not like manchurian . So I thought to share this recipe with all of you & here is my version of Kadai paneer ....





Ingredients :-

1. 300 gm paneer cut into small pieces & shallow fried .
2. 2 medium size onion chopped finely & 1 onion chopped into 1" size pieces .
3. 2-3 green chilli slit .
4. 2 medium size tomatoes finely chopped / pureed .
5. 1 tsp ginger paste .
6. 1 tsp gerlic paste .
7. 2 capsicum cut into 1" size pieces .
8. 1 1/2 tbsp Coriander powder .
9. 1 tsp Turmeric powder .
10.2 tsp red chili powder .
11. 1 tsp garam masala powder .
12. Whole garam masala ( cumin , 1" Cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf ) .
13. Sugar ( optional ).
14. Salt to taste .
15. Oil .


Method :-

1. Heat oil in a kadai and add the Sugar till caramelized . Now add whole garam masala .

2. Once they start splutter, add the chopped onions and saute till it caramalized.

3. Once onion become soft add the ginger-gerlic paste & saute for 5 min .

4. Once raw smell goes add the tomato pieces/puree and saute well.Now add the red chili powder ,Coriander powder , Turmeric powder & saute for another 2 min .

5. Now add the capsicum , onion pieces & slit green chillies . Fry for 5 min till they become soft (not smashy).

6. Now add salt and 1/2 cup water . Allow it to boil .

7. Now add the fried paneer pieces & cook it till the gravy become thick . At last add the garam masala powder & stair once . Serve hot with roti , paratha or even hot rice .

Note : I used packed paneer . But if you want you can make paneer at home . Home made paneer taste great .

A Weekend Breakfast Chole Bhature

This weekend the weather was nice .. Not that much hot . Normally june to august is the hottest seasons over here .After that weather starts changing & weather becomes nice & cold . But yesterday it was little cold & hazzy weather . I normally make something special for breakfast every weekend insted of cake / bread , milk- cornflakes . & this time when my dear hubby wanted to have chole - bhature I thought why not make as per his request .

So here is the recipe :-





Ingredients :-

1. 5 cups white refined flour .
2. 1 cup yogurt .
3. 1 tsp salt .
4. 2 tsps ghee for kneading & extra for frying bhatures .
5. 1 tsps sugar .
6. 1/2 tsp yeast .
7. Water.

Method :-

1. Mix the yeast with half a cup of luke warm water and keep aside for ten minutes.
2. Now sieve the flour and salt together .
3. Mix the ghee and the sugar with the flour.
4. Add the yogurt and dissolved yeast .
5. Add little more luke warm if necessary.
6. Knead well until the dough becomes soft and pliable.
7. Cover it with a wet cloth and keep aside for two hours.
8. Heat the ghee in a kadai .
9. Make small balls and roll them , spread a little with your palms to make it bit elongated ( tear shaped) and fry in hot ghee until golden brown.
10.Served these bhature with some spicy chole .


They came out very nice & tasty . I am sending this recipe to dear Divya , who is hosting the event called "Show me your Breakfast!" .

Hot Weekend Lunch - Lamb/Mutton Dhansak

Its summer time & the days are long & very hot here . Summer time is the worst time in Dubai . Getting out is very difficult in the afternoon & its applicable for weekend days alos . But from September onwards the weather will become very pleasant . So now in this hot weather I don't want to go out for lunch , & I thought to make something new to enjoy our lunch at home . So I made Lamb dhansak .
Lamb Dhansak is a popular Parsi recipe in which lamb is cooked along with lentil and should be medium to hot in spiciness . We loved the blend of hot spices, sour flavours and lentils & make the dhansak a popular curry at our home .So here is the recipe ...



Ingredients for dhansak :-

1. 500 gm boneless lamb, diced into large chunks .
2. 2 small tomatoes, roughly chopped .
3. 2 medium onions, roughly chopped .
4. 1 lemon .
5. 2 tbsp oil .
6. Salt to taste .

For lentil mixture :-

1. 1/2 cup toor dal .
2. 1/2 cup masoor dal .
3. 1/2 cup urad dal .
4. 1 small aubergine, chopped .
5. 1 small sweet potato, chopped .
6. 1/2 small pumpkin , chopped .
7. 2 onion, roughly chopped .
8. Handful of coriander .
9. 1 tsp turmeric powder .
10.2 tsp oil .
11. 2 cup water

For masala paste

1. 3 tsp ginger- gerlic paste .
2. 2 tsp red chilli powder .
3. 1 tsp cumin powder .
4. 1 tsp coriander powder .
5. Whole garam masala (1"cinnamon ,4 green cardamoms ,4 whole black pepper , 1 star anise , )
6. 1 tbsp kasoori methi .
7. Handful coriander leave .
8. Salt .
9. 1 tsp nutmeg powder .




Method :-

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker & fry the onion till soft & brown . Now put water , salt & all the ingredients for the lentil mixture . Cook for 5 whistles and then simmer for 15 -20 minutes . Uncover and mash the dal mixture to get a semi-smooth mixture.

2. Grind all the paste ingredients in a blender to make a smooth masala paste .

3. Heat the oil in the pressure cooker . Now add the chopped onions & fry until pale brown. Add the spice paste and the tomatoes and fry for ten minutes, stirring regularly so that it won't stick to the bottom .

4. Then add the lamb and fry until they are brown all over and well coated in the masalas. Fry for 10 min & then put the dal mixture into it and pressure cook again for about 15 minutes.

5. Now open the pressure cooker, mix in the lemon juice & add salt . Let it simmer for another 10 min & serve hot with white rice , salad & fried papad .

Note :- If you don’t have a pressure cooker, just cook it in a kadai .
Don't make the lentil mixture too much smashy .
It is meant to be hot, sweet and sour. so use as much chilli (fresh green and dry red chilli ) you want .