Matar-Paneer Delight

Matar-Paneer 

Ingredients:

Paneer(Amul) cubes: 200 grams

Fresh green matar: 100 grams

Onion: 2

Tomato: 1

Garlic: 8-10 cloves

Ginger: ½ inch

Cumin seeds: ½ table spoon

Turmeric powder: ¼ table spoon

Red chilli powder: ¼ table spoon

Garam masala: ½ table spoon 

Bay leaf: 2-3

Cardamom- 2-3

Clove-2-3

Coriander leaves: one small bunch

Mustard oil as needed (optional)

Salt to taste 

Method:

Heat oil in a kadhai and throw in cumin seeds, ginger thinly chopped, cardamom, clove, bay leaf, and let them crackle. Add onion pieces, add green matar, stir them till they are golden brown. Add tomato pieces. Stir them well till they get cooked.  In a small bowl make a paste of turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala and add to the onion tomato mixture that is in the kadhai. Add salt. Stir it well till oil separates itself. Now add paneer cubes gently stir them well for 2-3 minutes. Add finely chopped coriander leaves. Add water as required for the thickness or the thinness of the gravy. Cover it for five to eight minutes. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice, chapati or naan! Enjoy!

Cooking time 15-20 minutes!

Gobhi Mussalam (Cauliflower Delight)

Gobhi Mussalam (Cauliflower Delight)

Ingredients:

1. One medium size cauliflower

2. Tomato: 3-4, thinly chopped

3. Ginger:  half inch, thinly chopped

4. Garlic: 3-4 cloves, thinly chopped

5. Mehran curry powder:  one table spoon

(Ingredients: coriander, red chilli, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, clove, fennel, fenugreek, green cardamom, bay leaves, mace, garlic, ginger)

6.  Sambhar powder: one table spoon

7. Salt to taste

Method:

Wash cauliflower carefully and keep it aside.

Put mustard oil (optional) in a pot, when heated  add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, Mehran curry powder and Sambhar powder,   fry it  until oil comes out on the surface.  If it starts burning add some water. Fry the masala for about ten minutes. Then  place the whole cauliflower   upside down on a slow flame. Cover the pot.  After five minutes turn the cauliflower  up. Again leave it covered for 5 minutes. Now it is done.

Serve it with rice/chapatti/paratha…and enjoy!

Spinach and Eggplant with Egyptian cheese

Recipe

Spinach and Eggplant with Egyptian cheese

(The cue is from a Bhojpuri proverb used by my grandmother:   “Saag Sagauti Peetha maduhre aanche meetha!”= Leafy vegetables, meat and peetha are  best cooked on a low flame!)

Ingredients:

Spinach: two bunches (Approx. 400 grams)

Eggplant: two of  medium size (Approx. 250 grams)

Egyptian Roomi cheese: Approx. 100 grams

Green chilli: One

Green chilli turning red: One

Garlic: four/five cloves

Bay leaf- two/three

Olive oil: one table spoon

Salt to taste (there is already salt in the cheese)

(One can use other spices too but I am afraid that the irresistible flavors of cheese mixed with spinach and eggplant might be missed by our taste buds! )

Method:

Spread little olive oil on the pan and put eggplants (cut in the round shape) and bay leaves and cover the pan. After two minutes turn the eggplant pieces and wait for one minute till it leaves moisture and start getting soft .  Then put chopped spinach and place finely chopped chilli and garlic over them. Cover it again for 5-8 minutes.   Open the lid put the rest of the olive oil then cut the cheese in squares and put over it. Wait for the cheese to start melting, stir the entire thing gently to mix all the ingredients and switch off the oven.  It is important to note that the oven will be on low flame throughout. 

Enjoy it with rice, chapati or  paratha! You  can even go for sandwiches!

Crab Meat Masala

                                                                             

Crab Meat Masala

Crab meat is  rich in protein,  vitamins and minerals,, crab meat is also low in fat and has many more things  in it but it is not a universal favourite. In my extended family not all members loved to eat crab meat.  I liked it, I like it and so does my daughter.    I came to know   about her craving  for crab meat when we went to Goa last summer.   She developed a liking for eating crab meat  from my kind and supportive neighbor, her Dadi, who used to give her Maharashtrian crab curry and when she asked me to make it during my vacation in June-August she compared  mine with that of Dadi’s and  gave her grade “Outstanding” and me “Excellent”!

I cooked crab after about two decades.  So please correct me if there is any lapse on my part.

 Here goes the recipe!

Ingredients:

Crabs—6

Onion—2

Tomato—1

Garlic-ginger paste—2tbsp

Turmeric powder—1/2 tbsp

Chili poder—1/2 tbsp

Saunf—1/2tbsp

Cumin seeds—1/2tbsp

Cardamom—3-4

Clove—3-4

Cinnamon stick—one inch 

Curry leaves—5-6
Coriander leaves--one small bunch 

Garam masala—1/2tbsp

Mustard oil—two tbsp (optional)

Cleaning and washing:

After removing  shells  and claws the  crab meat should be cleaned and washed  properly. Preferably, in the final round  it should be washed two-three times with salt water. The bigger claws should be kept for the curry and the  smaller ones for the soup (we have already seen the excellent soup  with appetizing aroma  in a previous post).

Marination:

Add  little turmeric powder, garlic-ginger paste, oil and salt mix them and keep them in a fridge for one hour for marination.

Method:

Heat oil in a kadahi throw in some cumin seeds, whole cardamom, clove, cinnamon sticks and curry leaves and after they splutter, add  onion pieces, wait till the onion pieces become golden brown then add garlic-ginger paste and turmeric powder and chili powder and saunf . Fry them on low heat till the oil starts separating. Add tomato pieces and fry it on low heat for about five minutes. Add garam masala powder  and salt, cover it and fry it for a few minutes. Now keep it aside.

In a pan heat little oil and add the marinated crab meat, sauté it for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the crab meat to the masala in the kadahi with finely chopped coriander leaves and fry it for five-six  minutes when it gets dry add little water (it depends what consistency one likes , my daughter likes thick curry) and  let it boil on low heat. Keep on stirring it gently from time to time.

A beautiful aroma will waft away from the kitchen   and spread out in the surroundings,  gently knock at the doors of  neighbours  to invite them to join the table to make it “more the merrier!”

You need enough rice/chapati/nan to wait impatiently for their turn on you when you are negotiating with claws to bring out the tasty meat to your palate or trying to experience the taste of juice from the succulent crab meat!

Enjoy!

Sattu-stuffed Capsicum

Ingredients:

Capsicum-one big

Sattu- 150 gram

Onion-one small

Garlic -2-3 cloves

Garam masala- 1 tea spoon

Ajwain-1/2 tea spoon

Mustard oil (optional) -1 table spoon

Salt to taste

Method:

1.       Making sattu stuffing:

Take  sattu in a bowl or plate, add garam masala, ajwain, onion and garlic thinly chopped, ½ table  spoon mustard oil, salt - mix all the ingredients   properly. Add some water to make soft and smooth dough.

2.       Now make a small narrow cut from one side  in the capsicum (removing the seeds optional, I did not remove), gently fill the prepared stuffing into it. Heat the remaining mustard oil in a non-stick pan, place the sattu-stuffed capsicum on it and cover it. Turn it from time to time till it becomes brown.

Serve  it with plain rice and daal or chapatti! Enjoy!

(Sattu=roasted gram powder)