Papadi Paneer Pakodas- for a Crunchy Weekend!

Paneer Pakodas! Dig into the Toothsome Paneer Pakaodas

I love Paneer! And these pakodas with a twist, use  the crackling Papads that you won’t mind on a Sunday morning.

Here you go,

Papadi Paneer Pakoda

Ingredients for Batter

1 cup gram flour/chickpeas flour/besan

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Just a pinch of red chili powder- optional

Chopped Coriander

Green Chilies- finely chopped

Amchoor Powder/Dry Mango Powder- 1tsp

A pinch of Garam masala

Salt to taste

Other Ingredients-

Paneer cut into 1 inch cubes/Cottage Cheese

Papads (Any of your choice or one that’s readily available) Break it into small ~1/2 inch pieces

Vegetable/Sunflower Oil for deep-frying

Chaat Masala

Method-

Mix all ingredients of batter to form a dip, thick enough to thickly coat back of a spoon. This batter should be of medium consistency. Keep it aside.

Keep the Papad pieces readily spread in a plate.

Heat oil in a pan for deep frying

Dip each of the paneer cube in the gram flour batter and gradually roll it in the papad pieces such that papad pieces stick to the batter covering.  Let it into the oil and deep fry until golden brown in color. Take it out once done and sprinkle some chaat masala for that zesty flavor .

Place it on a tissue paper- and now serve hot with Coriander Chutney or Ketchup.  A Crunch Munch Sunday!

 

Savory Paneer Butter Masala

Savory Paneer Butter Masala

Today is my Mom’s Birthday and this is her favorite 😉 Love you & miss you Mom!

Without saying much I will get talking about the recipe-

Paneer Butter Masala (Cottage Cheese cooked in tomato onion base)

Ingredients-

Paneer (Cottage Cheese) – 250 grams

2 tbsp ghee/ oil as preferred

1 tsp cumin seeds, 2-3 bay leaves, Cardamom- 2-3, Cloves- 3-4, Cinnamon sticks (Dalchini) – 2-3

2 Onions- Chopped/puree (Preferable Puree)

Ginger paste- 1 tsp; 6 – 7 garlic cloves paste,

3 medium size tomatoes Chopped/puree (Preferable Puree)

Chili powder to taste (Kashmiri Chili Powder: slightly milder and adds color)

1 tsp garam masala;  2-3 tsp coriander powder;

Salt to taste

30 ml cream

Curd- 2 tbsp

1 tsp sugar

Chopped Corriander

Method-

To make the tadka, heat the ghee or oil in a heavy pan until hot, and add the bay leaves cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom and cloves- once they crackle add the pureed onions and sauté them until they are golden brown and fried properly, this will take about 10-15 minutes. Now add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for another ten minutes. You can add a tbsp water if the gravy starts sticking to the pan at any point.

Now add the pureed tomatoes and stir for about fifteen minutes until the tomato is soft and cooked.  Also add – the chili powder, coriander powder,  & garam masala when you are adding the tomato puree. Stir and let it cook for approximately 15 minutes. Now add the beaten curd followed by sugar and salt.  Add little water for the gravy (about half a bowl)

Next add fresh paneer cubes. Bring it to boil. Add the cream and garnish with chopped coriander.

There you are!  Serve with hot Chapattis, Parathas or any bread of your choice.

Dahi Wali Gilki (Sponge Gourd in Curd Gravy)

Simple & Subtle- Sponge Gourd in Curd Gravy

I  have been away from the blog for some time – busy with buying furniture for our new home and getting things completed there.  This is the first time I would be staying in our very own home!  I can’t wait to move – even though that means a lot of work over the next month. Plus, as always a bit of travel and the best thing- my Mom was here for a few days and I so loved it! She left today, can’t wait to see her again.

This is something Charit and I made for Mom- gilki  (Sponge Gourd)  It belongs to the the gourd family. I am glad she liked it. She has fallen in love with Charit’s cooking- it is time he started his own food blog. He is a great chef…the master chef in our family.

I love the subtlety of this vegetable. It blends beautifully with any gravy base and served with hot chapattis it makes a complete meal. I had made stuffed gilki sometime back and that also comes out nice.

I had earlier posted dahi wali lauki, this dish is exactly similar to it, just replacing the lauki (bottle gourd) with sponge gourd!

Dahi Wali Gilki (Sponge Gourd with Curd)

Ingredients

5-6 Sponge Gourds  (peeled and chopped into medium-sized cubes)
Oil/Ghee – 1 tablespoon (I prefer ghee for this one)
Jeera (Cumin Seeds)- 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds (Rai)- 1 tsp
Pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
Curd- 1.5 cup
Water- 2 Cups
Besan (Chickpea flour)
Garlic Cloves- 4-5 (paste)
Haldi (Turmeric Powder)- ½ tsp
Dhaniya Powder (Coriander Powder)- 1 tsp
Mirchi Powder (Red chili- As per taste
Salt to taste
1 green chili chopped (optional)
Chopped Coriander

Method

Heat oil/ghee  in a saucepan. Add rai (mustard seeds) , jeera (cumin seeds) and hing. Once they splutter, add the garlic paste. Let it fry for a minute. Now add the gilki pieces. Add  turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and stir. Cover with a lid and let the gilki cook on low heat. Stir at regular intervals.
Beat the curd and add besan, haldi and chopped green chilli. Add 2 Cups of water and mix so that this it is uniform.
Once the gilki is cooked add the curd mixture to the gilki and let it simmer on low flame as you stir continuously. Add salt  and let this simmer at low heat. Make sure that the gilki is cooked. Once it boils, garnish with coriander and serve with any kind of bread or rice.