Matar- paneer Masala ( Peas- cottage cheese gravy)

A cottage cheese & peas gravy with delicate & rich flavour made with cashewnuts, served with your favorite Indian bread roti or plain paratha. Goes well with fried rice too. 

Ingredients 

1½ cup peas ( I used frozen peas)

250 grams cottage cheese( paneer)

2 medium size onion

2 medium size tomato

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

10 cashew-nuts soaked in ¼ cup water

2 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cumin powder

½ tsp coriander powder

1 tsp kitchen King masala

Salt as per taste

1 tsp of kasoori methi

3 tsp cooking oil

Method

Make cubes of paneer, keep aside for later use.

Roughly chop onions & tomato. In a shallow bottom pan, add oil, when the oil turns hot add ginger garlic paste & sauté for 5 mins. When the raw smell of ginger garlic goes off, add the onions and sauté until they turn transparent. After the onions turn transparent add the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes until they turn soft. Keep aside to cool. 

Take a blender and add the soaked cashews along for with the onion- tomatoes, blend it into a smooth paste. 

Take the pan and add the onion tomato paste, let it cook for 5 mins. In the meanwhile add the red chili powder, coriander & cumin powder, kitchen King masala & salt. As the onions n tomatoes are already cooked no need to cook the paste again, add the peas & paneer n mix the peas- paneer well into the grave. Bring the peas paneer gravy to a boil & switch off the flame. Add the kasoori methi after you switch off the flame & give the gravy a quick stir. Transfer the gravy to a serving bowl. Serve with plain paratha/ roti or jeera rice.

Note-  

Adjust the gravy as per your liking. Add more water if you like. Also add red chili, kitchen King masala as per your liking & taste. 

Kasoori methi is added at the end after switching off the flame because it turns the gravy bitter if you add it in the begnning. 

Boondi Raita

Boondi Raita is the most popular raita prepared in North India, eaten along with pulao, rice, biryani or even chappati or naan. Boondi raita can be prepared within no time if you have stored the ready-made boondi at home.

Ingredients
2 cups curd
1 small onion finely chopped  (optional)
1 cup boondi
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
2 tsp coriander leaves 
½ cup water to dilute the curd (add more if it becomes too thick)
Method
In a pan dry roast cumin seeds, until the start turn little brown and aromatic. let them cool, crush them into a powder
Add water in the curd, with the help of a whisk,  dilute it. The curd should not become too watery.Add more water if the curd is too thick. to this curd add chopped onions, cumin powder, red chilli powder, salt & coriander leaves.
Add boondi 10 mins before serving
Serve with Pulav, Biryani

Chatpat Veggies for BBQ

Ingredients
1 pack mushrooms
3 bell peppers ( of different colours)
½ kg cottage cheese (Paneer)
½ cauliflowe
4 table spoon curd
8-10 garlic cloves
3 table spoons salt 
4 tablespoon red chilli pepper
3 table spoon chat masala
Method
Chop mushroom into half, peppers & paneer into cubes.
Add the curd, garlic cloves, salt, red chilli powder, chat masala into the grinder and make a smooth paste. this should be little spicy and salty
Add this paste into the veggies and marinate for 12 hrs
Add these veggies and paneer on a skewers and BBQ until done
Use the remaining marination as a dip by adding little more curd if it is too salty/spicy

Please note:This recipe can also be prepared on Grill-fry pan

Gajar halwa (Carrot Halwa) with milk powder

A must have during winters- my weak point, can be eaten warm with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

1. 1 kg carrots (grated)
2. 4 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
3. 1 cup milk powder (or ½ cup khoya)
4. 1½ cup sugar or (as required as per the sweetness)
5. sliced almonds
6. sliced pistachios

Method

1. In a heavy bottom saucepan and a very low flame, add the grated carrots, cook until carrot reduce, for the above quantity it may take 30 minutes, you need to have lot of patience to cook them & stir it after every 5 minutes
2. Once the carrots have reduced, add the sugar, stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. Stir for another 20-25 minutes until the carrots have absorbed the sugar and have cooked well, taste the carrots if you want add some more sugar. 
4.  now add the milk powder (or khoya), stir for 5 mins. Add the ghee, cover the saucepan with lid, let it cook completely. this may take another 5 minutes depending upon the quantity.
5. Now the halwa is reduced/ thickened add the sliced almonds and pistachios
6. Serve hot or cold. If you serve it hot it goes well with vanilla ice cream

Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori chicken is one of India’s most popular dishes.The word tandoori refers to any food cooked in a tandoor, which is a giant, unglazed clay oven.This dish has a nice blend of yogurt and masala blended well in the chicken when marinated & the spice mixture gives this juicy taste to the chicken.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut into four pieces (skin removed)

3 tbsp onion paste (1 medium size onion)

2 tsp ginger paste

3-4 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

4 tbsp curds

salt to taste

½ tbsp cinnamon powder

½ tsp cloves powder
2 tsp meat masala

for garnishing

2 sliced onions

lemon slices

Method

Clean the chicken pieces & remove skin making slashes/cuts in the chicken to the bone; coat with salt and turmeric and set it aside for 30 minutes, then rub lime juice, set aside for an hour

Mix Onion paste, Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric, Red chilli powder, coriander, cumin, curds, salt, Cinnamon and Clove powder, meat masala in a small bowl.

In a big bowl put all the chicken pieces.

Add the curd and masala mixture from the small bowl onto the chicken.

Mix well so that the chicken pieces are covered with the spices.

refrigerate the marinated chicken for 10 hours.

Preheat the oven at 220 °C.

Line up the oven tray with an aluminium sheet to avoid the juice of the meat to stick onto the oven tray.

Arrange the pieces onto the skewers leaving some space between each piece

Once the oven is ready, place the skewers on the rack inside the oven for 45 minutes.

Now keep all the chicken pieces in a plate & serve immediately with sliced onions & lemon slices.

Palak paratha

My sincere thanks to our "maharaj" (cook) for preparing this delicious paratha.

Ingredients

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 cup palak leaves washed and finely chopped

5 tbsps oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black sesame seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste
Method

Add the flour, chopped palak, 1 tbsp of cooking oil, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, turmeric and red chilli powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Add water, a little at a time to this mixture, and knead to form a medium-soft, smooth dough. Keep aside for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into small balls-sized portions and roll between your hands till they are smooth and without cracks.

Very lightly flour a rolling board and roll each ball into a circle

Heat a griddle and fry the parathas ,drizzle a bit of oil on the top and spread well over the surface of the paratha. Flip again in 30 seconds and drizzle oil on this surface too. The paratha is done when both sides are crispy and golden brown.

This paratha goes well with rajma.

Rajma

Ingredients

1 cup rajma (Kidney beans)

2-3 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 large onion (grated)

3 tbsp roughly chopped tomato 

2-3 green chilli's slit

1rsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

Oil

Salt to taste

coriander for garnishing

2 tbsp dahi(should be little sour)

Method

Wash rajma throughly and then soak rajma in boiling water overnight.Add add ginger garlic paste, pressure cook rajma until tender.(5-6 whistles) (one tip: add little salt while cooking it)

grate onion, finely chop tomato and slit green chilli.

Heat oil in a pan. Add slit green chili, the grated onion and finely chopped tomato and fry on medium heat until golden brown (until the oil starts separating).

Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander & cumin powder red chili powder and salt. Mix well. Fry for 2-3 minutes.add the dahi and stir well and cook over medium heat.

Add cooked rajma (along with the water in which it was cooked), Garnish with chopped green coriander leaves

serve hot with rice or palak paratha

Matthri

Ingredients 
2 cups Wheat flour
Salt to taste
1 tbsn Carom seeds (ajwain)
½ tsp black pepper powder
2 tbsp oil & to deep fry
Method 

Take flour in a bowl, add salt, carom seeds, black pepper powder, mix well
Add 2 tbsp of hot oil and mix well. Add sufficient water and knead into a hard dough allow the dough to rest for fifteen minutes.
Divide into equal balls and flatten them slightly. Roll them out thinly into small puris, lightly prick them with a fork so that the mathris do not rise like puris.
Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Slide in the mathris and deep-fry on medium heat till golden and crisp.
Drain and place on a tissue paper. Keep aside to cool
Store in airtight tins.