!! Kadai Paneer !!

I’m sharing with u the recipe of Kadai Paneer..It is a very well known vegetarian dish..I followed the recipe of Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. With all due respect to him, I’ve tried to add some more flavors to the dish from my kitchen..  You can also try the same recipe with chicken & it will also be as yummy as this one. So, do give it a try very soon.. Hope u all will love it….:)

 Ingredients :

Paneer (cottage cheese) cut into cubes- 200 gms ; Whole garam masala(cinnamon-2 ,cardamom- 4 , cloves-4) ; bay leaf -2 ; dried red chilies – 2(broken) ;  1 large sized onion sliced; Garlic paste – 2 tsp ; ginger paste -2 tsp ;  1 small capsicum (green bell pepper ) cut into squares ;  1 tomato chopped  ; turmeric powder -1/2 tsp ; red chili powder – 1 tsp ; half crushed coriander seeds- ½ tsp ; Cumin powder – 1 tsp ; coriander powder – 1 tsp ; Cilantro chopped -3 tsp ; mustard oil -2 tsp ; ghee -1 tsp. Salt -as per taste.

Dry roast black pepper corns (1 tsp) & coriander seeds (1 tsp)- crush them coarsely.

Procedure:

• Heat mustard oil (2 tsp) & ghee (1 tsp) in a kadai. Add bay leaves, whole garam masala, dried red chilies, half crushed coriander seeds(1/2 tsp) and fry for a while.
• Add the sliced onions and fry them till they turn brown and then one by one add garlic paste, ginger paste and sauté them until oil leaves the mixture.
• Now add turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder  along with the chopped tomatoes and capsicum. Allow it to cook in high flame.
• As the oil leaves the mixture, add the masala(crushed peppercorns & coriander seeds). Then its time to add the paneer or the cottage cheese. Mix it well with the gravy. Add required amount of salt along with the chopped cilantro.
• Add half a cup of water and cover it with a lid. Let it cook in simmer for 5 min or so..

• Now serve this spicy Kadai Paneer with roti or naan…J 

!! Nolen Gur-er (Date Palm Jaggery) Sandesh..!!

I’m a  hard core fan of sweets. So,this time I tried to make one of my favorite items. This will be the first dessert item for my blog.I know there is rarely anyone who will think twice before giving the first bite into a Sandesh..This one is very popular all over Bengal & no wedding dinner is complete withot a sandesh served at last..I know ,that the recipe is known by most of you;yet I could not resist myself from sharing the recipe with you..& I got super excited , after having them, straight from my kitchen.. Njoy..J

Ingredients:

Whole milk – 1 lt ; Lime juice- 1 lime ; Powdered sugar – ¼ tsp ; Date palm jaggery / nolen gur – 2 and 1/2tsp ; Raisins- a handfull.

Procedure :

Bring milk to boil in a heavy bottomed pan . As the milk starts to boil , add the lime juice and mix.Stir the milk until clear whey separates from the cheese or chhena  formed.

Pour this in a clean cheese cloth or muslin cloth and wash it under running water so that the smell of the lime goes away.

Tightly tie both the ends of the cheese cloth & allow all the remaining water to drain (by just hanging it from your kitchen tap). Leave it like this for about 40 mins.

Now take the chhena (packed inside the cheese cloth)  on an inverted plate and press it down heavily with a weight (I used the mortar & pestle from my kitchen) and again keep it, for say 30 mins.

Take all the chena (cottage cheese)into a flat palte and knead it smooth with the heel of your palms for 3 mins.Add the powdered sugar into it And again knead it for a few minutes so that all the sugar melts with the chena.

Now add the jaggery ( or gur) and again knead smoothly for a couple of minutes.

Finally take a non stick pan and pour the above mix. Cookk for atleast 3 mins in very low flame. Do not overcook, if you want a soft , smooth texture.

Then moisten your palms with a drop of ghee and make small tapered balls.

( You can give desired shapes to your sandesh, by using design moulds.)

I gave a simple shape to my homemade Sandesh-es..& topped each of them with a raisin each..

Wait for 20 min and  have your first bite…& enjoy..:)