Paneer Butter Masala

This dish is one item that recurs every time we go to a restaurant! It is our love for paneer, and simplicity of the dish that makes me crave for it. Having smitten by "Paneer Bug", nowadays I am trying out a lot of varieties in Paneer, and this one never fails me.

Tastes best with Rotis and Nan, my (weird) choice is to have it with Chinese Veg. Fried rice. (Psst, it tastes so good!!)

Paneer Butter Masala
Indian Cottage cheese cooked in mildly spiced gravy
Serves 2

What we need:
Paneer - 150 g, cut into cubes
Butter/Oil - 3 to 4 tbsp
Tomato Puree - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 1, minced
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tbsp.
Cumin (Jeera) Seeds - 1 tbsp.
Chilli powder - 2 tsp.
Cumin powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1tsp.
Yoghurt - to 4 tbsp.
Garam masala - 1 tsp. Optional
Coriander - for garnishing
Kasoori Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1 tbsp. Optional
Salt - as needed

How to do:
1. Heat Oil (or butter) in a kadai and fry the paneer. Drain and keep it aside.
2. Heat the remaining butter (or oil) and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies.
3. When they are done, add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and salt.
4. Fry well till the oil starts to separate. Now add 3 to 4 tbsp. of yoghurt and stir well. Reduce the flame to low.
5. Add the fried paneer cubes, mix well, and sprinkle a tsp. of garam masala.
6. Remove from the stove and garnish with fresh chopped coriander.

Note:
1. Sprinkle crushed Kasoori methi for a better flavor (at step 5).
2. If dealing with calories is not a problem, you can drizzle a dollop of butter over the gravy before serving.
3. Those who don't eat garlic, can omit it and use only ginger. It has a flavor of its own.

Dal Palak - A Warm bowl of Comfort!

This time I am sharing with you my all-time favorite recipe, Dal Palak. Dal as such is highly nutritious, and having it cooked with palak make the whole package an irresistible combination.

While Dal Palak goes well with Roti, Chapathi, I prefer to have it with rice and papad and find it absolutely comforting. And I am sure you can't agree more with me.

Dal Palak
Moong Dal cooked with Spinach
Serves 2

What we need:
Moong dal - 1 cup
Spinach leaves - 150 g
Onion, medium sized - 1, finely chopped
Tomato, medium sized - 1, finely chopped
Garlic - 3 to 4 pods, minced
Green chillies - 1 or 2, finely chopped
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Ghee (or) Oil - 4 to 5 tbsp.
Salt - as needed
Water - as needed

How to do:
1. Wash and clean the Spinach. Roughly chop them.
2. Wash and pressure cook the dal (for about 15 to 20 minutes). Mash them well.
3. In a pan, heat oil or ghee, add cumin seeds.
4. When they start to sputter, add the onion, green chillies and garlic. Fry till they are soft.
5. Now add the tomatoes, spinach and cook till they turn soft and start to pulp.
6. Add salt, dal and a cup of water.
7. Bring to a boil and remove from the flame.

Serve with rotis or rice and papad.

Rasam Mix (Wet)

The idea of having a rasam mix was born out those bottles I used to see at Ambika Appalam Depot, Sri Krishna Sweets in Chennai. They are very much a boon to the bachelors and even us, house-wives, to make rasam in less than 3 minutes.

We had planned for a long weekend get-away to Paris and MIL was already planning for the menu after holidays; I must say she is a dheerga darisi, because after a long holiday that had only french fries and pizza for lunch and dinner (thankfully the hotel we stayed provided a decent American breakfast.. But no indian there too!!), I was looking a spicy homemade rasam to satisfy my palates.

We prepared this mix before hand and kept in the fridge. It was just a work of 3 minutes to make the rasam and less than that to happily to drink it off the plate ;) And I will bet anywhere, nothing can be so overwhelming than having a simple homemade rasam after you palates have died consuming an all-foreign-food!! :)

The quantity I have mentioned here makes enough rasam for 3 to 4 people. Adjust the ingredients accordingly to your needs.

Rasam Mix (Wet)

What we need:
Tomato, medium sized - 1
Tamarind extract - 5 to 6 tbsp. Made from a marble sized tamarind ball
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp.
Dhania (Coriander) seeds - 1 tbsp.
Pepper corns - 6 to 7
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Chana dal - 1 tbsp.
Toor dal - 1 tbsp. Optional, but gives a frothy texture
Red Chillies - 2 to 3
Salt - as needed

How to do:

1. Dry roast all the ingredients except tomato and tamarind extract.
2. Blend the roasted ingredients along with salt, tomato and tamarind in a mixer/blender without adding water.
3. Transfer to an air-tight jar and store it in the refrigerator.

Making Rasam with this mix:

Dilute this mix with enough quantity(2 to 3 glass) of water. Bring it to a boil, garnish with coriander leaves.

Tips: Temper mustard and cumin seeds in Ghee and add to this mixture to give a better flavor. Grind a pod of garlic along with the other ingredients for an added flavor and taste.

Methi Dal / Menthiya Koora Pappu

Summers here are not exactly the summers that I had experienced. Sun shines brightly for 3 to 4 days and when the temperatures touch 25+, it starts to rain. So weird for someone like me from India! So whenever it is raining, the interest in cooking also drops with it. When the palates crave for something simple and enriching, nothing beats like digging into a bowl of rice and dal, with a dollop of ghee over it, and a deep fried appalam to complement it... Yummy!!

The other day I was scanning through the fresh-produce section in the supermarket when this box of green grabbed my attention. I never thought I'll find fresh "vendhaya keerai" or the green methi here in Switzerland and t was a like meeting a childhood friend accidentally after long time ;)

Here I have used half and half toor and moong dal. You can also use only toor or moong dal; anyways, it is tasty.

Methi Dal or Venthaya Keerai paruppu

Dal cooked with Green Methi leaves and spices

Serves 2

What we need:

Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Moong dal - 1/2 cup

Methi leaves - a small bunch

Onion, medium sized - 1, finely chopped

Tomato, medium sized - 1, finely chopped

Garlic - 3 to 4 pods, minced

Green chillies - 1 or 2, finely chopped

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.

Mustard - 1 tsp.

Ghee (or) Oil - 4 to 5 tbsp.

Salt - as needed

Water - as needed

How to do:

1. Wash and clean the methi leaves. If desired, roughly chop them.

2. Wash and pressure cook the dal (for about 15 to 20 minutes). Mash them well.

3. In a pan, heat oil or ghee and add the mustard. When they start to sputter, add cumin seeds.

4. Once they are done, add the onion, green chillies and garlic. Fry till they are soft.

5. Now add the tomatoes, methi and cook till they turn soft and start to pulp.

6. Add salt, mashed dal and a cup of water (if needed).

7. Bring to a boil and remove from the flame.

Serve with rice and papad.

Egg Dosa

Like any other child, I used to be very rebellious when it comes to eating food.. But take me to a restaurant; I'd happily munch down dosas, chole baturas without complaining. I wasn't particularly fond of any rice items and used to survive on MAGGI and dosa, to an extent! ;) This Egg dosa was born out of such desperate attempt of Mom to make me eat egg. So when she served me this, I thought it was dosa and gulped it down without a second look! Now years later, I still love that dosa.

It doesn't taste much like egg when eaten hot (unless you are an avid foodie, can't make out much difference!). Do try this out, and let me know your comments.

Egg Dosa
Rice based Pan cake cooked with Egg
Makes 3 to 4

What we need:
Dosa batter - 2 to 3 cups
Eggs - 1 or 2
Oil - as needed
Salt - as needed

How to do:
1. Break the eggs in a bowl and beat them well. Salt them lightly if needed.
2. Pour this mixture into the bowl of Dosa batter and mix well.
3. Make dosas as usual.

Serve with tomato or chilli sauce.