Tangy Paneer Do Pyaza

Hello friends! I have been taking too many breaks from my blogging world. Well, all thanks to my juggling between work & home. But, honestly there is nothing better than spending time with your sweet little one. All the tiredness and worries fly away. What do you say?

With little time & opportunity to cook at length we have been managing all kinds of quick food. Honestly we also often end up eating out during lunch due to meetings or because I did not have had enough time to really cook. So, all these days whenever we get an opportunity we try to eat at home and try eating healthy, easy to cook food.

So, I had gone to the grocery store close by and there is a local chinese food vendor cooking on the street. No, I did not eat there but the aroma was too tempting to resist. So, one thing was sure for today I was to cook something chinese. I quickly picked up a packet of Mother Dairy Paneer (Cottage Cheese) and directly went to the sauce section. There I saw the new brand SAMS sauce, my husband did not want to experiment with the sauces but I did. Its an introductory pack of 3 sauces - Soy, Green chilly & Red Chilly. Reached home within 15 mts & headed to the kitchen to cook the TANGY PANEER DO PYAZA. It is cottage cheese tossed in chunks of onions/tomatoes & capsicum. It is generally cooked tangy & hot.

Here's how you make this awesomely delicious & quick dish.


Get hold of:
2 Onions  - Halve them chop them a little thick
2 Tomatoes - Halve them & chop them same as the onions
1 Big Capsicum - Halve it & slice it the same way
4 Green Chillies - Slit them  (add as much/less as you wish to)
Cottage Cheese - Long Slices as thick as the other items
Turmeric Powder - a pinch (you may not add if you wish)
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Tomato Sauce - 2 Tsp
Soy Sauce - 1 Tsp

Method:
Heat the wok & add oil. As soon as it is about to smoke add all the onions, tomatoes, capsicum & green chillies in. Toss till they are just cooked. Add turmeric powder, paneer, salt, tomato sauce & the soy sauce. Toss for a minute and serve hot with Chappatis/Paranthas/Rotis or Noodles. You may wish to serve them just as a snack.

Note:
You may add some vinegar for tang. But just the tomatoes also worked for me.
I do not like frozen paneer, the Mother Dairy or Gopaljee which are soft are good to use. You could even buy the local paneer available in the Indian shops or make fresh paneer at home.
I used Heinz Tomato Ketchup & SAMS Soy Sauce  - We liked the SAMS soy sauce.

Kalimirch Paneer (Cottage Cheese in peppery gravy)

Peppery! A strong flavor!

How does it sound to you? Well, to me it sounds delicious.

The goodness of  pepper (good for calorie reduction) in the soft, sweet & creamy gravy just makes me drool.

All we need to do is add the right bit of pepper to get the desired twist for your eagerly waiting taste buds.

We need:

• Paneer/Cottage Cheese - 200 gms
• Peppercorns -10-15 (crushed)
• Onions - 3 medium sized
• Bay leaves - 2
• Badi Elaichi (Black Cardamom) - 2
• Curd - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - As per taste

Method:
Cut the paneer in cubes. Grind the onions & keep ready. Whisk the curd with sugar in it & set aside.
Now, heat the pan, add oil & throw in the bay leaves & badi elaichi. Now, pour the onion paste & saute till it becomes light brown. To this add the crushed peppercorn & curd & let it cook till the oil finds way. Be around to ensure the gravy doesn't stick to the pan. If required add the desired amount of water & wait till it boils. Cover & cook for a few minutes so that the flavors mix in well.
The gravy is ready & the paneer cubes can be now added to this & served hot with your favorite bread!

Not a difficult recipe to follow!
There is no need to add a bowl full of spices to make it tasty.
This finger licking recipe can be cooked within 20 mts.

Note:

• Do not add turmeric to this dish - you may if you wish to create a remixed version though! :)
• Sugar is also optional
• You may add cream instead of curd to make this super rich & fluffy
• Serve with Indian bread - roti, chappati, parantha

Stir Fried Chinese Green Beans

I remember going to Mainland China to enjoy some authentic chinese food

which I totally freak out on.

When I first tried them at the buffet I knew I had to cook these at home. These lovely fresh looking beans are first steamed & then thrown into the pan along with some delicious flavors. They make a great dish to go with any Chinese dinner, and the best part is... it can be prepared just in a few minutes.

Everytime I indulge in these stir fried green beans which is simply fingerlicking!!! Now I can cook them at home.

The spices are quickly stir fried with the long beans to bring out their flavors so the result is a fiery tasty yummy preparation to awaken your senses.

Let's collect:

• Green Beans (washed & ends trimmed) - half a kilo
• Whole red chillies - Handful
• Soy Sauce - 1 tablespoon
• Brown Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon
• Sesame Seeds (White) - 1.5 teaspoon
• Vegetable oil - 1.5 teaspoon
• Salt  - as per taste

Method:

1. Place the green beans over the steamer, cover & allow to steam for 5 mts. Take it off to cool it. You could pass it through cold water & drain again
2. Now take a wok & add the oil. Let it heat to almost smoking point & then add the red chillies & soon add the green beans. Make sure the red chillies dont burn. You need to be quick here.
3. Stir fry vigorously to avoid burning.
4. Now add the soy sauce & brown sugar to this along with the required amount of salt.
5. Continue to stir fry.
6. At the end add the sesame seeds & toss them together.
7. Shift them into your serving bowl & get ready to serve this exotic Chinese dish & enjoy the compliments coming your way!

 Note: 

• You can avoid using the red paprikas/chillies yet enjoy the flavors
• French beans is what I used
• Some add a dash of vinegar too for a tang
• Your wish to use any oil of your taste for the tossing

 

Spicy Hot Chilli Cauliflower/Gobhi Chilli

It is a starter & can be commonly found on the restaurant menu in India. 

This is made dry however you can order it with some thick gravy too which is prepared with the sauces.

If you have a liking for spicy food then you are in for a tongue tickling experience.

Here's how you experience it...

• Cauliflower florets - 3 cups
• Diced onion chunks - 1 cup
• Slit green chillies - 10
• Cornflour - 3 tbsp
• Maize flour (Maida) - 3 tbsp
• Salt - As per taste
• Edible red/orange color - as required
• Red chilli powder - as per tolerance
• Red chilli sauce - as required
• Green chilli sauce - as required
• Tomato sauce - as required

Method:
In a deep pan boil water with 2 tsp salt. Immerse the cauliflower florets in it & let it cook till just done. Do not over cook it. Take them out when done & dry them on a paper towel. Mean while ready the batter by mixing in the maize flour, cornflour, salt, edible color & water. Be careful while preparing the batter. The consistency of the batter should be just as much to cover the florets well with a thin layer on top.
Now dip the florets & deep fry them in oil. You will not need to wait for long as the florets are already boiled so will cook fast. Now, take them out when done & place them on a paper towel to let the extra oil get absorbed in the paper towel. Next, check the pan/wok for remaining oil in which you deep fried the florets. We now need only 2 tbsp of oil in the wok so if there is extra oil take it out. Heat the oil on high flame & when it is about to get smoky add the diced onions & slit green chillies with salt & some red chilli powder. The onions should not get soft & soggy. You just need to saute them for a minute & then add green chilli sauce, red chilli sauce, soya sauce & tomato sauce & continue to saute for another 30 seconds. Now add the cauliflower florets & mix in with sauces to enjoy the spicy hot chilli cauliflower.

Note:

• This is a dry dish. To make it with thick gravy just add the sauces in a larger quantity.
• Some recipes will ask you to directly fry the florets however that will make the florets soggy so better boil them then pat dry before coating with the batter & frying.
• I have seen my cousin adding diced capsicum to the recipe however I feel capsicum dominates the taste so I prefer not to make it an ingredient in this recipe.
• You can enjoy them as snacks, starters or with fried rice, roti (indian flat bread).
• Tomato sauce if put in larger quantity will make the dish sweet so be careful while adding it.