Dal Makhani Recipe | How to make Dal Makhani

Learn how to make Dal Makhani ~ Rich and buttery lentil curry cooked in a mildly spiced creamy onion and tomato gravy

Bombay-Goa highway, few hungry students, time well past the lunch hours, speeding bikes at 100 kms per hour, hot and sizzling afternoon… With few ten rupees notes stuck in our pocket we obviously didn’t dare to enter some plush and expensive restaurants with swanky ambience and attentive maitre d’ to greet us with fake smile plastered on his face that didn’t reach his eyes.



We took a detour to one of the small eat-out joints where you can’t expect to see plush chairs and tables in an air conditioned room with soothing music playing in the background. Here you will hear blaring sound of Bollywood music and see one small shed which is a cooking area with tandoor (earthen oven half buried in ground) in one corner and huge gas burners with large cast iron sauce pans and kadai or woks bubbling delicious food with most amazing aroma that tickled your nose even from hundreds of meters away. In an open air, the coir woven wooden cots and a big wooden plank served as a seating and table arrangements. Then came our maitre d’, a small boy in a blue checks knickers and vest who greeted us by slapping a big steel tumbler of water on the rickety table. When we asked for the menu, the little boy started rattling off without pausing for breath… With some training the boy surely could give Shankar Mahadevan run for his money with his own album called ‘Dhaba Breathless’ ;) Within few minutes we were served tandoori roties, red onion and green chilli in a big Thali and array of curries filled in generous sized bowls. It didn’t take very long for us to lick the plate clean while the Daler Mehendi sang away ‘Bolo Ta Ra Ra’ in the background.

No-Churn Mango Ice Cream Recipe | Simple 3 Ingredients Eggless, No-Churn Ice Cream Recipe

Learn how to make Eggless, 3 Ingredients, No-Churn Mango Ice Cream ~ Simple and easy eggless mango ice cream recipe without ice cream maker

We are back from our week long holiday in Morocco and I have tonnes of photos and stories to share. But all that have to wait as this is the last week of 6 weeks long summer holidays and I want to spend as much time as possible with LD doing, well, nothing! Yes, nothing!

When I was young, I remember my parents leaving me to entertain myself by reading a book, going for walks in the hills and woodlands with my friends and siblings, creating little pots and pans with clay, lying under the mango trees and waiting for the mangoes to fall down, and then they let me get bored! It was during this time of boredom I would sit in the balcony outside my room and look at the random things and build a story around the subjects. The floating cloud was looking desperately for a friend, the man with a long, thick moustache was the president of world moustache federation, the girl with a long thick braid was actually wearing a black cobra which hissed if I tried get too close to check it, the cat sitting on the fence would change its form to a mighty tiger in the night etc, etc. I was a child with vivid imagination who loved to spin stories during this time of boredom and it’s only much later time in my life I realised how my parents deliberately let us get bored to activate those imaginations and creative cells. While I was spinning tales of this land and far beyond, my sister got busy with colours, creating vibrant paintings and the baby brother created havoc and got into mischief by scribbling stick mans and hundreds of eggs in our school note books and walls! :) And this is what I want to pass on to LD, a legacy of boredom which I call an ‘art of doing nothing’.

French Macaron Recipe with Salted Caramel and Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling | Guest Post by Nisha of My Kitchen Antics

Learn how to make French Macarons with Salted Caramel and Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling from Nisha of My Kitchen Antics

“There was a mood of magic and frenzy to the room. Crystalline swirls of sugar and flour still lingered in the air like kite tails. And then there was the smell-the smell of hope, the kind of smell that brought people home.”
~ Sarah Addison Allen

I am reminded of the above lines from a book ’The girl who chased the moon’ when I think of today’s guest blogger. I asked her if she could do me a favour and write a guest post for my blog for the second time. She not only agreed to be a guest blogger for the second time, but sent me five amazing recipes to choose from! Again!!! This girl leaves me spoiled for choices and salivating at the most amazing and tempting recipes she whips up in her kitchen. I am talking about my gorgeous friend Nisha who blogs some scrumptious treats at My Kitchen Antics. Her blog is filled with stunning photographs, wonderful recipes and witty anecdotes which makes you want to come back again and again! It didn’t take me too long to choose the French Macarons recipe from the 5 different recipe choices she gave me. If there is someone who can make mean Macarons, then it definitely going to be none other than a macaron diva herself who is also happens to be a consultant at Bobo Macarons! Nisha, thank you for sharing one of my most favourite recipes with us all. You can read more about Nisha by following her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I am back again with a guest post for Sia. And this time, we decided to go with French Macarons. I would totally understand why Sia asked me to go with Macarons because everyone on my FB page kinda know I'm obsessed with these sweet lil things.

I can’t claim I'm an expert at macarons, because there are still instances where something terribly goes wrong and im left wondering if I will ever figure it all out some day. But once you get the hang of it, you will realize it’s one of those things you'd want to experiment with over and over again with different colours, flavours, shapes etc etc.

Paneer Kalimirch Curry Recipe | Quick and Simple Paneer Curry Recipe

Learn how to make Paneer Kalimicrch ~ Indian cottage cheese cooked in a creamy white sauce spiced with black peppercorns

Last week, the entire Britain celebrated the 16th National Curry Week, a week dedicated to the country’s most favourite and popular cuisine from India. This country loves its curries! There is no doubt about it as every street in every corner of the country is dotted with curry houses selling the nation’s favourite hot curries.

Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino or Strawberry Frappe Recipe | How to Make Starbucks Styled Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino

Learn how to make Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino or Strawberry Frappe | Strarbucks styled Strawberries and Creme Frappucciono recipe

It’s 1:15 in the afternoon as I watch the little angelic face so close to my face as we share our pillow. His head is nestled safely in the crook of my arms while his legs are tucked close to my body. The only noise I hear is the whirring sound of pedestal fan that is over working to keep us cool in this hot summer day. The two windows in our bedroom are wide open bringing in warm breeze, making the light coloured curtains flutter and flow.

Mango Panna Cotta Recipe | How to Make Panna Cotta

How to make Mango Panna Cotta ~ Italian dessert of layered cream flavoured with vanilla and a Desi twist of mango flavoured with cardamoms 

She looked at pregnancy test kit in her hands again to make sure what she was seeing was true! There they were two pink lines as clear as they could be! 

She came running out of the bathroom screaming at top of her voice, “We really are pregnant! The nurse was right. We really are pregnant!” 

 “Of course she is right”, husband said with big smile on his face. 

“What are we going to do? We don’t know anything about babies!” wife said with worry lines etched on her face. 

“Well, we will figure out”, husband tried to reassure her. 

And figuring out is what we are still doing after 3 years!!! ;)

Mughlai Paneer Kofta Curry Recipe | How to Make Paneer Kofta

Learn how to make Mughlai Paneer Kofta Curry ~ Deep fried paneer (an Indian cottage cheese) and dried nuts dumplings served in a creamy almond and cashew nut gravy

With winter looming over, I miss the sunlight terribly! Like the plants who cheer up when the golden rays touch them, I instantly perk up when the sunlight touches my face! But with a days getting shorter and sun making disappearing acts often, I try to make up for the lack of warmth of sunshine with food! Deep fried food to be more specific!!!

Palak Paneer Recipe | How to make Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer

Is it Saag Paneer or Palak Paneer? Which one it is? ‘What’s in the name?’ you may ask! Well, everything! How will you feel if you are addressed differently from your own name? Aha… yes! Now we are talking… so why this partiality when it comes to food? After all as long as the food on plate is edible, we shouldn’t be much bothered about how it is called, right?

Methi Matar Malai: Green & Cream Indulgence

Methi Matar Malai

How many of you agree that curry powder that is sold in supermarkets in colourful plastic/glass container is nothing but much hyped saw dust?
I am really pleased to see most of you nodding your head in agreement :)

Malai Kofta: Temptress, Seductress and Highly Addictive!

Malai Kofta

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”.

Do you know the origin of this theory? It is said that the American statesman John Adams wrote in a letter some where in early 19th century, “The shortest road to men's hearts is down their throats” and that's how this theory or statement was originated. So my question is how many of you believe in this theory? Does this statement hold true in your life?

When I think of 19th century I get these black and white images of that era flashing in front of my eyes where many men looked for good wife who would be a good mother to his children and take care of his family affairs. The fact that she could cook well was a good indication to her role of being a nurturer. Unlike our time where we have an option of marrying a person whom we know and eventually fall in love with them, it may have been the best way to please his stomach and work your way up in winning his heart in that period of time! Steaming pot of delicious food may make someone feel cared for by triggering their childhood memories of food served by their loving mother. I wonder if this feeling of satisfaction after been served a good food is mistaken for love!

Cooking is not just chopping, grinding or mashing and throwing everything into a pot and stirring. Any good cook will be able to tell you how much work is involved when it comes to cooking food for someone you care. The person who cooks for you at home knows what food you like, how you like it and when you like to have it. When I cook for someone I make sure that they will remember the food I cooked for long time, a very long time indeed! I choose the best of ingredients with care and use them in such a way that they leave lasting impression. Even everyday simple food served to my man is cooked with utmost care and love. There are no food games in my kitchen as the food should not only taste good it should also be good for you. Well, don’t we all agree that the food cooked with care and love not only will taste good, it will also make them feel cared for and make them feel at home?

We can also argue that food alone is not enough in making the relationship work between two individuals who think differently and have different opinions. There are few restaurants that serve the best food I have ever tasted. Does that mean I will fall in love with chefs just because he/she cooked one of the best meals I have had? I know for sure that the food is prepared with utmost care and to a very high standard. After all I am paying very high price for that plate of meal. In an end it is my man who cooks simple everyday Rasam and Dal whom I love. He may not be the best cook around but he has many qualities that made me fall in ultimate love trap :) It’s definitely not our cooking skills that made us love each other. Any relationship to go strong needs many other qualities in each other and not just our cooking skill. But yeah, we can’t rule out the fact that ability to cook good food will definitely help in nurturing the relationship. Remember, it’s just one of the things that can take you close to man’s heart! Not the ultimate one…

Malai Kofta

This is a good topic for discussion/debate and I have participated in many such discussions. Sometimes I agree with this theory and there are times when I have gone against it. We will continue to argue on this topic as long as there are people who love to cook and eat good food. So I can’t just come to a conclusion as whether I agree with it or not. But it would be great to hear from you as what do you think of it? So let’s hear from you guys…

While we are on this topic, let me share one of the ultimate food seductions. We have Malai Kofta in our menu today. Spicy dumpling of Indian Cottage cheese that is deep fried and served in delicious, creamy and spicy gravy of fresh cream and onion-tomato paste is nothing short of sinful indulgence. Try cooking it once and see your taste buds falling head over heels in love with this tempting Malai Kofta. Yes, Malai Kofta is a temptress, a seductress and highly addictive! ;) I am sending this to Lavi who is guest hosting this month's RCI-Lucknow, a wonderful event started by dear Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine.

Koftas, Before & After Deep Frying

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Malai Kofta (Deep fried spiced Indian Cottage Cheese dumplings in creamy Onion & Tomato gravy)
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 45-60 mins
Serves: 6-8
Recipe Level: Intermediate to Difficult
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice

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Ingredients:
For Kofta:
1½ cups Grated Paneer
2 large Potatoes, cooked, peeled and well mashed
1 medium Onion, very finely chopped
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, very finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, very finely chopped (Optional, adjust acc to taste)
1½-2 tbsp Gulab Jamun Mix/Milk Powder (Optional but recommend)
¼ cup Bread Crumbs
2-3 tbsp Corn Flour (Acts as a binding agent while deep frying)
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional, for little tangy flavour)
6-8 Cashew Nuts, cut into small pieces (Optional but recommend)
1-2 tbsp Raisins (Optional but recommend)
Salt to taste
Oil for Deep Frying

For Gravy:
For Onion Paste:
2 large Onions, peeled and quartered
1 inch Ginger, peeled
3-4 cloves Garlic
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
3 cloves
3 Green Cardamoms

Other Ingredients for Gravy:
4-5 large Tomatoes, pureed
1 tbsp Cashew/Almond Paste
¼-1/2 cup Fresh Cream (I used low fat single cream)
1-2 tsp Garam Masala (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
½ tsp Turmeric
½-1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder (Optional)
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Sun dried Fenugreek Leaves
½ tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
A pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Salt to taste

Malai Kofta

Method:

For Gravy:
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing. Add onion paste that you had prepared just when cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red. Stir it continuously for 5-7 minutes till the paste turn golden brown and the raw smell of onion disappears. This is the very important step as you don’t want to rush and end up having bitter tasting gravy. So be patient!
Once the onion paste is cooked thoroughly add kasuri methi and sugar. Saute for a minute or two. Next add tomato puree and stir well. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
Next add garam masala, kitchen king masala, turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilli powder and salt to taste and mix well. Bring this whole gravy to gentle boil, about 5 minutes.
Mix in cashew/almond paste, fresh cream and ½-1 cup of water (depending how thick you prefer the gravy) and cook for another 5-7 minutes on low flame.
Adjust the seasoning and add little more water if the gravy is too thick and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Switch off the flame and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves.

For Koftas:
First, mix paneer with mashed potatoes, onions, coriander leaves and chillies. Make sure that the paneer and potatoes as lump free as possible. Then add gulab jamun mix/milk powder, salt to taste, garam masala, amchur powder, broken cashews, raisins, bread crumbs and corn flour to the vegetable-paneer mix and mix them well. Use hands when mixing all these ingredients and make sure that all the ingredients are mixed properly. The consistency whole mixture should be as that of chapatti dough and you should be able to make lemon sized balls without breaking them.
Next heat oil for deep frying and reduce the heat to medium to low flame. Make small lemon/golf sized balls and deep fry them in batches of 3-4 balls at time. If the koftas start to break, add 1-2 tbsp of corn flour to the mixture, mix them well and make small lemon sized balls. Fry them till they turn golden brown and crisp and place them in a bowl lined with kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
Alternatively you can bake them in an oven at 175 deg centigrade for about 20-30 minutes or fry them in Appam Pan with little oil till they turn golden brown.

To Assemble and Serve:
Heat the gravy for few minutes and then transfer it to serving dish. Arrange the koftas in gravy and top it with finely chopped coriander levaes. Malai Kofta tastes best when served with any Indian flat bread (I prefer Naan) or flavoured rice like Saffron rice or Jeera Rice with slices of Onion and lemon wedges.

Malai Kofta

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Notes:

When you deep fry the koftas, first make sure that the oil is hot enough before you place them for deep frying.
Place one kofta at a time in a pan when deep frying. If the Kofta starts to break or crumble add about 1-2 tbsp of corn flour and mix well. Corn flour acts as the binding agent and will prevent the koftas from breaking when deep frying.
Always fry the koftas in low-medium flame so that they are cooked well and get lovely golden brown colour.

Dahiwale Baingan: Less is More!

Dahiwale Baingan

Some times a bright sun beam escaping from grey clouds is enough to lift your mood…
Some times a small cup of coffee at the end of long, hectic day is enough to cheer you up…
Some times a funny forward in your email box is enough whisk away the blues…
Some times a smile from small baby is enough to wipe away the tiredness…
Some times a little card from your dear one is enough to brighten your day…
And some times a simple food is all we need to comfort us and make us feel at home…

Some times all we need is little things that make your day… Just small things that makes us happy and content!

Yes, today we are talking about simple pleasures of life today and also the theory of less is more. Food that we cook or eat everyday is no exception when it comes to simple pleasures of life. And to prove this age old theory, we have a very simple recipe that uses very few ingredients in creating one of the best tasting curries! I made this Dahiwale Baingan following the recipe posted by Saffron Hut. Saffron Hut was one of the very few Indian blogs I came across during initial days of my blogging and I was instantly hooked to her breath taking photographs and wonderful narration. I had bookmarked her recipe for Dahiwale Baingan, or to be precise, Sour Creamwale Baingan long back and almost forgot about it till yesterday. Why till yesterday? Well, yesterday was the first day in last three years of living here in UK that I came across this popular type of Eggplant that we grow in India. Yes, I got hold of the very old Chinese Eggplants I have been so craving for using in Vangi Bhath and Sweet & Sour Eggplant Palya. At last I found them in new Indian grocery in our city and came back home singing and dancing and all that goes with it! Did I hear some one say “What big show-off”? Well, then you definitely don’t have a clue about my love for these purple beauties! I call it simple pleasures of ‘my’ life…

After cooking and eating Vangi Bhath and Palya to my heart’s desire, I was left with three more Chinese Eggplants. One quick look into my bookmarks and I knew instantly what I wanted to try next. It was Dahiwale Baingan from Saffron Hut and I didn’t waste any time in creating this wonderful recipe. I followed her recipe to T except I used a combination of fresh cream and yogurt in place of sour cream. The end result was something that is hard to put into words! I have never thought simple recipe like this would turn into one of the best tasting eggplant dishes and trust me when I say I have tasted quite many recipes made using the king of vegetables. Thanks to Saffron Hut for making me believe once again that less is definitely more and tastier! Dahiwale Baingan is a simple dish of pan fried eggplants that had been marinated with ginger-garlic paste and salt and then mixed with sour and spicy yogurt gravy. Nothing fancy about it except it can give tight competition to any recipe that uses exotic and exclusive ingredients. Don’t you believe me? Then may be it’s time you tried this Dahiwale Baingan for your self and please let me know how you liked it.

Dahiwale Baingan: Work-in-progress

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Dahiwale Baingan (Pan fried Eggplants served with creamy gravy of Fresh Cream and Yogurt)
Prep Time: 5 mins (excluding marinating time)
Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Source: Saffron Hut
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner to Intermediary
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice

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Ingredients:
3-4 long Chinese Eggplants (slit in middle and cut into 1cm half moons)
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
3-5 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tbsp Fresh Cream (I used low fat single cream)
¼ cup Yogurt
Salt to taste
2-4 tbsp Oil

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
Few Curry Leaves
A pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
½-1 tbsp Oil

Dahiwale Baingan

Method:

Rub little salt and ginger-garlic paste to cut eggplant paste. Make sure that you mix them well. Place these eggplant pieces in a colander for 1-1½ hours to marinate. Make sure that you place it near sink as the liquid generated from salted eggplants will drain away. You can also place a bowl filled with water on top (that fits within the colander) which helps in draining more bitter juice from eggplants. Once the juice is drain out, the eggplants fried up very well.
Pan fry these marinated eggplants in little oil, on medium to high heat, till they turn brown and crisp. It’s best to fry them in small batches so that you get evenly fried eggplants. Place them in a plate lined with kitchen towel till needed.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add cumin seeds, curry leaves and hing. Saute till cumin turns golden red. Mix in finely chopped onion and green chillies and sauté till onion turns translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
Add turmeric powder and sauté the onions for another 2 minutes. Mix in fresh cream and yogurt and reduce the heat to low. Keep stirring the cream and yogurt for another 3-4 minutes and bring it to gentle boil. Switch off the flame and mix in pan fried eggplants and serve this delicious Dahiwale Baingan immediately, garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves, along with chapattis or Roties and enjoy.

Dahiwale Baingan

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Note:

It is important to marinate the eggplants for at least one hour before you pan fry. It not only helps in draining the bitter juice from eggplants, it also helps in frying them quickly and evenly.
Next time I might bake the marinated eggplants than pan frying. To do this, simply line the baking sheet with aluminium foil or parchment paper and spray little oil on top of it. Arrange eggplant slices in single layer and bake them till they are nicely browned.
Use pan fried Okra/Bhindi/Ladie’s Fingers in place of eggplants and follow the recipe for Dahiwale Bhindi.

Creamy Mushroom-Matar Curry

Creamy Mushroom-Matar Curry

How many days or hours have you spent cooking in your mom’s kitchen before you left to pursue higher education or got married and moved to different city/state/country? I am talking about whole cooking process which includes peeling, trimming, chopping, grinding, cooking and also cleaning the whole mess you have made. Is it years, months, weeks, days, hours or just few minutes?

If I were to include everything, then the fingers in my hands will be enough to do all the calculations. Growing up in India, kitchen was my Amma’s territory. Sometime I would help my mother in peeling the potatoes or chopping the beans. Other times I helped her in roasting the spices and grinding them. And when I was too lazy to do anything I declared myself as a certified quality control officer by tasting and testing for salt and spices. And embarrassingly I was not even good at that as many a times I failed to figure what was missing in the dish; whether it needed a sprinkle of chilli powder or dash of lemon juice. ‘Little bit of this and little bit’ of that is what we call ‘andaJu or andaz in cooking’ and little did I know it all comes from experience!

After moving to UK and sampling few foods cooked by my dear husband I realised that I needed to improve my culinary skills if I were to eat different kinds of food which will also taste differently. Krish is a good cook but his culinary skill is limited to making a bowl of Rasam and Sambar using the same curry powder which was used in almost all the curries he made. I can’t blame him completely as his pantry was stocked with a bottle of all purpose curry powder, dried Italian herbs and a jar of dried coriander leaves. You can hardly cook any curry with them, let alone authentic ones. That was the time I decided to learn cooking seriously. To my surprise I was blessed with beginners luck when it came to cooking and luckily some how most of the things I cooked tasted good if not best. After countless late night overseas SOS calls, few burnt pans and some over cooked veggies with little extra dose of spice and salt, I was blessed by goddess Annapurna and rest all, as we say, is a history.

Today when I cook I can’t help but think of my the initial days of cooking adventures. I can see the improvement in the way I cook and the way the food tastes. Gone are the days of hesitating and confused girl who spent half the time refering particular recipe on cookbook or website. Today in her place I see a person who is confident enough to use and change the ingredients which she knows will enhance the flavour. There is a girl who is not afraid to try her own recipes, using whatever is available in her fridge-freezer and pantry and still be assured that it would be well accepted by her family and friends! So do you see that girl in your kitchen too? Do share your stories with me…

Today’s recipe of Creamy Mushroom-Matar Curry is a result of my successful cooking experiments which seems to be increasing these days. This is a rich, creamy dish of sweet green peas and delicious mushrooms cooked in wonderful gravy of onion, tomato and cream or milk. The ground onion paste along with ginger-garlic and red chillies gives a lovely creamy texture to the gravy and hence the cream used in it can easily be forgotten.

Creamy Mushroom-Matar Curry

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Creamy Mushroom-Matar Curry (Delicious Mushrooms and sweet Green Peas cooked in a creamy and spicy gravy of Onion, Tart Tomatoes and Cream or Milk)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-6

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Ingredients:

15-20 Button or Close cupped Mushrooms, cleaned, pat dried and quartered
¾ cup fresh/frozen Green Peas
2-3 tbsp fresh Cream or ½ - ¾ cup Milk
1 cup Onion, finely chopped
3 large Tomatoes, pureed
3-4 Garlic Flakes, thinly sliced
1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
3-5 Dry Red Chillies, halved (Adjust acc to taste. Preferably Byadagi or Kashmiri Chillies)
½ tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
¼ tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder or ½ tbsp Lime Juice (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Sugar (Optional but recommended. To help in balancing the tart taste of tomato)
1+1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 + ½ tbsp Oil/Ghee
Salt to taste

Creamy Mushroom-Matar Curry

Method:

Heat ½ tbsp of oil in a pan and add a tsp of cumin seeds to it. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn reddish in colour, add finely chopped garlic and ginger to it. Sauté on medium flame till the garlic turns light golden on the edges.
Now add finely chopped onions and halved red chillies and sauté till onion turns light golden, about 2 minutes. Switch off the flame. Once the onion mixture has cooled a bit, grind it to a smooth paste without adding any water to it.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and add a tsp cumin seeds to it. Again when cumin starts to sizzle and change in colour, add ground onion paste to it and fry till the whole mixture becomes dry, about 4-5 minutes, on medium flame. Make sure that the ground onion mixture turns little brown in colour.
To this, add garam masala and kitchen king masala and fry for half a minute. Mix in quartered mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add tomato puree, green peas, cream/milk, dry mango powder and salt to taste and mix well. (If using just cream, add ¼ cup of water to the pan.)
Simmer the flame and let it cook covered for 10 minutes, stirring in between. Add little more water or milk if needed to get the required consistency of gravy and adjust the seasonings. Then remove the lid and let it cook for another 5 minutes for all the flavours to blend well.
Serve it hot, garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves, with any Indian flat breads or flavoured Rice and enjoy.

Maa Di Dal: Mother of All Dals

Maa Di Dal

Last weekend I grudgingly removed my long jackets along with matching gloves and scarves. The sun still shining on clear blue sky made me almost believe that it’s still summer. But ten steps away from home and I started shivering like a dry leaves about to fall from the maple tree around the corner. Winter is almost here…

Gone are the days of my sexy sandals and sleeveless summer dresses and I look like a stuffed teddy bear sporting long jackets, long boots and woollen scarf. There is still little greenery and colours around me which seems to be quickly fading away leaving naked tree branches against grey sky. Our BBQ kit is snugly sitting in our garden shed along with lawn mower. I am getting up to dark skies every morning and bowl of my favourite cereal with cold milk is not much appealing these days. Driving to office with headlights on is not helping either. Thankfully we are still away from the days of scrapping the thick coat of ice from car windows. But nevertheless winter is almost here…


Two things always cheer me during winters- shopping and food, in no particular order. In spite of gloomy global market slowdown, my winter shopping is going at full fledge. This winter I am adding more colours to my wardrobe and I am happily trotting around wearing my new crimson red long jacket. Yup, colour of love and passion is what I am wearing among all that black and greys. I can’t help but feel like a queen when I tread upon the carpets of gold and crimson, brown and bronze coloured leaves… Silly? Well, I am happy to be silly then…


And coming to food, do I need to say anything about the way it cheers me? Lot of hot and comfort foods are churned every day in my tiny kitchen. I don’t need any central heating when I stand near a gas stove, stirring a pot of hot soup or curries and let the steam and aromas coming from them tickle my nose. Everyday meal turns out be special, not because they contain rich and special ingredients, but because of the experience of sharing it with someone you love. Yes, winter is almost here and now I am loving every moment of it…


To celebrate the true spirit of winter, I cooked a special dish called Maa Ki Dal from Raghavan’s 660 Curries. Maa Ki Dal is probably the mother of all Dals. And this is nothing like a simple dal I make so often to go with rice and pickle, my comfort food. This Punjabi dish is very rich and bit fattening with all that cream and ghee that goes into making this simply superb creamy dream. This lentil recipe uses very few spices and they don’t over power the nutty taste of whole urad dal, channa dal or rajma. Don’t be afraid to use all that cream and ghee as it is ‘once in a while indulgence’ kind of food. Served with freshly made batch of hot Phulkas, it was simply divine. And how can resist from sending this mother of all dals to witty Sra of When My Soup Came Alive as she is guest hosting this month's My Legume Love Affair, a lovely event started by lovely lady Susan. Sorry girl for bombarding your mailbox with my entries but this recipe has to waltz around for MLLA :) This is also my entry for dear Sunshinemom's FIC-Brown.

Whole Urad Dal, Channa Dal and Rajma

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Maa Di Dal (Slow cooked Lentils in Creamy Gravy)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 40-80 mins
Serves: 6-8
Recipe Source: 660 Curries

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Ingredients:
1 cup Whole Urad Dal/Black Lentils
½ cup Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
½ cup Rajma/Red Kidney Beans, cooked and roughly mashed or 1 cup Cooked/Canned Rajma
2 Bay Leaves
2 pieces of 2 inch Cinnamon Sticks
4 Green Cardamoms or 2 Black Cardamoms
½ - 1 tsp Kashmiri/Deggi Chilli Powder or Paprika
½ tsp Turmeric Powder (Optional)
1 large Onion, finely chopped
4 large Tomatoes, very finely chopped or pureed
1 tbsp Tomato Paste (Optional)
¼ - ½ cup Fresh Cream (I used ¼ cup single cream)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida (Optional but I recommend)
2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp Ghee/Oil
Salt to taste

Grind to Paste:
2-4 Green Chillies
1 inch Ginger
4-5 large or 6-7 medium Garlic flakes

Maa Di Dal

Method:

Wash urad dal and channa dal 3-4 times in water till all the impurities are removed. Place it in a heavy bottomed pan or pressure cooker and add about 4-5 cups of water and bring it to boil. Skim the foam formed on surface.
Now add the ground paste of chilli-ginger-garlic, bay leaves, cardamoms, cinnamon stick, and turmeric powder. Cover the lid and let it cook for 60 minutes, stirring in between, till the lentils falls apart. If using pressure cooker cook for 20-25 minutes or 4-5 whistles. Let the pressure be released before you open the pressure cooker lid.
Heat ghee/oil in a pan and add jeera and hing. When jeera starts to sizzle and turn golden red shade, add finely chopped onion and sauté till it turns golden brown, about 2-3 mins. Add finely chopped tomatoes or pureed tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes in medium flame till the oil separates from the mixture.
To this add chilli powder, salt to taste, cooked lentils and mashed red kidney beans. Add about a cup of water to the pan in which lentils are cooked to deglaze it and mix this water to the gravy. Mix in the cream and let the whole gravy simmer for at least 15 minutes for all the flavours to blend well. Add little more water if needed but make sure that the gravy is thick and not runny. At this stage you can also add dash of lime/lemon juice needed.
Serve this delicious creamy Maa Di Dal, garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves and a dash of ghee if needed, with any Roties or Chapatti and enjoy. And yes, it tastes better when served next day.

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Note:

Addition of Hing is optional but recommended.
To cut down the cooking time, you can soak whole Urad dal in water overnight or for 4-5 hours.
Replace cream with yogurt for healthy option.

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala for Second Blog Anniversary Celebration

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala

Yes, tomorrow it will be 2 years since I created this blog and I did pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming. For someone who loves changes and new adventures in life I have impressed and surprised myself by sticking to this blog for last 2 years. What a fabulous journey it had been…

Were you aware of the fact that I created this blog out of boredom?! Yup, that’s me; totally unpredictable and bit wacky ;) Moving to complete new and different country with new challenges to face upon, I had no idea what I wanted to do. From being a centre of attention among family and friends, I was pushed to face the new world filled with strangers on one of the peak winter days and for a tough shelled Cancerian it was not really an exciting prospect. I hid myself in a tough shell to protect myself from bitter cold days and I would have been hibernating there for very long time if not for this golden sunshine in the form of Blog world. That was when I started my personal blog Crabby Bites, expressing each and every emotions of daily life. It was just few weeks later I started writing few recipes learnt from my Amma, Ajji, Atte and aunts, a personal copy of recipes which served as reference while cooking. Soon I realised I needed new space dedicated to recipes and hence Spice Corner, now known as Monsoon Spice, was born.


It was my space, my corner where I started posting recipes for myself. Few days after that I received a very first comment from someone I didn’t know. That is when I realised there was someone out there who didn’t know me, but still they were moved enough to reach out and leave their trail. Today, even after 2 years of blogging whenever someone leaves their small notes I can’t help but get the same thrill I got it for the first time. Strange world we live in! I feel connected with most of you whom I have never seen or met before. Through blogging I have met hundreds of thousands of wonderful people- bloggers, bakers, food photographers, writes, chefs, readers, and even virtual world strangers who have become real world friends. So thank you, thank you and thank you to all you wonderful people (both friends and strangers) who have left their mark in my small world. It was truly an amazing journey with you people who have injected more spice into my already spiced life ;) Once again, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who have left your trail here on Monsoon Spice!

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala

A birthday celebration is not complete without delicious food. Being a spice lover I couldn’t convince myself to make any sweets or dessert and yup, opted for something which my darling guinea pig/lab rat loves ;) What he loves, he always gets and he loves Paneer Makhani or Paneer Butter Masala. This was my way of saying big Thank you to my much better half who patiently waits till I finish cooking and clicking without any complaints :) We rarely use Paneer in our kitchen but whenever we use it we make sure that it gets full credit. Paneer Makhani or Paneer Butter Masala is one such dish which is very rich and flavoursome. Use of cashews, poppy seeds and fresh cream makes this quite fattening but remember, this is once in a while indulgence. My recipe is very simple and straight forward. I use two different, flavourful pastes made using onions and tomatoes ground with few spices. Addition of Kasuri Methi and fresh cream simply jazzes up this already creamy delight. Make this curry when you want to celebrate some special occasions or indulge when you want to uplift your moods and I can guarantee that it will be one meal to that everyone will remember for very long time. Off this goes to Ruth who is guest hosting this month's MM-Sensational Sides, started by gorgeous Meeta.

Ingredients for Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala: Paneer, Kasuri Methi, Onion & Tomato Paste

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Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala (Fried Indian Cottage Cheese in a delicious Onion-Tomato Gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:
1 block Paneer, cut into 1 inch cubes (approx 2-3 cups, I used store bought)
2-3 tbsp fresh Cream (I used single cream)
1 tsp Sugar (Optional but recommended)
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves
1 tbsp+1 tbsp Oil/Ghee
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Ground to Fine Paste:
For Onion Paste:
1 large or 2 medium Onions
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 inch Cinnamon
3 Cloves
3 Green Cardamoms
1 Bay Leaf
½ tbsp Khus-Khus/White Poppy Seeds
3 cloves of Garlic
1 inch Ginger

For Tomato Paste:
1 can chopped Tomato/3 Large Juicy Tomatoes
10 Cashews
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional but recommended)
¼-½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
½ Turmeric Powder
½ -1 tsp Kashmiri/Deghi Chilli Powder (gives lovely bright red colour)

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp oil or ghee in a pan and add paneer blocks. Fry these pieces on both the sides till they turn golden, about 3-5 mins, and place them in a bowl of water for about 15 mins. It’s best to fry them in batches if you can’t fit them in a pan in single layer.
Grind onion and tomato paste with all the ingredients listed above to smooth consistency separately and keep it aside till required.
Heat another tbsp of oil in a same pan and add cumin seeds. When it starts to sizzle and turn light brown in colour, mix in onion paste. Keep stirring at medium heat till onion paste turns light brown in colour and becomes little dry, about 6-8 minutes. This is an important step as if the paste is not fried well it will make the gravy bitter. Make sure that you continously stir the paste and it doesn’t stick to the pan.
Now add kasuri methi and sugar and stir for another minute.
Mix tomato paste and stir well. Simmer the heat and let it cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring in between to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan.
Increase the heat to medium and add a cup of water, salt to taste and mix well. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Open the lid and adjust the seasonings.
If you find the gravy too thick, add about another ¼-½ cup of water. Drain water and mix in fried paneer pieces and cream. Simmer the gravy and let it cook uncovered for another 5-7 minutes.
Switch off the flame and mix finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with any Roti or Jeera/Saffron Rice and enjoy. It tastes better the next day.

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Other Paneer recipes blogged so far,

• Matar Paneer
• Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

Winter Warmers - Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Garlic Baguettes

BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!

Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth only of Beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beauti--FUL SOUP!

-Lewis Carroll

Remember this poem from Lewis Carroll’s magnificent creativity Alice in Wonderland? The story has always intrigued me ever since I was a small kid. I loved the strange and absurd things that happens in the wonderland and the amazing creativity behind it that never failed to take me to my own wonderland, playing with Dinah and singing and dancing with bizarre characters from Wonderland. Oh yes!!! I grew up as a kid with wild imaginations, just like Alice. I laughed at absurdity and loved Alice’s curiosity and cheered her courage when faced with difficult phases. Carroll opened the new world, a wonderland, to me and made me see the beauty in the unknown.

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“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?”

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At first, the story of Alice in Wonderland would sound quite mundane. However, if you read the story carefully you will realise its not just any ordinary child fiction. Alice in Wonderland is a story filled with underlying philosophy and many secrets. It’s these strangeness and nonsensical ideas which are quite compelling. Remember the annoyingly witty Cheshire Cat? That’s one character I loved to hate. He would put Alice in trouble and yet his wittiness and that stupid grin never failed me to grudgingly adore him. Some characters made me laugh and some scared me, some of them are funny and others are rude. However, all the characters are quite colourful and will always remain part of my childhood memories be it stupid Dodo or foul tempered Queen of Hearts and her diminutive husband the King of Hearts or eccentric White Rabbit and many more…

Coming back to present from my wonderland, I was singing “Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!“ while making Cream of Broccoli Soup and soon hubby dear joined me when slurping this warm and delicious bowl of soup. Simple soup with few ingredients and very little preparation needed is a joyous song to my soul ;) Little chunks of broccoli are simmered in hearty vegetable stock and milk and lightly flavoured with garlic and a peppercorn is sure to win everyone’s heart. When served with herbed garlic baguette it becomes one satisfying meal all together.

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Cream of Broccoli Soup
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 small Broccoli (approx 3 tightly packed cups)
½ medium Onion, very finely chopped
1-2 Garlic Flakes, very finely chopped
1-1½ tbsp Corn Flour
1 tbsp Butter/Oil
¼ cup Cream (optional, I used single cream)
1 cup Milk
4-5 cups Vegetable Stock (Broth)/2-3 Veg Stock Cubes
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Method:
Chop the broccoli head and stems to very fine pieces and keep them aside.
Heat butter/oil in a pan and add finely chopped garlic flakes and sauté them till they turn light golden.
Now add very finely chopped onions and sauté them for 2-3 minutes over a medium flame till the raw smell disappears and they turn light golden.
To this add vegetable broth and finely chopped broccoli. Cover and cook for 10 minutes till the broccoli becomes tender.
At this stage you can cool the stock completely and blend it into smooth puree without any lumps. Or else if you like some body to the soup and don’t mind the broccoli pieces like me continue the following steps.
Add milk, salt and pepper to taste and simmer the flame. Keep stirring the soup for few more minutes so that the milk doesn’t curdle.
Dissolve cornflour in ¼ cup of cold water without forming any lumps and pour slowly to the soup. Keep stirring the soup so that no lumps are formed.
Add cream and simmer and cook for another 5-10 minutes till the soup thickens and bubbles are formed on the surface. Serve hot with garlic baguettes and enjoy.

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Garlic Baguettes

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Tips:
If you prefer thick soup then increase the amount of corn flour used.
Adding fresh cream gives extra smoothness and body to the soup. Addition of cream is optional if you don't prefer heavy soups.

Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

"When the trees their summer splendour
Change to raiment red and gold,
When the summer moon turns mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;
When the squirrels hide their acorns,
And the woodchucks disappear;
Then we know that it is autumn,
Loveliest season of the year."
- Charlotte L. Riser

It’s fall now as I write this. While walking back to home I noticed the change around me. There is nip in the air, colourful leaves are floating around, the dusk is rapidly approaching on the once bright and blue sky, birds are chirping the last of summer’s song… Summer has come to an end… A wave of nostalgia hit me as I carefully folded my summer dresses and strappy sandals and removed my tall boots and long coat from cupboard. I am going to miss bright sunny spells on my face, lazy weekend afternoon’s BBQ with friends, wearing flowing summer dresses, biting greedily the big crescent of watermelon, licking the ice cream melting down my arm… But the changing colours of leaves thrills me thinking of celebrating Diwali and Christmas with friends and family, smell of apple and pumpkin pie baking in oven, sipping a hot bowl of soup, curling with loved one sitting close to fireplace… Autumn is the season of transition, a season where change is brought before all our senses. How beautifully the leaves grow old!!! Its pleasure to watch fruit trees lavishing their hues on fruits when other trees lavish upon their trees makes me merry. I feel like a Queen when I tread upon carpets of gold and crimson, of brown and bronze leaves, woven by the winds and rains while we slept… I welcome autumn the way I feel, with Paneer Kofta in Creamy Saffron Sauce. Royal and bursting with autumn colour… A dish fit for royalties…


The word kofta is derived from Persian kūfta. In Persian, کوفتن (Kuftan) means "to beat" or "to grind" or meatball. (Source: Wiki) In vegetarian versions of koftas different vegetables like Potato, Cabbage, Beetroots, Spinach, Paneer etc are minced and mixed with different spices. These spicy vegetable balls are then deep fried or grilled or baked and then served with rich creamy, spicy and aromatic gravy.


Unlike vegetables koftas, panner koftas have creamy texture. Grated paneer is added with vegetables of our choice and spices and then deep fried. When deep fried or baked, they are golden and crisp and have rich melt-in-mouth taste. These Koftas are then served with creamy gravy of onion and tomatoes and a pinch of saffron to give it a rich look and flavor. I used fresh homemade Paneer to make this koftes and don’t hesitate to use store bought Paneer if you don’t have homemade ones in hand. This is my contribution to lovely Sunita's Think Spice: Think Saffron event. I am also sending these koftas to Margot of Coffee & Vanilla who is hosting Vegetarian Awareness Month.

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Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-5 People

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Ingredients:

For Koftas:
2 cups Paneer, crumbled or grated
2 medium Potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
½ cup Green Peas
1 small Carrot, grated or very finely chopped
5-6 French Beans, finely chopped
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala
3-4 tbsp Corn Flour
2 tbsp Cashew, chopped (Optional)
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

Koftas before deep frying

For Gravy:

2 medium Onions, finely chopped
4 large Tomatoes/1 can Tomatoes
8-10 Cashews
2 flakes Garlic, finely chopped
1 inch Ginger, crushed and finely chopped
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder, roasted and powdered
½ tsp Coriander Powder, roasted and powdered
½ tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi
¼ cup Fresh Cream
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
2 Green Cardamon
2 Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
A big pinch of Saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
1 tbsp Oil/Ghee
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Koftas after deep frying

Method:
For Gravy:
Make a plus mark on tomatoes and blanch them in boiling water for about 3 minutes and peel their skin.
Grind these tomatoes with cashews, jeera powder, coriander powder, garam masala, kitchen king masala, chilli powder and turmeric powder to smooth paste without adding any water.
Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf and sauté it for a minutes on medium flame till you get nice aroma.
Add jeera and when it starts to sizzle add finely chopped onion, kasuri methi, garlic and ginger. Sauté them till onion turns golden brown.
To this add tomato paste, ½ cup of water and salt to taste and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Now mix saffron soaked in warm milk and fresh cream and cook for further 10-15 minutes over a low flame.
Switch off the flame and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves and keep it aside.

Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

For Koftas:
Take finely chopped carrot, beans and green peas in a microwave safe bowl and cook for 3 minutes or steam cook them for 5 minutes.
Add them with finely mashed potatoes and grated paneer.
Add chopped cashews, garam masala, kitchen king masala, salt to taste and corn flour and mix them well using your hands. The consistency should be as that of chapatti dough to prevent it from breaking while deep frying.
Make small lemon sized balls and deep fry them in batches in hot oil at slow-medium flame till they turn golden brown and crisp from outside. Alternatively you can also bake them in oven at 175 degrees for about 20-30 minutes till they turn golden brown.Transfer the fried koftas on paper towel.
Just before serving arrange the koftas in gravy garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

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Tips:
When you deep fry the koftas, first make sure that the oil is hot enough before you place them for deep frying.
Place one kofta at a time in a pan when deep frying. If the Kofta starts to break or crumble add about 1-2 tbsp of cornflour and mix well as corn flour helps the paneer and vegetables to bind well and they will not break when you deep fry them.
Always fry the koftas in low-medium flame so that they are cooked well and get lovely golden brown colour.

Other Kofta Recipes from Monsoon Spice:

• Palak Kofta
• Aloo Kofta