daab paneer recipe | paneer in mustard sauce steamed in tender coconut shells

You must have heard about daab chingri  and that is one of my favourite prawn recipe too. Inspired by the classic recipe, I recently cooked daab paneer and loved it so much that it has become quite regular on my table.

Tender coconut is a great thirst quencher, a delicious blend of electrolytes that nature has packaged so wonderfully for us. Daab, as tender coconut is called in Hindi and few other regional languages, has been the favourite drink whenever we can get it. Few decades ago we used to get daab only when we traveled to coastal towns but thankfully it is available in cities like Delhi fairly easily.

To me it feels like a wonder every time I sip from a tender coconut, right since my childhood. Each tender coconut packs a different flavour if you consider the minor variations of sweet and salt, the mineral taste and of the course the malai (tender coconut meat) that lines the inner wall, like a surprise unfolding gently. 

Tender coconut was our saviour last year when both of us were hit by chikangunia together. We had asked the neighbourhood daab wala to deliver 2 tender coconuts every morning and evening and that helped us a lot in recovering from the most annoying sickness we have had. But then we made friends with this daab wala and he is always ready to deliver at home, he will come with his cleaver sometimes and cut open the daab so we can eat the malai as well. All those tender coconut shells went into my compost heap but then I decided to make a raised bed using them, the next garden project. About that some other time as I am sharing a daab paneer recipe with you right now. 

 I had eaten daab recipes in hotels and restaurants in the past but never had bothered to cook anything with them at home, apart from adding the tender coconut meat to some of my kheer recipes. When I saw a daab chingri recipe by Ipshita Bhandari on a facebook group I felt tempted to try that at home. After all I have easy supply of daab and the daab wala ready to cut it into convenient halves. 

The Bengali daab chingri is a popular dish, easy to cook but the daab is such an exotic ingredient that everyone serves the daab chingri with a certain sense of pride. I am a sucker for easy recipes with clean flavours, thankfully this recipe was appreciated by everyone who tasted it. 

In fact for a week I was on a spree to cook with daab malai and found the right balance that works for my type of palate. The balance of mustard, green chilies and tender coconut meat, the three crucial ingredients of this secret sauce is a distinct personal choice according to the extent you can take the pungency of mustard mixed with the heat of green chilies. The fresh daab malai (tender coconut meat) renders a unique sweetness to this dish and that’s where lies the specialty of this dish. 

Take care to ask your daab wala to chose a daab with soft but generous malai in it, if it has lesser malai just consume it as is, if the malai has turned meaty you can snack upon it as we need the firm yet jelly like malai for this recipe. If you are making daab chingri or daab paneer for a crowd you can use a mix of tender and not too tender coconut meat as that will maintain the flavour. 

Ingredients 

One whole daab (tender coconut) with generous amount of soft jelly like meat 

200 gm paneer 

2 tbsp yellow mustard 

2 cloves of garlic 

3-4 green chilies or more if you like 

1 tbsp or more mustard oil (depending on your liking of pungency)

¼ tsp of turmeric powder 

100 ml coconut milk (optional but recommended)

Equipment of choice, depending on whether you want to bake the mix or steam it

Both halves of the tender coconut if you are using them for baking 

Or a baking dish of 1 litre capacity with lid  

Or a steel dabba big enough to accommodate the mix and fit inside a pressure cooker

Or an earthen pot and 3-4 fresh tender bottle gourd leaves, to be baked in a conventional oven or a microwave oven

Procedure 

Separate the water and the malai of the daab, save the water and chop the malai in small bits.

Make a paste of mustard, garlic cloves and green chilies along with turmeric powder. Powdering the mustard seeds first and then adding some water and other ingredients helps make a smooth paste. 

Chop the paneer in small bits too.

Slit 1-2 green chilies.

Mix all the other ingredients together, along with half of the mustard oil. Add some of the coconut water to make the consistency as required. You need a mix with saucy consistency. I added coconut milk from a carton for this step every time as I can’t not drink the coconut water. I found the coconut milk made this recipe even better.

For cooking the daab paneer you can follow any* one of the following procedures.

*Transfer the mix to the emptied halves of daab, cover with aluminium foil and bake it for 25-30 minutes at 180 C. 

*Transfer the mix in an earthen pot lined with bottle gourd leaves or fresh turmeric leaves, cover wit the same leaves, fix the lid and bake for 20 minutes at 180 C.

*The earthen pot can be placed in the microwave oven and cooked at high for 5-7 minutes.

 

*Transfer the mix to a steel dabba, cover with lid, keep the dabba in a pressure cooker which has ½ cup of water in it and pressure cook till the first whistle blows. Cool the pressure cooker on its own and open the lid.

After cooking with any of the above process, open the lid and garnish with a few slit green chilies and a drizzle of the remaining mustard oil. 

Serve hot with steaming hot rice, preferably short grain rice like gobindobhog or jeerabatti. 

I was suggested by Ipshita that it is better to cook it in the daab shell to bring the rustic flavour but I found it good even when I cooked the mix in a steel container or an earthen pot lined with fresh bottle gourd leaves. This is a recipe that one can adjust according to personal choice of the cooking vessel used, but please don’t distort the golden trinity of mustard paste, daab malai and green chilies.

This daab paneer recipe will become a family favourite if you like the flavours of mustard. In this recipe the pungency of mustard is quite sublime due to the daab malai used. Please try the recipe and let me know.

saag paneer | laal chaulai paneer ki bhurji | red amaranth and paneer stir fry

Paneer, eggs and boiled chickpeas in the fridge are the best ingredients to make a nourishing meal in a jiffy. Of course I stock my greens in many ways too so I can cook our meals quickly. Having someone to chop and clean is a great help but then one can always plan a weekend time when all the vegetables can be stocked for the week's use.

I stock my leafy green vegetables in many ways. Some are kept unwashed wrapped in brown paper or cloth bags and they last pretty much the whole week this way. I rinse the greens stored this way and chop before cooking but it does take some time. When I plan ahead and involve my house help I get the greens cleaned, well rinsed and chopped and freeze them in ziplock bags or steam and keep them in airtight containers for a week or so.

Luckily Amaranth leaves of both types, red and greens ones are quite dry in nature and last really well in the fridge even after chopping. I make optimal use of this property of amaranth greens whenever I get a huge bunch from our weekly market.

This time I found a ziplock bag of red amaranth in the freezer that I had froze 3 months ago when I had bought a huge bunch of them.

Now to tell you the truth, amaranth greens were never cooked with paneer in my home but this became a short cut way to make one subzi that includes greens and proteins and cooks in just about 10 minutes. In the mornings when I have to cook lunch box this way of cooking just one subzi suits well. I just pack some rotis and dahi with it and the lunch box meal is complete.

ingredients
(2-3 servings)

400 gm chopped red amaranth leaves (or green if you don't get the red ones)
100 gm red onions sliced thinly
2-3 broken dry red chillies
1 tbsp mustard oil
salt to taste
120 gm paneer cubed

procedure 
Heat mustard oil and tip in the broken red chillies. Let the chillies get aromatic, you can let them burn lightly if you want a smoky flavour. I do the smoking of the chillies for this recipe.

Now add the sliced onions. Fry them till they turn translucent.

Add salt and the chopped amaranth greens. Mix well, cover and cook till the leaves get wilted.

Stir fry for a few minutes, add the cubed paneer and cook covered for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot or at room temperature with roti, paratha or millet rotis.

This paneer saag works really well as a sandwich stuffing too.

You can cook this recipe of saag paneer with spinach too.

everyday subzi: palak paneer recipe | 3 ways to make palak paneer

I never thought I should be sharing a palak paneer recipe on my blogs. It was too ordinary everyday recipe that I thought everyone would know. After all you don't need any special skill to make palak paneer, that is what I thought. And then someone asked me whether I have palak paneer recipe on the blog when I suggested it in her meal plan.

I realised such regional recipes have become popular because of their popularity in restaurants and people relate these recipes with heavy and rich curries they eat at those restaurants. The simpler homely deliciousness of palak paneer and such recipes stays limited only in their respective regions. That was enough reason for me to think about posting some of the very ordinary but popular recipes so whoever wants to try the homely version of palak paneer gets a chance to taste the original flavour. Although the original or authentic taste may be an illusion as every family has it's own recipe, my intention is to get the unspoiled taste of spinach and paneer in the curry.

Also, as I learn more about the complex recipes I realise we need to have exact and accurate recipes of the simpler food too as a simpler recipe is more likely to get lost for the lack of seriousness attached to it. If we know the simpler version we can always add on our own twist to it according to seasons and taste. Like I make a palak paneer tahiri sometimes with leftover palak paneer or add some sweet corn kernels to the plain palak paneer to make it more interesting.

Note that palak paneer can be made in a jiffy if the palak (spinach) has been cleaned, rinsed, chopped and steamed already. This is the way I store my spinach mostly. Once the greens are chopped and lightly steamed, it refrigerates well for 3-4 days and freezes well for months. I keep it in a container for 3-4 days.

Alternately, cleaned unwashed spinach also keeps well for a week, if wrapped in brown paper or cloth napkin. Just rinse, chop and use as required.

My simplest palak paneer recipe has been the most popular with any guests and even kids. Even my daughter used to love the simpler version of palak paneer. So the first recipe is the plain palak paneer that gets ready in just about 10 minutes if you have the steamed spinach ready in the fridge.

Note that you can use the stems of spinach too for palak paneer if the leaves are tender, but if the spinach leaves are mature and the stems are hard, it is better to remove the stems as it may make the curry slightly bitter.

Plain palak paneer recipe (no onion garlic)...

ingredients
(2-3 servings)

2 cups steamed spinach
100-150 gm paneer cubed
2 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp cumin powder
salt 1/3 tsp or to taste
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup whisked fresh yogurt

procedure

Puree the spinach and keep ready.

Heat the ghee lightly and tip in the cumin powder. Pour the spinach puree as soon as the cumin powder starts sizzling. Take care not to burn the cumin powder.

Stir and cook till spinach puree starts bubbling.

Add the other ingredients and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Serve right away.

This recipe is a fasting recipe that we used to eat during navratri a lot. You can have it with plain boiled buckwheat groats or sama ke chawal too.

spicy palak paneer recipe 

This recipe takes about 15 minutes if you have the chopped and steamed spinach ready. This is more close to the restaurant style palak paneer but way more healthier homely version of it.

ingredients (2-3 servings)

2 cups steamed spinach
150 gm or more paneer cubed
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste (or minced)
1/2 cup fresh raw tomato paste (freshly chopped tomatoes liquidised in mixie)
1 tbsp everyday curry powder (or curry powder of your choice)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chilli powder or to taste
dash of garam masala powder (optional, depends on what curry powder you are using)
2-3 tejpatta
1.5 tbsp mustard oil
salt to taste

procedure 

Grease a griddle ( I use my cast iron dosa tawa mostly) with ghee or oil and grill the paneer cubes both sides till lightly browned. This step is optional but enhances the flavour, you can deep fry the paneer if you are making large quantity. Dip all the fried paneer cubes in a cup of hot water, cover and let it rest till required.

Puree the spinach and keep aside.

Heat mustard oil and tip in the finely chopped onion and fry till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and salt, fry till oil releases.

Add the powder spices with a tbsp of water and bhuno on medium flame till it looks glazed.

Add the tomato paste and bhuno again till it dries up. Add the spinach puree and let it bubble once.

Add the fried paneer cubes along with the soaking water, simmer for a couple of minutes. Serve hot.

This version of palak paneer lends well to palak paneer wali tahiri. I usually make some extra rice and refrigerate the leftover. This way we can make a quick meal with leftover things. For a cup of cooked rice you can use up 1.5-2 cups of leftover palak paneer, just mix both the rice and palak paneer well and let it cook covered on very low flame for 10 minutes or so. In our case it is usually half the quantity and I cook it till it start looking like this.

I usually make a quick stir fry with this kind of meal too. Here it is a radish stir fry we love a lot. Will share the radish stir fry recipe soon.

Another palak paneer version is my way of making creamed spinach mostly. It is a practical way to eat greens and make it workable for a roti subzi kind of Indian meal too.

Creamed spinach with paneer recipe (creamed palak paneer) ...

ingredients
(2-3 servings)

2 cups of chopped steamed spinach (or raw chopped)
1/4 cup cream (heavy or light as you wish, I use whatever I have or add 2 tbsp of malai)
100-120 gm paneer cubed in small pieces
salt to taste
black pepper powder to taste
pinch of nutmeg powder (optional)
pinch of garlic powder

procedure 

Basically everything can be put in a pan and cooked till the spinach wilts and the cream get a greenish hue if you go by what I do. But wilting the spinach forst with added salt and then adding everything else and cooking it all covered for a few minutes does the trick. That's all.

The 'curry' style creamed spinach and paneer is so convenient for me sometimes it saves me on hectic mornings. We have had it with plain boiled rice, roti, paratha and even with plain boiled pasta. Try it once and you would know what I am talking about.

Hoping that making palak paneer will not be difficult any more,e if you have palak paneer in restaurants all your life. Try making these versions and tell me which one you liked more. Each one has a different flavour and you would plan these with different kind of meals once you start making them in your own kitchen.

The home made paneer could be of great help if you wish to keep the fat content of paneer in check.

everyday daal : chane ki daal bathue wali | sagpaita cooked with split chickpeas and chenopodium greens

Sagpaita is a name given to all lentils cooked with winter greens. Spinach, Chenopodium (bathua), Fenugreek greens (methi), Chane ka saag (chickpea greens) or a mix of spinach and dill leaves, fenugreek greens and dill leaves etc is cooked with any lentil to make a saucy daal rich with flavours of garlic, hing and cumin used for the tadka.

Sagpaita is basically a winter food that is considered warming and hydrating for the body at the same time. The lentils used mostly for sagpaita are arhar ki daal (split pigeon peas), chane ki daal (split chickpeas) or urad daal (split black beans) but a mix of lentils is also used. Mung ki daal (split mung beans) is also cooked to make sagpaita but it is mostly with baby spinach or baby fenugreek greens.

All these sagpaita recipes are slightly different from each other despite being a mix of lentils and greens basically but the taste of each sagpaita tells you how and why each one is cooked differently.

We do cook lentils with purslane greens in summers too but somehow sagpaita is a name given to the ones cooked with winter greens only. No wonder, the daal can include a lot of spices and loads of ghee is topped over the bowls of sagpaita. It has to be a winter delicacy as the recipe is tuned to be eaten in winters. All parts of Uttar Pradesh get very chilly during the 2 months of winter and there are various foods made with fresh produce to stay warm.

This chane ki daal ka sagpaita with bathue ka saag is made differently in each family. Some would add a little urad dal to it and some would add some fresh green peas or 'harey chane' but the tempering will always have some hing-jeera-lasun and laal mirch along with mild spices like dhaniya, jeera, kali mirch powder and may be a couple of tejpatta. There is good protein in the daal along with a lot of greens, so the hing and garlic etc is added to allow proper digestion of the sagpaita.

I sometimes add es of paneer to my sagpaita to make it a one pot meal. Otherwise it is best enjoyed with plain boiled rice, some bhujia type dry subzi, raita and papad kind of Indian meals.

ingredients
(2-3 large servings)

For pressure cooking
chane ki daal (split chickpeas 100 gm (scant half cup)
finely chopped bathua (chenopodium greens) 300 gm (2 cups packed)
minced ginger 1 tbsp
salt to taste
turmeric powder 1 tsp
water 1.5 cup

For tempering
ghee 1 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
hing (asafotida) a pinch
chopped garlic 1-2 tsp according to taste
red chilly powder 1/2 tsp or more to taste
everyday curry powder 1 tsp (optional)

lime juice to serve.
Paneer cubes as per requirement.

procedure

Pressure cook the daal and bathua greens along with the ingredients listed. Wait till the pressure builds up and the whistle blows, then cook on low flame for 10 minutes.

Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee and then adding the ingredients one after the other in the order listed. Make sure the garlic gets pink in colour and turns aromatic before you add the chilly powder and then remove the pan from the stove and pour the ingredients into the cooked daal. Mix well and churn the daal mixture if you like the sagpaita a bit saucy.

Serve hot with some lime juice or hot melted ghee or butter on top. This can be served with all the usual Indian accompaniments for a meal as I mentioned.

When I add paneer cubes I usually let the sagpaita simmer for a few minutes to soften the paneer before serving. Sagpaita or bathue wali chane ki daal has a distinct aroma of hing, cumin seeds and garlic that we call 'hing-jeera-lehsun ka tadka' and a mild kick imparted by red chillies. The base is earthy with bathua and chana dal that makes this sagpaita a very uniquely flavoured daal.

You can cook this daal with arhar (toor or pigeon peas) ki daal as well. The recipe wont changeeven if you use a mix of chane and arhar ki daal. But mung and urad daals need a different treatment. We will talk about that when I share the recipe of sagpaita with those lentils.

Enjoy bathua chane ki daal ka saigpaita till then.

chane ki daal paneer wali | split chickpeas cooked with tomatoes and paneer

This chane ki daal with paneer cubes is one of those favourite recipes that make my life easier, meals tastier and keep my eating resolutions in place. All at once trust me. This chane ki daal is made a little thick like chana masala or chhole and suits a lunch box meal really well. Also, this chane ki daal can be served with a variety of Indian breads and rice preparations, can also be had like a one pot meal. Try that if you trust me.

Another chane ki daal masale wali is a UP specialty but this one with paneer is my own take on this healthy lentil.

There are some daal recipes in my repertoire that make my cooking really quick and convenient. These daal recipes are tasty as well as really quick to cook, wholesome flavours that can make a quick meal in itself, can be taken into lunch boxes and can be cooked in a hurry when you have unannounced guests. I depend on these recipes a lot and keep playing with the flavorings a bit according to seasons and available herbs and required spice level. These daal recipes basically do not need a tadka or just a quick 'heeng jeere ka tadka' instead of bhunoeing a whole lot of onion, garlic and ginger paste, masala powders and all that jazz.

Apart from this chane ki daal paneer wali, there is a Bengali recipe of coconut laced chane ki daal, a few versions of sabut mung ki daal and another sabut masoor ki daal that I make quite often. It is a shame the recipe is still not on the blog but let me tell you that these recipes are mostly cooked in such a hurry that there is no time to click pictures and share them with you all. Hoping to make those daals again this winter and click pictures too. Yes I like these daals as a one pot meal in winter season. Especially for dinner.

So this chane ki daal paneer wali is a one step recipe. You just mix the ingredients and pressure cook. The time taken to cook this recipe is just about the time that chane ki daal takes to be pressure cooked and that is about 20 minutes total (for 2-4 servings). Not much chopping, no preparation for tadka and absolutely healthy.

ingredients
(2 large servings)

to be pressure cooked together...
chane ki daal (rinsed and strained) 1/2 cup
chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup
tejpatta or bay leaves 2
whole black pepper corns 10-12
black cardamom 1
green cardamom 3
cinnamon stick 1 inch piece
cloves 3
red chilly powder 1/2 tsp
1.5 cup water
salt to taste
turmeric powder 1 tsp

to be added after the pressure cooking..
chopped coriander greens 1/4 cup
cubed paneer 1/3 cup or about 60 gm
ghee 1 tsp

procedure

Bring everything together in the first list and pressure cook for 10 minutes after the first whistle. This is the time taken for the lentils to get cooked but not too mushy. The time depends on the quantity you are cooking and the size of the pressure cooker as well, so adjust that according to your requirement.

Add the ingredients from the second list to the cooked daal and simmer for 2 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving or serve as required. This daal doesn't reheat too well but you can dilute the daal a little if you have to serve leftovers and it becomes better. It is always better to fish out the whole spices before serving.

This chane ki daal paneer wali is a great way to ensure a protein rich meal but please don't assume that it doesn't contain any carbs. All lentils have enough carbohydrates for us to keep us going. We like this daal with millet rotis, whole wheat parathas and sometimes with plain boiled rice. You can serve this daal with an elaborate meal along with pooris too as I have seen people enjoying this daal with poori a lot. Isn't this chane ki daal a really versatile recipe?

Try adding some chhole masala to it and see how great it tastes with that too. You can add fresh methi (fenugreek) greens to the daal if that is in season or some dill greens if you like the flavours. This chane ki daal tastes good even without any of these herbs but somehow I never make it without a generous handful of aromatic herbs.

Do let me know what would you like it with?

everyday subzi: turai aur paneer ki subzi

Turai is sponge gourd, a staple summer squash that I end up cooking a lot. This is one of those vegetables that even Arvind loves so I can do many versions of it. This paneer turai ki subzi was made to suit his lunch box meals, to make the curry protein rich and filling with multigrain rotis that he liked for his everyday lunch box. But the greatest convenience is the ease of cooking in the morning rush hours. You get the drift.

Many a times I add a paneer salad or egg bhurji or just sliced boiled eggs smeared with pesto, mustard or mint chutney along with some green vegetables but if he is having eggs for breakfast and I have no time for making a salad I add paneer or shredded chicken to his subzi. Works well because the same subzi or salad serves me for my brunch later in the day. This is the story on most weekdays with just a change of the vegetables used.

Now a days as work load is getting more, the vegetables are cut by the maid most of the times though I do all the cooking myself, the vegetables come out of ziplock bags when I cook.

ingredients 
(2-3 servings)
peeled and sliced turai (ridge gourd) 4 cups or 700 gm approximately
sliced onions 1/2 cup or one medium sized onion
slit green chillies as per taste
cumin seeds 1 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
cubed paneer 100 gm (3/4 cup)
mustard oil or any oil you like 1 tbsp

procedure

Heat the oil and tip in the cumin seeds. Add the slit green chillies once the cumin seeds crackle. Immediately add the sliced onions as well and stir fry till they get slightly pinkish.

Add the turmeric powder and mix well, add all the sliced turai and mix well again while the veggies wilt a little bit.

Add the salt and cook covered till the turai wilts completely and leaves it's juices. Add the cubed paneer and mix well. Let the curry cook on high flame without the lid for a while till the extra liquid evaporates.

Serve as required. This curry has a sweetness to it due to the onions and the natural taste of the sponge gourd. You can add a little more green chillies than you normally have and even a little chopped ginger if you wish. Some tomatoes also make sense if you want the flavours a bit hot and sour type. This recipe makes the curry a little on the sweeter side with just a mild hit of chilly heat which we have grown up eating in the Eastern UP homes.

achari paneer and mushrooms | paneer and mushrooms stir fried with baby onions in Indian pickling spices

Paneer and mushrooms are consumed quite frequently in my kitchen especially for the lunch box meals that Arvind takes every day. Something that stays tasty even when cold, retains flavours and is not messy to eat. I have served this stir fry to large gatherings too and have found that this is one of those recipes that never fail to impress. For a small serving the cooking time is just about 10 minutes.

This kind of achari stir fries are a great side dish with Indian meals of daal, rice, roti and bharta or salads. It can even be rolled up in a roti or stuffed in a sandwich for a quick meal. Suits me many a times.

ingredients
(2-3 servings)
cubed paneer 200 gm
halved or quartered button mushrooms 100 gm
quartered baby onions 100 gm
whole dry red chilly 1 or as per taste
slit green chilly for granish
turmeric powder 1 tsp
kashmiri chilly powder 1 tsp
crushed ajwain seeds 1/4 tsp
crushed nigella seeds 1/4 tsp
crushed fennel seeds 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp
lime juice 1 tsp

procedure

Make a paste of all the powdered spices in 3 tbsp of water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadhai and tip in the spice paste slowly. Let it cook till the oil separates, stirring occasionally for about a minute or so.

Now add the baby onions, mushrooms and paneer in that order and keep stirring it for a few minutes. The ingredients do not need much cooking but the spices should penetrate them, high heat and frequent stirring does the needful.

Finish with lime juice and slit green chillies, add coriander greens if using and serve hot or cold. This stir fry stays well at room temperature for a day and refrigerates well for a week or so.

broccoli paneer bhurji | a broccoli recipe with Indian curry spices

Somehow I never liked broccoli cooked like alu gobhi. Whenever I would cook broccoli like Indian curries using my everyday curry powder it would be a mundane kind of subzi not comparable to alu gobhi at all. But that was when we were experimenting with the new vegetable in the market a decade ago. Now I like broccoli in the raw or blanched for mostly. But when the brccoli is not too fresh I need ideas to cook it too.

This broccoli paneer bhurji is one of those ways to use up not so fresh broccoli that was left in the fridge.

I had stopped cooking broccoli the Indian way and loved it in all Chinese recipes I cook and have been using it in many many salads and as a steamed vegetables on the side of a meat or fish meal. I love raw broccoli and lightly steamed broccoli in anything and everything.

But then some vegetables are such that you tend to experiment with those a lot. I made a pesto with broccoli that was just okay nothing great and was never repeated. The broccoli soups were loved by all and became a way to consume all the excess broccoli I would end up buying every week in winters. 

On one of those weeks in winters when I had bought a lot of broccoli and was not able to finish them, I juts blanched a few of them and froze a huge bagful. Frozen broccoli can only be used in soups as we like it, and soups we don't normally have in summers here in India. 

What to do with that huge bag of frozen broccoli then?

I decided to make a broccoli and paneer bhurji on the lines of palak paneer bhurji one fine day and it was such a good taste I finished all the stock frozen broccoli cooking this broccoli paneer bhurji. 

But honestly speaking I did not have any ideas to use frozen broccoli for extremely hot summers as soups were not an option and we like only fresh broccoli otherwise, frozen florets loose their texture.

This broccoli paneer bhurji is the perfect answer for frozen or even stale and limp broccoli. Thankfully so.

ingredients

(2-3 servings)

paneer 150 gm 

roughly minced broccoli (fresh, stale or frozen) 2 cups

fenugreek leaves (fresh or frozen, I used frozen) 1 cup

sliced red onions 1 cup

chopped garlic 1 tbsp

everyday curry powder 2 tsp

turmeric powder 1 tsp

red chilly powder 1/2 tsp

amchoor powder (dry raw mango powder)  1/2 tsp

salt to taste

mustard oil 1 tbsp

procedure

Heat the oil in a kadhai or pan and tip in the garlic first. Let it sizzle for a while and then add the sliced onions. Keep frying till the onions start getting caramelized. 

Add the powdered spices except amchoor powder, mix well and let them cook for a minute. Add the minced broccoli and mix well, cook covered on medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Now add the chopped fenugreek leaves and the cubed paneer as well. Keep stirring and scrambling the paneer and greens in the pan as you cook. Within the next 2-3 minutes the bhurji will be ready. 

Add amchoor powder and mix well. Serve as desired.

Broccoli and paneer bhurji is nowhere close to palak paneer bhurji, it is different but equally tasty. The caramelized onions impart a sweetness that balances the slight bitterness of fenugreek leaves and the broccoli adds body to these flavours. This was the first time I liked broccoli in an Indian spiced curry and I don't mind that the broccoli lost it's texture. We have to use frozen or stale broccoli sometimes and this is a good way to get a nutritious meal with that.

We loved it both with ragi roti and with plain boiled rice.

Are you trying this broccoli paneer bhurji? Let me know when you do.

food from diverse Indian states, all in one place and recipe of Rajasthani mirchi wala paneer

Sometimes I can't decide which part of India I would like to settle down to. Apart from climatic conditions and greenery, local cuisine the other thing that makes the deal for me. Sometimes I feel like Himachal and sometimes Coorg. Tamilnadu and Kerala lure me to no ends, Rajasthan keep inviting in a musical way. Padharo mhare des :-)

Only if wishes had wings. Ohh I might end up being a nomad visiting all the places for ever and enjoying everything to my contentment. That would be bliss.

What if you get great regional foods from all over India under one roof? That too in a bustling mall where you have gone for shopping. There is one place you might like to make plans just for the food. If you are a regional food junkie. From Laal Maas and Lachha Paratha to Lucknow ki Nihari to Mangalorean Mutton Sukka and Akki Rotti. I loved most of the food from all over the country at Veda Cafe, DLF Promenade, Vasant Kunj sometime ago. The cafe opened it's doors to patrons in mid February and I could see bustling crowd on a weekend night. The manager Mr. Sarat introduced the menu to us and helped us choose from the vast array of cuisines and dishes on the menu. The cafe has a liquor licence and serves alcohol, our adjacent table was occupied by a young couple enjoying their beer bucket with carefully chosen food, they were already regulars it felt like.

I liked a virgin Sangria in two variations, was nice. I liked the Kokum Senorita that I ordered later, there are many more virgin cocktails for everyone. Palak Patta Chaat is a Veda specialty and we had liked it at Veda at CP as well. The same chaat has been recreated here at Veda Cafe too.

I loved the menu which is crafted like a table calender, the opposite page bearing beautiful pictures of vegetables, spices and random street objects. The same kind of ethnic themed picture frames are there all over the walls of the cafe. Beautiful things from far ends of the country have been displayed well.

The soups we ordered were a Pineapple soup and a Chicken Shorba. Pineapple soup was completely mind blowing for me, Arvind liked the Chicken shorba better. Food and flavours are received differently by different people. Here is the proof.

The tikkas were good, the sigdi (small barbecue stove or charcoal grill) Chicken Tikka was nice, the charcoal grill Mutton Burra was a bit over spiced for us. Amritsari Fish n Chips platter was good, more suited for Delhi folks as they like Basa fillets better than any other local fish. I like the way just a thin layer of besan coating was there on the fish, just the way I like Amritsari Macchi. I would have liked some real river fish for this though.

Avoid the Mixed Fruit Seekh Kabab, it didn't work for me.

What I loved and would recommend to be tasted at least once, is the Rajasthani Mirchi Paneer served with a herb laced tandoori paratha. Very interesting flavours with notes of whole coriander, mild green chilly and coarsely pounded garam masala. The Laal Maas was nice too, served with lachha paratha, well made. I was tasting a Mangalorean Mutton Sukka and Akki Rotti for the first time and loved it. Try that for sure if you happen to go there. Pesarettu was well made and the chutneys were good too. I might go there just for having a pesarettu sometime.

We were stuffed trying out all these and skipped desserts. Might try something next time I go there. I kept thinking what all I would like to recreate at home from the Veda Cafe menu. Pineapple soup and Rajasthani mirchi paneer were two such dishes that stood out. Sharing the paneer recipe here.

Since I keep cooking paneer curries a lot, more for an easy dinner or lunch box curry or salad for the husband, I planned making this Rajasthani mirchi paneer for a change. Rajasthani chillies are known to be flavourful but mild. The fat green chillies are used to make mirchi pakodas and are used for green chilly pickles, for bharva mirchi (stuffed green chillies with various stuffings) and for curries as well.

Rajasthan curries are mostly jain recipes, cooked without onion and garlic, the thickening agent is mostly yogurt and spicing is robust, with prominent hints of coriander seeds. I made a light version of this mirchi paneer and the recipe takes just 15 minutes to prepare.

ingredients..
3-4 servings, depending on what side dishes are served with it)

paneer cubed 200 gm
large ripe tomatoes cubed 1 cup
minced ginger root 1 tbsp
dry whole red chillies 6
fresh red chillies (mild variety) sliced 2 tbsp
freshly crushed coriander seeds 1 tbsp
everyday curry powder 2tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
yogurt 1/4 cup
fresh cream 1 tbsp (optional)
salt to taste
ghee 2 tsp
chopped green coriander leaves and stems 1/4 cup

procedure

Heat ghee in a pan (kadhai preferably) and tip in the whole dry red chillies, minced ginger and crushed coriander seeds in that order. Let them sizzle for a few seconds before adding the tomatoes. Add salt and fry till the tomatoes turn pulpy.

Add the powdered spices, fry well till the mixture looks glossy. Add the yogurt and fry again till it is incorporated well.

Add the paneer cubes and sliced fresh red chillies, mix the fresh cream as well if using and just fold in everything till the paneer gets coated well. Sprinkle chopped coriander greens and serve hot with roti or naan.

You can use any mild hot chilly available in your part of the world or a good mix of all of them. Adding just the regular hot dry red chillies and a mix of bell peppers would work well too. I love the way chillies lend their aromatic flavours to the curry when they are not too hot. The flavours are received better by the palate in the absence of heat actually. There was a time I used to love really hot curries, now I like milder chilly heat. Though I can tolerate quite hot curries.

This one can be made as hot as you wish. Let me know whenever you try this Rajasthani mirchi paneer curry. It is definitely a nice variation of everyday paneer for vegetarians.

banarasi kachori aur subzi : ras wale alu, palak paneer, kale chane aur kaddu ki subzi, alu baingan palak ki subzi

Someone asked me about the difference between a poori and kachori and I realised how diverse a kachori can be while answering. How much the kachori has evolved to be a sassy cousin of poori. While poori remained the plain jane, kachori took on to different fashions with different seasons and became matar ki kachori, daal ki kachori, hing kachori, alu ki kachori blah blah blah blah , most of them stuffed kachoris, some of them are softer inside and crisp outside while others are so crisp and dry that they keep well for days.

This banarasi kachori is more of a plain version of a pretentious kachori but packs the same punch when it comes to taste. All spices and the stuffing material is mixed in the dough itself and the kachori are often double fried to ensure a crisp crumbling kind of poori. These are the ones that stay puffed even when cold if you don't crush them. I have shared a recipe of banarasi kachoris here, with ras wale alu and a pumpkin subzi. Sharing a few more subzis again to go with the famous banarasi kachoris.

Banarasi kachori recipe..

The kachori is made with a mix of coarse whole wheat flour and urad daal flour (skinned black bean flour), the dough is made using water that is infused with cumin, hing and ajwain. Just mix a cup of coarsely milled wheat flour with 1/3 cup of urad daal flour or 1/2 cup of soaked urad daal paste, add salt to taste and a tbsp of ghee and rub everything well. Boil 2 cups of water, add a tsp each or cumin and ajwain to it and let it simmer for a minute. Add a pinch of hing, dissolve and let the water cool down. Use this water to knead a firm dough. Use this dough to roll out pooris and fry them all in hot ghee or oil. Hot crisp banarasi kachoris are ready.

Add a bit of red chilly powder or black pepper powder and a little lime juice if you are planning to eat these kachoris without subzi, yes the slightly spiced up kachoris go well with our milky tea.

I served it here with ras wale aloo and a simple palak paneer. This palak paneer used to be more regular when Mithi was younger. It was her favourite subzi, very lightly spiced and creamy in texture.

This version of palak paneer is easier, simpler to cook and less spicy than another version with more rustic spicing. That recipe will be shared some other time.

Palak paneer recipe..

To cook this simple palak paneer, you just have to choose tender spinach leaves with stems or mature spinach leaves only (mature fibrous stems to be discarded) so the resulting spinach puree is creamy and flavourful. Steam about 500 gm spinach either in microwave or in a pan with 2-3 tbsp of water at low flame and take off heat as soon as the leaves get limp and soft. Cool down and puree in the blender, without using any water. Now heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds and wait till they splutter, and then dump the spinach puree in it. Add a pinch of nutmeg powder, 1 tsp black pepper powder and salt to taste and stir and cook the spinach puree till it starts bubbling and puffing. Add 200 gm paneer cubes to the bubbling spinach mix and simmer for about 5 minutes. Adjust consistency by adding a little water. Add 2-3 tbsp fresh cream to finish and serve hot.

The yellow coloured chutney seen in the above thali is the amla chutney I make every season and we love it with almost every meal.

Another very popular subzi with kachoris is the chane aur kaddu ki subzi. It is a simple black chickpeas and pumpkin curry that goes very well with crisp hot kachoris. We use mature orange coloured pumpkin for this subzi and the slightly sweet pumpkin balances well with kale chane lightly spiced up.

Kale chane aur kaddu ki subzi recipe..

Soak 3/4 cup of black chickpeas overnight.

Peel the hard skin of mature pumpkin and cube the flesh in 2 cm dimensions. It should be about 400 gm cubed pumpkin.

Make a coarse paste of ginger, green chilly, whole dry red chilly and some garlic. About 1 tbsp or more ginger, chillies to taste and 2 cloves of garlic to be used.

Heat 1 tbsp of mustard oil in a pressure cooker pan and add a pinch of hing, about 10 grains of fenugreek seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds nd 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, all together in one go. Let them all splutter and get aromatic, taking care not to burn them.

Add the ginger garlic chilly paste and a tsp of turmeric powder to the hot oil and let the mixture get fried. Take about 15 seconds on medium heat.

Now add the soaked and drained kale chane and mix well. Add salt to taste and the cubed pumpkin, about a cup of water and pressure cook the subzi for about 5 minutes after the first whistle. Cool down, mash the subzi a little, add amchoor powder to taste and serve immediately.
Chopped spinach can be added to the same subzi just before pressure cooking it. It makes the subzi more mushy and yummy.

We enjoyed this kachori subzi meal with a bowl of grated mooli salad on the side. The mooli salad is just grated while radish, some grated ginger, some finely chopped green chillies, salt and lime juice to balance. One of the most frequent winter salad with any meal.

Another very popular subzi to go with the kachoris is this alu baingan aur palak ki subzi, a mushy curry cooked with new baby potatoes, black round brinjal and spinach. The subzi is called alu-bhanta-saag in local dialect and is a much revered subzi for pooris during pooja etc. I often cook this curry with the green aubergines that is growing in the garden right now, but the round ones are perfect for this.

You can make the subzi a bit dry or make it a little coated consistency type.

Recipe of the alu baingan palak ki subzi..

Wash and clean 200 gm baby potatoes and quarter them.

Chop a small round brinjal in cubes. It should be about 200 gm.

Clean, wash and chop 300 gm spinach leaves and keep aside.

Mince or coarsely grind a tbsp of ginger, 4 cloves of garlic and 2 dry red chilies.

Heat 1 tbsp mustard oil in a deep iron or cast iron pan (kadhai) and tip in 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and a generous pinch of hing. Add the coarse paste of ginger etc and the potatoes immediately as the spices turn aromatic. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add a tsp of turmeric powder and the cubed brinjal. Toss and mix, let everything get coated well.

Add the chopped spinach, mix well, add 1/2 a cup of water and cook covered for about 20 minutes or so. Lightly mash the subzi after everything is cooked through. Serve immediately. Though the subzi keeps well in the fridge and can be served after reheating too.

Here I cooked the alu bhanta saag using the round purple brinjals and some Amritsari vadi, the perfect taste of this curry. Yes, you can add about a tbsp of crushed Amritsari vadi along with ginger, garlic and red chilies and let it fry till fragrant and proceed to add other ingredients. This addition makes this curry irresistible.

But alu baingan palak can be made without the badiyan or vadi as well. 

A long post finally, I hope you find it useful when planning meals for the family. Such foods from the hinterland become exotic in urban life, but we do make  away to keep enjoying them frequently.

hari tahiri : green rice pilaf with spinach and green peas

Tahiri or tehri is a vegetable pilaf that can accommodate any amount of vegetables, green peas, paneer and leafy greens to make the rice meals a perfect one pot meal. Tahiri is a popular one pot meal with singletons as it saves a lot of effort in the kitchen. Tahiris made in larger families can be elaborate and can accompany a variety of side dishes as well. Raita, chutney, kachumber salad, pickle and papad with a winter vegetables tahiri can be a festive weekend meal for some. It used to be for us in the past.

We grew up eating loads of greens every winter. Ours was a household where greens were considered gold (well, almost) and everyone liked it too. I don't remember shrinking nose for spinach or other greens that were cooked, throughout the year as we get different types of leafy greens in summers as well.  But it was winter time when our dining table was dominated by the colour green.

Heaps of spinach, fenugreek greens (methi), mustard greens , bathua will be brought home, sometimes we would contribute to the collective ritual of cleaning and packing the greens for refrigeration and mounds of saag would adorn the plates for each meal. Sometimes the saag was pureed and a curry like palak paneer, palak ka nimona or palak alu dum will be made, sometimes our rice would turn a deep shade of green. That was harey chawal for us if made plain, or hari tahiri when some green peas, paneer, lotus stem slices or soy nuggets were added to the rice pilaf. Raitas of different hues and kachumber salads (salsa like salads) would be made in large quantities as we all loved or salads too.

Grated radish salad with chopped green chillies, chopped coriander greens and grated ginger with a generous squeeze of lime used to be a staple along with a tomato salsa type salad with mustard oil dressing. I associate this salad with winters as the radish have this taste only in winters. There are more reasons to eat seasonal foods, taste is one of them. We used t call it mooli ka salaad.

This salad is a perfect foil to such tahiris, some spicier biryanis and most parathas that we make only during winters. Some raita or buttermilk rounds up the meal perfectly. I made a roasted beets raita this time with hari tahiri and it was such a soul satisfying meal for a Saturday brunch, sitting outside amongst greens and the sun.

ingredients for the hari tahiri
(2-3 large meal servings)
a generous 1/2 cup rice (roughly 100-120 gm)
green peas 200 gm
cubed paneer 100 gm or more if you like
steamed and pureed spinach (without any water) 600 gm
finely minced fenugreek greens (methi) 1/2 cup packed
finely minced dill leaves 1/2 cup packed (optional, if not using methi)
everyday curry powder 1 tbsp
special garam masala (or freshly powdered mix of cloves, cardamoms and cinnamon) 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder 1 tsp or to taste
turmeric powder 1 tsp
cumin seeds 2 tsp
finely minced ginger 1 tbsp
tejpatta 2-3
ghee 2 tbsp
salt to taste

procedure

Rinse the rice, drain and keep aside.

Heat the ghee in a large wide pan or kadhai (wider pan works better to cook the rice evenly) and tip in the cumin seeds and wait till the crackle. Add the minced ginger, green peas and tejpatta and methi leaves one after the other. Add salt, turmeric powder and the spice powders and cook covered for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the spinach puree and cook uncovered till the puree starts bubbling up like puffs. Add the cubed paneer, water (double the volume of rice being used, ie, one cup) and let it come to bubbles once again.

Add the washed rice, mix everything till you see very little trace of rice in the sea of green.

Cover the pan with a tight lid and let the tahiri cook at low flame for about 15 minutes. Check if the rice is done and then take the pan off the flame. Let it rest for about 5 minutes and then turn the rice using a flat spatula.

Serve immediately with the choice of accompaniments.

You can add shrimps or chicken instead of paneer if you want a non vegetarian version. But I like the plain version better as the freshness of winter spinach and green peas is something I wont like to compromise with fish or chicken flavours.

To make the roasted beets raita, or chukandar ka raita, I just roasted a large beetroot along with 3 fat cloves of garlic. Peeled them both after cooling and then liquidized in a blender. The puree was then mixed with whipped dahi along with salt and pepper. It made such a lovely meal with all the colours and flavours.

Healthy filling meals can be fun, easy and free from unnecessary grease and processed ingredients. Try this hari tahiri this winter and let me know if it becomes your winter favorite meal too.

easy paneer makhni recipe...

Paneer makhni, paneer butter masala or butter paneer masala is more of a restaurant style curry whose roots lie in the dhaba food. Many highway dhabas serve a nice and thick tomato gravy with large chunks of paneer with a generous slathering of butter, served with hot tandoori rotis this Punjabi staple has quenched our hunger many times while traveling. Most of us order paneer makhni and kaali daal or daal makhni on highway dhabas just because these are fast moving items on their menu and good quality and freshness is assured. Same goes with restaurants as well, most of them make nice makhni paneer and makhni daal even if other vegetarian curries are screwed up big time on their menu. 

Makhni paneer is always great at highway dhabas more because they get very good quality raw milk from local sources and make their own paneer fresh. This makes a whole lot of difference to how the fat cubes of paneer behave in a rich curry. 

On second thoughts, the highway dhabas even have access to fresh local tomatoes too while we in the urban jungles depend on roma tomatoes and dry cardboard type tomato varieties most of the times. Good quality fresh tomatoes too would make a difference to the final flavor of this curry. 

Here is how I make this curry at home. This is the most convenient curry as one doesn't need to chop many things and saute or fry anything at all. Just pressure cook a few things together, puree using a hand blender and simmer with added spices and butter. Fresh home made paneer can be done on the other side of the gas stove if you wish. I always do that so it is a melt in your mouth type paneer makhni for us each time it is made. Although I feel the tartness or the creaminess of the gravy differs sometimes if I use different varieties of tomatoes. We get different varieties of tomatoes in different seasons but choose the freshest, deep red, fully ripe tomatoes to get the best flavors possible.

ingredients...

For pressure cooking..
fresh fully ripe tomatoes roughly chopped 300 gm
red onions sliced 100 gm
peeled garlic pods 3-4
ginger root roughly chopped 1 tbsp
dry red kashmiri chilies 5-6 or to taste (you can use kashmiri chilly powder too)
salt to taste

Other ingredients..
freshly home made paneer (or store bought if you wish) 200-250 gm
garam masala 1/2 tsp (special garam masala which doesn't have coriander, cumin and peppers)
dry kasoori methi crushed 1 tbsp or to taste
butter 50 gm or more to taste
fresh cream 50 ml (optional, I didn't use it this time)
sugar 1 tsp to balance the tartness sof tomatoes

I use a homemade tomato paste or sun dried tomatoes mostly to make the curry quicker, otherwise you need to reduce the gravy a bit on the gas stove. Works nicely either ways. Add about 2 tbsp tomato paste or sun dried tomato paste while pressure cooking if using.

procedure...

Pressure cook everything in the first list. Cooking till the first whistle blows is enough. Cool down the pressure cooker and then blend the mixture with the help of an immersion blender or using your food processor. Sieve the liquid if required. I don't sieve it ever.

Return to the pressure cooker pan, the liquid will be cooked without the pressure lid now. Reduce the gravy to a desired consistency and then add the fresh paneer cubes, crushed kasoori methi and garam masala powder. Add cream if using and simmer for about 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning, add sugar if required, add the butter and transfer the curry in the serving bowl.

Serve hot with your choice of flat bread. Roti, naan, kulcha or roomali roti goes well with this curry.

rasse wali paneer bhurji | a curried paneer scramble that can be your dinner soup...

Paneer bhurji is a scramble cooked quickly using paneer and some onion, tomatoes and herbs. I have done Amritsari paneer bhurji from a cookbook and keep scrambling paneer all the time for convenience.

Basically a quick fix meal or a side dish or even a sandwich filling. Every home has it's own recipe of paneer bhurji with additives like bell peppers, spinach, green peas  or sometimes kasoori methi or fresh methi greens thrown in. I myself depend on such combinations many times when I have to stir up a simple and quick lunch box for the husband.

The dry version can be made using regular store bought paneer or homemade fresh paneer that just gets ready while you are chopping and stir frying your onion and tomatoes etc. It is the gravy version of paneer bhurji that requires a little different approach. The paneer in this case, is not sieved like home made paneer, but just collected from the whey and directly put into the cooking bhurji. The result is a perfectly creamy half curdled paneer into a rich and flavorful curry.

Read on, this is a pictorial step by step recipe so you would know how to go about it exactly the way I did...

ingredients...

full cream milk 1 Liter (to make paneer)
yogurt 1 heaped tbsp to curdle the milk

diced red onions 1 cup
sliced ripe tomatoes (preferably desi tomatoes) 2.5 cup
finely chopped garlic 1 tbsp
finely chopped ginger 1 tbsp
finely chopped green chilies to taste
kashmiri red chilly powder 1 tsp or to taste
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
coriander powder 1 tsp
black pepper powder 1/2 tsp
ghee 1.5 tbsp

procedure...

Heat the milk till it reaches just about to the boiling point, add the yogurt and stir. Take the pan off the flame and let it stand. The milk curdles partially and keep curdling till you prep up the other ingredients.

Now heat the ghee in a deep pan (kadhai) and tip in the chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies and red onions ...

Stir fry these till the onions get translucent, add the powder spices and salt to taste and mix well for about a minute. Then add the sliced tomatoes ..

Cook till the mixture looks like this...

Now sieve the curdled paneer and add to the cooking mixture, without waiting for the whey to drip, this way some of the whey is also added to the curry ..

The curry turns a little watery, mix well and simmer till it reaches the consistency you like...

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander greens...

Serve hot with chapati and some salad...We had this mooli ka acchar with this meal...

This rasse wali bhurji makes a truly soulful food, it can be served with plain parathas or like a hearty soup if you wish. I would love some garlic bread with this bhurji as well.

It makes a good curry for a large crowd too, in that case you would like to use freshly made regular paneer, crumbled nicely and added to the curry along with some fresh milk to make it soft while it cooks further.

Add some green peas if you have them fresh and nice. No frozen peas please.
You could add some kasoori methi as well if you love it that way.
It is the melt in the mouth type paneer that makes this recipe special  seasoning and other flavors can be adjusted to suit your taste.