POTATO CHEESE BALLS IN SPINACH GRAVY

Yummy potato balls cheesy from inside cooked in creamy spinach sauce. Its a labour intensive dish but its worth the effort and makes a great main course party dish. Goes very well with naan, pulao or parathas. Trust me, it is really scrumptious and delightful.

INGREDIENTS FOR POTATO CHEESE BALLS:

3 Potatoes (Parboiled)
1/2 Cup Freshly made Cottage Cheese (Paneer)
4 tbsp Bread Crumbs
5-6 tbsp + 2 tbsp Corn Flour
Mozzarella Cheese, Cut into 9 Nos 1/4" Cubes
1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
2 tbsp Finely Chopped Cilantro
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Chaat masala
Salt to taste
Oil For Deep Frying

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING SPINACH GRAVY:

500 gm Baby Spinach (or may use leaves only) 
2-3 Green Chillies (As Per Taste)
6 Garlic Pods (Finely Chopped)
1 Large Tomato (Pureed)
1/2 tsp Caraway Seeds (Shah Jeera)
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Kitchen King Masala
1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
3-4 tbsp Oil
1/2 Cup Fresh Cream
1 tsp Butter (Optional)
Salt to taste

METHOD:

HOW TO MAKE POTATO CHEESE BALLS:

Mash parboiled potatoes very nicely.
Add cilantro, chaat masala, oregano, thyme, red chilli powder, cottage cheese and salt. Mix all ingredients well and keep aside for 2 minutes.
After that add 5-6 tbsp corn flour into in it. Mix well. Keep mixture into refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
Dilute 2 tbsp cornflour with 1/4 cup water. Whisk properly, so that there should not any lump inside the batter.
Take a small lemon sized ball, stuff 1or 2 mozzarella cheese cubes in it. Dip the ball in cornflour batter and roll on bread crumb. Thus, I made total 9 balls from the mixture.
Heat enough oil and deep fry the balls till golden brown. Set those balls aside; or you may serve as a party snack with green chutney....:)

HOW TO MAKE SPINACH GRAVY:

Boil 2-3 cups water with some salt. Switch off the heat and immediately add the spinach.

Blanch them in the water for 5 minutes.

Drain and immediately place the spinach in cold water for 3-4 minutes. So that it maintains the bright green colour in gravy.
Drain again and along with green chilies, make a smooth puree in a grinder or blender.

Heat oil in a kadai/handi. Add caraway seeds and garlic in it. Saute for a minute or two till raw smell of garlic disappears.

Pour spinach puree in it and keep stirring for 3 minutes. Add tomato puree and fold nicely.

Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt in it. Fry for 5 minutes on medium heat now.

Add 1 cup of warm water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat now and cook on simmer for 7-8 minutes, cook till the gravy is reduced by half.

Lower the heat now, add garam masala powder, fresh cream and butter in it. Keep stirring for a minutes. Switch off the heat now.

Arrange the koftas in a serving dish. Pour the hot gravy over it. Sprinkle little fresh cream on the top and serve hot.

This delectable dish goes well with steamed rice, jeera rice, pulao, phulkas, parathas or naan anything as you like.

OL ER DALNA (BENGALI STYLE ELEPHANT YAM CURRY)

Food matters culturally because it expresses, reflects and enacts values which are both openly attested to and privately held. People eat everyday with their friends and family; also during holidays and special occassions. Food celebrates, it becomes a maker of memory and a link to identity. Because eating is so central to life, food carries meaning beyond its tastes, textures and smells. My today's recipe is such a special dish which was oftenly made by my Grand Ma. She is no more with us, but the taste, texture and smell of her magical dishes still with me and will remain forever. Her culinary skills primarily motivated me to satisfy everyone's heart by serving luscious good food. 

INGREDIENTS:

500 gm Elephant Yam / Ol
1/2 Cup Thick Yogurt / Curd
2-3 Green Chillies (As per taste)
2 Tomatoes
12-15 Curry Leaves
A Pinch of Asafoetida / Hing
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Cilantro / Coriander Leaves
1 tbsp Ginger Paste
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
Juice Of A Lemon
1/4 tsp Shahi Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Clarified Butter / Ghee
4-5 tbsp Mustard Oil
Salt To Taste

METHOD:

Wash, peel and cut yam into 1/2" cubes.
Boil water in a pan, add salt and 1/2 of lemon juice; cover and boil for 10 minutes. Drain water completely and set yam pieces aside.
Make a paste smooth of tomatoes and green chillies and keep it aside.
Heat mustard oil in a kadai. Add yam pieces in batches and fry till those turn into golden from both sides. Remove from oil and set aside.

In the remaining oil, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder, coriander powder, tomato paste, salt and curry leaves. Saute till spices leave oil, add red chilli powder and yogurt at this time and keep stirring till spice mixture leaves oil again.
Now add yam pieces, sugar, garam masala and coriander leaves. Allow to cook for another 2 minutes.
If you like to have dry curry of elephant yam, remove curry from the heat now. Otherwise, add 1/2 Cup warm water. Cover and cook on very low heat for 4 minutes. Add clarified butter (ghee) before switch off the heat.

Serve warm with plain rice or hot phulkas, it is always delicious!!

SPICY LONG BEANS / BARBATTI MASALA

Barbatti or long beans, a Summer vegetable, is generally very less populer among other green vegetables. My family didn't like to eat barbatti before, as it was a problem to me how to make a delicious dry curry of this fiber-rich long beans. Once I found this delicious dry curry of green beans in "Maayeka", while blog hopping. It is definitely a yummilicious solution to me to make barbatti curry, very well goes with roti and rice both. Tryout, it will definitely satisfy you too.

INGREDIENTS:

350 gm Long Beans (Washed)
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Mango Powder (Amchur)
3 Tomatoes
3-4 Green Chillies
1/2 tsp Sugar (Optional)
3 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
FOR TEMPERING:
1/4 tsp Carom Seeds
1/3 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/3 tsp Cumin Seeds
1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1/3 tsp Carom Seeds
A Pinch of Asafoetida
10-12 Curry Leaves

METHOD:

Trim the both ends of long beans and slice into 1/2" long pieces.

In a pressure cooker, add beans and 1 cup of water, pressure cook for 2 whistles or till it done.

Grind tomatoes and green chillies. Make a smooth paste. Drain long beans and collect the water in a pot. Set it aside.

In a pan or wok, heat oil. Add all tempering spices, saute till spices crackle.
Pour tomato-green chilli paste in it. Stir well for 2 minutes.

Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, dried mango powder, sugar and salt in it. Saute till oil starts seperating from the spices.

Now mix boiled long beans in it. Fold well. Add 1/2 Cup reserved water (which collected from the boiled long beans), mix well. Cook for few more minutes till it becomes thick and almost dry.

At this time, add coriander leaves, fold nicely. Remove from heat and serve with warm chapati or steamed rice. It is really a very tasty side dish.

Thank you so much Anjana didi for this scrumptious long beans dish.

AJWAINI FALIYA

It is a dry curry of green beans or french beans. Actually green beans are rich in protein as well as fiber and abundantly available in Asian market. So that it is widely using by Asians. Here, green beans are cooked with gram flour and few spices which give a rich taste. Tryout, it is really easy to make and great going with warm phulkas. 

INGREDIENTS:

250 gm French Beans
2-3 tbsp Gram Flour
1&1/2 tsp White Sesame Seeds (safed til)
1 tsp Carom Seeds (ajwain)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds (jeera)
2-3 Dried Red Chillies (according to taste)
1/2 tsp Dried Mango Powder (amchur)
1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Asafoetida (hing)
1/2 tsp Sugar (optional)
2-3 tbsp Mustard Oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Wash and cut french beans into 1&1/2" long pieces. Sprinkle gram flour in it and toss nicely. Set it aside.

Dry roast sesame seeds till those change colour little bit. Turn off the heat and keep aside.

In a small bowl, combine kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, dried mango powder and salt. Mix nicely and set it aside.

Heat mustard oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, carom seeds, dried red chillies and asafoetida in it. Saute for a minute or two.

Add gram flour coated french beans in it. Fry and toss green beans for 4 minutes on medium heat. As gram flour fries, it will give a nice crispy coating on french beans.

Sprinkle spice mixture little by little on it. Sprinkle little water on it. Lightly toss beans, so that spices can coat beans very well. If it gets more dry, sprinkle more water on it. Add sugar, like the same way, fry beans for another 5 minutes on low heat.

Remove it on a serving plate. Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds and serve warm with puffed phulkas.

SHAHI PANEER

'Shahi', the name suggests of this popular paneer recipe is a royal dish, a perfect for dinner party and would leave your guests craving for more. Cream and saffron increased its taste and flavour. This is a very rich with the cashew nuts plus yogurt in it; the result is an aromatic, creamy and semi sweet gravy with soft spongy paneer cubes. Had seen this recipe in 'Party Cooking' by Sanjeev Kapoor, made little changes according to my tastebuds. Trust me, this dish tastes divine!!!

INGREDIENTS:

400 gm Paneer (cottage cheese)
2 Large onion (quatered)
5-6 Black Peppercorns (kali mirche
2" Long Cinnamon
3 Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
2 Green Chillies, Slit
1 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1/2 Cup Yogurt (thick dahi)
1/2 Cup Fresh Cream
1/4 Cup Cashew nut (Kaju) Paste
1/8 tsp Saffron (kesar)
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder (choti elaichi powder)
1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
3 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Cut paneer in 1" cubes.

Boil the onions in 1&1/2 cups water for 4-5 minutes. Drain water completely and allow to cool the onions. Grind and make a smooth paste of these onions.

Heat oil in a pan or kadai, add paneer pieces, fry lightly. Drain paneer from the oil and set aside.

On the same oil, add bay leaf, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon. Saute till fragrant.

Add boiled onion paste and green chillies and saute for 4 minutes on low heat, colour of the onion should not change at this time. Add ginger and garlic paste and continue to saute for a minute.

Now add cashew nut paste and saute for about 3 minutes on medium heat. Mix yogurt in it and saute till water evaporates from it. Pour cream, garam masala, saffron and salt in it. Fold well, so that everything incorporated very well.

Add paneer pieces at this time and mix gently. Stir for 2 minutes on low heat. Switch off the heat now.

Sprinkle cardamom powder and coriander leaves on the top and serve hot.

FRENCH BEANS FOOGATH

Foogath is a dry Goan vegetable side dish, cooked with a hint of coconut which can goes well with warm phulkas or plain rice. This is a mildly spiced, simple, easy and healthy side dish. French Beans Foogath sounds absolutely delish!

INGREDIENTS:

250 gm Finely Chopped French Beans (Green Beans)
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
10-12 Curry Leaves
1/2 Cup Freshly Grated Coconut
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi)
2-3 Finely Chopped Green Chilies
1 Onion (Chopped)
1/8 tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Chopped Cilantro / Coriander leaves

METHOD:

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When it starts to crackle, add curry leaves, green chilies, and asafoetida.

Mix onion in it. Fry till onion gets translucent. 

Now add french beans in it. Fold well and mix turmeric powder and salt in it. Cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes on medium heat or till french beans are tender. (Don't cover at this time, otherwise you will not get that glossy green colour of the french beans)

Add Coconut and fold it nicely for a minute. Turn off the heatnow.

Remove it on a bowl. Garnish with grated coconut and chopped cilantro. Serve warm with phulkas or dal-rice, it is yummy and healthy too.

DUM MASOOR

Here I cooked masoor dal in 'Dum' process. 'Dum' means cooking on low heat, letting all the spices and contains bring all their flavours out, also all the ingredients get cooked in the steam built inside. A protein packed, tangy, spicy, easy to make dish, this one's for you.. 

INGREDIENTS:

100 gm Red Lentils (Masoor Dal)
1 Large Onion (Chopped)
1 tbsp Minced Garlic (Lehsun)
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi)
1/2 tbsp Sugar
2 Green Chilies (Finely Chopped)
1 tbsp Raisins (Kismis)
1 Chopped Tomato
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
2 tbsp Mustard Oil
1 tbsp Clarified Butter (Ghee)
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves / Cilantro
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Wash and soak red lentils in water for 30 minutes. Drain water completely and set it aside.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add bay leaf and saute for few secods. Add garlic and onion in it. Fry till onion changes its colour into golden brown.

Add red lentils in ti. and fry for 3-4 minutes. Now add turmeric powder, sugar, green chilies, raisins, chopped tomato, garam masala powder and salt one by one. Fry till spices leaves oil and tomato turns mushy.

Pour a cup of warm water in it, cover and cook on low heat till lentils are tender, yet not mushy.

Sprinkle clarified butter (ghee) and coriander leaves on the top. Turn off the heat now.

Serve hot with warm phulka or paratha.

NOTE: Those who don't like to eat vegetarian dish, they can add shrimps at the time of frying onion, it makes the whole dish more luscious and tasty.

VEGETARIAN KEEMA MATAR (SOYA GRANULES WITH GREEN PEA)

Soya granules is an excellent replacement of meat-based proteins. Here's is a simple Indian type curry of soya and matar (green peas). It can be stuffed within parathas, tikkis, a super flavorful dish where soya and peas sauteed in a thick mixture of stimulating flavors.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Soya Granules

¾ Cup Green Peas

1/2 Green Bell Pepper (chopped)

¾ Cup Chopped Tomatoes

1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder

1 tsp Green Chili Paste

¾ Cup Chopped Onion

2 tsp Garlic Paste

2 tsp Ginger Paste

1/3 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Cumin Powder

1&1/2 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Garam Masala Powder

1 tsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves (kasuri methi)

1 Bay Leaf

1 tbsp + 3 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Clarified Butter / Ghee

Handful of Coriander Leaves / Cilantro (finely chopped)

METHOD:

Heat 3 cups water in a pan, add soya granules in it. Boil for 4 minutes or till it puffs up.  Let it be in warm water for another 5 minutes. Drain and wash with cold water. Squeeze out the excess water from granules and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or frying pan. Add soya granules in it. Saute till granules turn in golden, remove from wok or pan now and keep it aside.

On the same wok, heat 3 tbsp oil. Add Bay leaf and onion in it. Sauté onion till it turns into golden brown.  Add ginger and garlic paste in it, sauté for another 3 minutes. Add peas and sauté for another 2 minutes.

Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt in it. Stir for a minute. Mix chopped tomato and green bell pepper in it and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until tomato turns soft, mushy and leaves oil from the side of the wok or pan.

Add soya granules and fold very nicely. Pour 1 cup warm water, mix well. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on medium heat. Open lid and add dried fenugreek leaves, coriander leaves, garam masala powder and clarified butter in it. Give a nice stir and turn off the heat now.

Vegetarian keema matar is now ready. Serve warm with hot rotis, parathas or naans………It is always very healthy and delightful.

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CHANAR PATURI (PANEER WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAF)

A delicacy of Bengal is 'Paturi'. Generally, oily fish is sliced evenly and then wrapped in banana leaf after the fish has been hit by a basting of a freshly pounded mustard with a hint of green chili, coconut, mustard oil, turmeric and salt; baked or roasted on very slow heat. Today, I made this vegetarian version of paturi, which is made with freshly made paneer or chana. I used banana leaf, you may use pumpkin leaf or bottle gourd leaf too, it is very traditional and toothsome dish which goes well with hot steamed rice. Tryout this fabulous chanar paturi and enjoy!!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Freshly Made Paneer / Chana (cottage cheese)

½ Cup Freshly Grated Coconut

2 tbsps Mustard Seeds

4 Whole Green Chillies (according to taste)

4-5 Slit Green Chillies

½ tsp Turmeric Powder

2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice

1 tsp Sugar (for flavor only)

2 tbsp + 2 tsp Mustard Oil

Salt To Taste

10 pieces of Banana Leaves
Cotton thread

METHOD:

First of all, make a smooth paste of mustard seeds by using pestle and mortar. Now add grated coconut and whole green chilies, again grind by using pestle and mortar to make a smooth paste. Now the spice mixture is ready. Set it aside.

Take the pieces of banana leaves and grease each pieces with very little mustard oil. Keep aside.

In a large bowl, combine freshly made paneer / chana with mustard-coconut-green chili paste, turmeric powder, lemon juice, sugar, 2 tbsp mustard oil and salt. Fold nicely, so that everything incorporated very well.

Arrange banana leaves on your kitchen countertop. Take a small portion of paneer/chana mixture (like small lemon sized ball). Pour the mixture onto the middle of the leaf.

Place one slit green chili on the top of the mixture.  Now fold the banana leaf to wrap the contain from all sides, just like a parcel and tie with a piece of thread. Repeat the process for remaining mixture.

Heat a frying pan (preferably non-stick) and coat it with 1 tsp mustard oil. Place the wrapped  paneer or chana  on the heated pan (5-6 pieces at a time). Cover the lid and bake those for 6-8 minutes on medium-low heat.

Take off the lid to turn the wrapped paneer and bake the other side. Cover lid and roast for another 6-7 minutes. Take off each parcel from the heat now.

Discard the thread from the parcel. Now the baked paneer / chana is taken out from the banana leaf. Mouthwatering and fantastic chanar paturi is ready to serve with hot steamed rice.

Sending to: Holiday Recipes ~ 3rd Blog Anniversary Event

DAL AMRITSARI

'Dal Amritsari' as the name suggests is a dal from the city of Amritsar, Northern India. This is a delightful as well as protein pack Punjabi delicacy, as mouthwatery as dal makhani, but not that much rich. The speciality of this dal recipe, 'spices are always fried in desi ghee' and give an authentic aromatic touch of Punjab. A comforting rich dal recipe that goes best with the hot phulkas.

INGREDIENTS:

½ Cup Split Bengal Gram (Chana Dal)

½ Cup Black Gram (Whole Urad)

1” Ginger (Minced)

3 Green Chilies (Finely Chopped)

1 Medium Onion (Finely Chopped)

2 Medium Tomatoes (Chopped)

1 tsp Caraway Seeds (shah Jeera)

¼ tsp Turmeric Powder

½ tsp Red Chili Powder

½ tsp Garam Masala Powder

1-2 tbsp Finelly Chopped Coriander Leaves / Cilantro

2 tbsp Clarified Butter (Desi Ghee)

1 tsp Butter (optional)

Salt to taste

METHOD:

 Wash and soak both lentils in water overnight.

Pressure cook both lentils along with turmeric powder and little salt until soft and mushy. Let it cool down normally. Open the lid and mash lentils a little with the back of a ladle and keep it aside.

For the tempering, heat clarified butter in a deep pan or wok. Add caraway seeds in it. Saute till it changes its colour slightly. Add minced ginger, green chilies and sauté for 20 seconds followed by adding onions in it.

Fry till onions turn golden, add red chili powder and give a nice stir. Add chopped tomato and salt in it. Fry for 3-4 minutes till tomato turns soft and mushy and leaves oil from the sides.

Pour cooked lentils in it and fold till lentils mix with spices well. Now add 1 cup warm water in it. Mix well. Cover and cook for another 6-8 minutes on medium heat.

Sprinkle garam masala, coriander leaves and butter on it. Keep stirring for a minute and switch off the heat now.

Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves, very well goes with paratha, tandoori roti or naan….

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