Kadhai Paneer and Hot Phulkas (A Killer Combination)

Ooooh it really feels good to blog again. I have been away from the blogging scene for so long that that it feels like it did when I had just started Food-n-More in UK. It was the only thing I could think about . I used to constantly check (like about 50 times a day) to see if there were any new comments and everytime I made something new I wouldn't let hubby or son have a taste of it until I had photographed the dish from all possible angles and was finally satisfied with my amateurish photography attempts. They have always been so sweet and indulgent about it . Hubby has always proudly shown off Food-n-More to all his friends and colleagues and son is so sweet that he has started his own blog in which he posts about the different construction toys he makes. He also calls it by a name similar to my blog . He calls it Struxx-n-More because he wanted something just like Food-n-More. Needless to say that they are both very happy that I am blogging again.

There have been times when I made food especially for blogging and then at other times I have blogged about recipes that are firm favourites in my house with classic ingredients. A very hot favourite of mine is Paneer. Just thinking about it makes me smile. I love to cook with paneer, so much so that if I am having guests over hubby usually asks me  "So what paneer recipe are you thinking of madam?" And he is usually not wrong in guessing that there will be atleast one paneer dish.

I don't exactly remember when I made this Paneer Kadhai because I cook so often with paneer, but I thought it good enough to share with you guys. Chapatis is another thing I love to make. Whenever we had get togethers in the UK where all of us pooled in and prepared the meal ,chapatis were always alloted to me, or rather I always volunteered to make chapatis. Believe me well made soft chapatis can very often be the show stopper.  So this makes the picture above my all time favourite meal. Delicious Paneer and  soft pliant chapatis hmmmmmm !!!!

Recipe for Paneer Kadhai: (taken from Tarla Dalal and tweaked a bit here and there)

500 gms paneer 

2 cups capsicum (or coloured bell peppers which I have used)

2 tsp coriander seeds

5 whole red chillies

3/4 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

2 green chillies, chopped

2 tsp chopped ginger

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp chopped coriander

3 tbsp ghee

salt to taste

For the paste

6 cloves garlic (lehsun) mixed with a little water

Method

1.Cut the paneer and capsicum into cubes

2.Pound the coriander seeds and red chillies together.

3.Heat the ghee, add the garlic paste and cook on a slow flame for a few seconds.

4.Add the capsicum and pounded spices and cook on a slow flame for 30 seconds.

5.Add the green chillies and ginger and fry again for a few seconds.

6.Add the tomatoes and cook until the ghee comes on top.

7.Add the kasoori methi and salt and fry again for a few seconds.

8.Finally, add the cubed paneer and cook for a few minutes.

9.Sprinkle coriander on top serve hot and enjoy it yourself too.

Crispy Vegetarian Spring Rolls (A real Treat)

Let me begin this post by wishing all my Indian readers  A VERY HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY. I started the day by explaining to my eight year old (who has lived in UK since he was 2 ) why this day is celebrated in India as Independence Day and how we used to go to school  very early in the morning to hoist our tri-colour. Explaining it to him also made me remember things about our history  that I had not thought about for a long time, and that was good. We fnished our mother-son talk by me reading to him part of the book Great Freedom Fighters of India in the Amar Chitra Katha  Series.We read about Lokmanya Tilak and although he listened to it like any other story I enjoyed answering all his questions . It's a great series by Amar Chitra Katha which makes everything so enjoyable for a young children to read understand, rather than just read about history only from a textbook. I definitely recommend it.


 Secondly I would  like to say a big Thank-You to each and everyone of my reader who has visited by blog regularly inspite of my very irregular and sometimes none at all posting. You readers have been so good , not only visiting my blog but also dedicating posts to me and giving me credit for inspiring you to cook and think about cooking in a different light. Gosh thanks a ton for all that love and appreciation. It has also motivated me to take that effort again to start posting again.


So here's what I have today. It's the summer holidays going on currently in England and as I work in a school I too get to enjoy 6 weeks of summer holidays. I have recently come back from my holiday in Italy and now is the time to catch up with everything pending like deep cleaning the house, cooking something different other that the daily fare, spending time with my son watching DVDs together  and going out for a Pizza with him and of course catching up with friends and a bit of entertaining.


Last week I had a friend over for lunch and  I made these veg spring rolls which we all loved. Vegetarian because at present we are not eating any non-vegetarian food as it is the month of Shrawan which is a auspicious month in the Hindu calender. And although I am not a very staunchly religious person I do like to follow certain practices only because they teach you self control. Particularly in  the west where restaurant menus are  so dominated by chicken , pork and beef . (Although I draw the line at chicken and fish and would never ever dream of eating pork or beef. )  So no non-veg food for a month at least and for 4 months (the entire Chaturmaas  till after Diwali)  if I can manage it. Not so difficult is it? And the one ingredient I love and always rely on to  make my veg dishes perk up is Paneer.:)) Yes gorgeous , delicious, creamy full fat paneer. It never let's me down. That's what I used here too.


So what you need  for 16 to 18 spring rolls is:


Ready made store-bought spring roll wrappers (available in Indian or Chinese grocery stores)  OR  Sheets of Filo Pastry (available in all big food stores)
Note: If you do get the special spring roll wrapper they are already in the correct square shape and size, so that one wrapper makes one roll, but if you are using filo then you will need to cut out the sheets into approx 5" X 5"  squares. Also remember to keep the pastry or wrappers covered with a damp tea towel as they dry out very easily.


For the filling:
1 cup each of finely chopped or grated of the following veggies
carrots, beans, spring onions, cabbage ,coriander
1 cup of frozen or fresh corn kernels
1 cup of green peas
1 cup finely diced paneer,
1 cup boiled noodles (optional)
1/2 cup finely diced chestnut mushrooms (optional)
1 red chilly finely diced
1 tblspn chinese soy sauce
1 tblspn sweet chilly sauce
1 tblspn chinese five spice
1 tspn hot chilly powder
1 tspn of garlic paste, 1 tspn of ginger paste
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking


Method:
Heat 3 to 4 tblspns of oil in a wide pan or wok
Add the garlic and ginger paste and fry on low heat for few minutes
Add all the other veggies and mushrooms and stir them all frequently
Add the five spice, chilly powder, salt soy suace and sweet chilly and cover and cook until vegetables are cooked but still have a bite in them.
Lastly add the boiled noodles and paneer, give it all a good stir ,
Give it a taste and adjust all the seasoning according to your taste
Let this filling cool completely before you start making the rolls


Making the rolls:


Lay out a wrapper on dry surface with one corner towards you. Place a large tblspnful of filling near the corner .
Now roll that corner over the filling twice. Next fold inwards the the two side corners so your roll will be closed from the sides. Roll up the rest of the wrapper  up to the  corner away from you . Apply a bit of water to this corner so that it sticks firmly to the roll.
Do all the rolls in the same way. make these in advance at least a few hours before you want to fry them, so that they have a chance to seal well.
Fry in hot oil and drain over kitchen papers
Serve with sweet chilly sauce, schezuan sauce or any othet sauce of your choice.
Make loads of these if you are entertaining as it is very likely that they will be the star attraction particularly when your friend know that you made them at home:))

Yummilicious Paratha Frankies

Hi everybody! I am back after my long break again. These long breaks are becoming an annoying habit you might say , but it is one that I definitely intend to break very soon. Anyway, how have you guys been? I have missed you all too. What I have for you today is something I thought of today morning at 5.00 o'clock when I was disturbed out of my sleep and just could not go back to sleep again. And our mind you know has this annoying habit of immediately kicking into action with all kinds of thoughts rushing in which makes it even more difficult to sleep.

So my mind turned to the most nagging of thoughts and that was what to pack in the lunch boxes. Fortunately there was paratha dough already ready in the fridge, but as that was what we had had for dinner there was no way I could repeat the same in the lunch boxes . Well not as an ordinary paratha anyway. But then I remembered the block of paneer in the fridge and the mixed frozen veggies in the freezer and I had my lunch boxes all planned in minutes.

So I made paratha frankies . They are tasty, wholesome ,convenient to carry and a great change from regular chapatis and vegetables or sandwiches. So much so that my husband called up from office to say that he had enjoyed his lunch. Great!!!

So to make the parathas you need:

2 cups wheat flour, 3 cups of finely chopped spinach, 1 cup finely chopped carrots, 2 tspn ginger garlic paste, 2tspn chilly powder, 1 tspn turmeric powder, 1tspn each of cumin and coriander powder, 1 tspn of ground saunf, 1.5 tspn sugar, salt to taste, 2 tblspns oil .

Knead all the above into a medium soft dough and and cook the parathas a little thinner and larger than a roti.

For the filling you will need:

1 onion, 1 and a half tomato, 1 tspn ginger garlic paste, 2 cups mixed vegetables chopped finely (I had the frozen mix which contains peas ,corn,beans and carrots), 200 gms paneer, 2 tblspns tomato ketchup, 2 tspn pav bhaji masala, 2 tspn cumin seeds, 2 tspn chilly powder, 1/2 tspn turmeric powder, salt to taste, and oil for cooking.

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
• After a few seconds add the chopped onion and ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute
• Next add the chopped tomato and let this cook for at least 2 to 3 mins
• Now come the chilly powder, turmeric , and pav bhaji masala along with the vegetables. Let the vegetables cook on a low flame. When they are cooked add the salt and ketchup.
• At the last stage add the paneer which does not need any cooking . Mix it all gently together until the paneer is coated with the spices.
• Give it a taste and adjust seasoning accordingly .

To serve take a paratha and spoon about 2 tblspns of filling on it and roll tightly. To put in a lunch box wrap the roll in foil so that the filling does not fall out while eating.

Enjoy!!!

Amazingly Delicious Paneer Potato Bites

A very warm Hello to all my dear readers. Sorry I have been away for so long. Had a lot of other tasks to do and somehow in all the rush to do 20 things at the same time it is always my blog that takes a back seat. But it is never far from my thoughts. Whenever I cook something different from the ordinary my mind is planning out how I can present this on Food-n-More. In fact in the last fortnight it so happened twice that I did make some tasty snacks and was determined to take pics of the dishes but somehow I left it too late and the food was over and gobbled up (don't ask by whom) before I could get my camera out of it's case. But not this time. This time I did take pics before anyone had a chance to set eyes on what I had made. And what did I make? Yes these very delicious ,crispy and mouthwatering Paneer Potato Bites.
They were practically made in minutes . They are a great starter for any party or get together and my friends loved them. So will you!

Here's what you need:
1 large potato and 1 small one cooked ,peeled and mashed
150 gms paneer grated
2 cubes of cheddar cheese (approx 40 gms),
a handful of fresh mint leaves finely chopped,
some coriander (optional)
cumin and coriander powders 1 heaped tspn each
1 tspn sugar,
1 tspn garam masala,
1 and 1/2 tspn chilly powder
salt to taste
Oil for frying

1. Mix all the above ingredients together (except of course the oil) very well .
2. Make small bite sized balls and keep aside.
3. Heat the oil and fry the balls until golden (hardly takes a few seconds)
4. Serve on cocktail sticks with your favourite dip. I used Thai Sweet Chilly Sauce.

Now wasn't that quick?
N.B : I fried them a little before my guests were due to arrive and left them in the oven at 100 deg C. They were nicely warm and crispy when I served them. These are excellent finger food for kids' parties too.

Kesar Rasmalai (Bollywood Cooking)

Blogging has changed my outlook towards cooking. Cooking for me is no more just something that I do to fill our stomachs but it has acquired a completely different facet. I go to extreme lengths now to make the food look as good as it tastes. And when there is a blog event that challenges me to bring out the best in me I am definitely game. That's exactly what Meeta's Monthly Mingle has done. The theme she has presented us (or rather challenged us with) this month is Bollywood Cooking. It's a fabulous theme with a wide variety of dishes to explore. Glamorous as Bollywood is , I thought my dish had to be equally glamorous . And my Kesar Rasmalai is just that. It's elegant, sophisticated, and has just the right balance sweetness and creaminess. I also wanted to try out something from a different culture than mine.

The other reason why I chose to make a Bengali sweet like Rasmalai is to celebrate all the beautiful Bengali actresses in Bollywood. Right from the beautiful Suchitra Sen and talented Aparna Sen, Jaya Bhaduri and Sharmila Tagore to current heartthrobs like Rani and Bipasha, Sushmita and Konkana the Bengali babes have ruled the silver screen in every decade. So here's to you girls!

Coming back to the recipe now, I an really surprised myself as to how well it came out. It is not difficult at all just a bit time consuming. My suggestion to all those who try it out is to make it at leisure when you have plenty of time on hand. Preferably when hubby and kids are out of the way.

Ingredients :
For the malai (or paneer balls):

1 lt cow milk,

1/4 cup lemon juice or ordinary vinegar,

6 cups water to cook the balls,

1 cup sugar,

1 tspn cardamom powder,

1 tray of ice cubes to be kept handy.

Ingredients for the flavoured milk:

1 can 400 gms evaporated milk,

750 ml whole milk,

15 tspns sugar,

1 tspn saffron soaked in a little warm milk,

1 tspn cardamom powder

Method for Malai balls:

1. Boil the milk in a heavy bottom pan.

2. Add to it the lemon juice when the milk begins to rise. This will instantly curdle the milk. As soon as the milk curdles switch off the gas and pour in the ice cubes to stop the cooking at once. Place a lid on the pan for a few minutes.

3. Remove the lid and strain the curdled milk through a clean muslin which is placed in a colander. Wash the paneer under running water to remove all the traces of the lemon juice.

4. Tie the ends of the muslin and hang the paneer for at least 1/2 hour so that all the water in it is completely drained out.

5. Meanwhile mix the evaporated milk and the whole milk and put on the heat to boil in a non-stick pan . Once it comes to a boil lower the heat to minimum and continue stirring the milk until it thicken just a little. This will take about 1/2 an hour. Continuous stirring is important or the milk might stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

6.Once the milk thickens switch off the gas ,stir in the sugar , saffron and cardamom powder. Keep aside and let it cool a bit.

7. Before removing the paneer from the muslin give it a gentle knead through the muslin so that it comes out smooth in texture.

8. Now roll out small balls and flatten them slightly with your palm. Just like to see in the pic below. 1 litre of milk will make about 15 . Balls should not be too big as they do swell after they are cooked in the sugar and water syrup. 9. Boil the 6 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar in a large pan till sugar dissolves. The syrup should be kept boiling on a high flame when you drop the paneer balls in it. This is very important. If the lower the heat the balls will simply break in the water and disintegrate. Place a lid over the pan and let the paneer balls cook for 6 to 7 minutes on high flame.
10. They rise to the top and get fine cracks on the surface when they are completely cooked. To remove them first take a few ladles of the hot syrup in a bowl and then place the cooked balls from the pan into this bowl. They stay intact and firm when they are kept in liquid. Let them cool down a bit .

11. When you add the paneer balls to the flavoured sweet milk remember that the balls and the milk should both be lukewarm. Add the balls gently to the milk and place in the fridge to cool the dish thoroughly before serving. This dish is best made one day in advance. Before serving garnish generously with sliced almonds and pistachios for that special touch.

I really urge all of you to try this dish out at least once. It's just too delicious for words. I hope Meeta tries it out too. Knowing her, she will!

Palak Paneer Parathas

I am a very erratic blogger these days. And it's all thanks to this certain project that I have undertaken. I might have mentioned it before but let me tell you a little about it. The Marathi Mandal in my city had been offered the chance to create and display a cultural showcase exhibiting all different aspects of Maharashtrian culture. This will be displayed at the local library for the entire month of April. I am leading one group and the topics we have been allocated are Marathi Food, Marathi Painters, and Sculptures in Maharashtra. The food part is the easiest one obviously but the painters and sculptures needed a bit of research. Needless to say that there are a thousand other things pertaining to the project that are taking up all my time. But believe me I am enjoying every bit of it. But that's put a strain on my blog. I am typing so much for the project that I just can't find the energy to type some more for my dear blog. But it's Easter weekend now and I am feeling a bit relaxed as there is no hard and fast routine of school and office to stick to. So here I am once again with a new recipe .

I have not followed this recipe from any book, neither had I eaten this anywhere or even heard of it before. I always make simple palak parathas and I had once eaten paneer parathas at a friend's. Now palak- paneer is a classic combo as we all know and love. So I just combined two delicious parathas and created a third equally delicious one out of it. Three cheers for me!!! OK OK I am coming to the recipe.

You need for the outer paratha dough:
2 bunches spinach or 1 bag of baby spinach leaves,
2 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (Atta) approx
1 large onion,
2 -3 cloves garlic,
1 tspn whole cumin,
2 tspns each of cumin and coriander powder,
2 tspn chilly powder (less if you wish),
1 tblspn roasted and powdered sesame seeds (completely optional ),
1 tspn sugar,
2 tspn salt,
3 tblspns oil.

Ingredients for the paneer stuffing:
400 gms paneer,
2 tblspns very finely chopped coriander,
1/2 tspn salt,
1/2 tspn chilly powder.

Method for the outer covering of the parathas:
1.Heat the oil in a wok and add the cumin seeds . Fry for few seconds .
2.Then add the onion and garlic. Fry these until light golden in colour.
3. Next put in the spinach leaves. They do not have to be chopped. Cook these well along with the coriander -cumin powders, chilly powder, sugar , salt and sesame seed powder. To retain the colour of the spinach do not cover the pan while cooking.
4. Once the spinach has completely cooked allow it to cool a bit and then puree it in a blender. If you have a stick blender you don't need for it to cool.
5. To this puree now add the flour . I have stated 2 and 1/2 cups but that is an approx measurement. Add enough flour to form a moderately soft dough.

Method for the paneer stuffing:
1. Grate or crumble the paneer and all the rest of the ingredients to it.
2. Now add a few drops of milk to the crumbled panner and knead it into a soft ball. This is your stuffing ready.

Final Procedure:
1. Make equal number of balls of paratha dough and paneer stuffing but the paneer balls should be double in size to the dough balls.
2. Roll out each paratha a little and then stuff it with the paneer ball . Close all the edges of the dough and roll it out again gently into a thick stuffed paratha.
3. Place it on a hot tawa and cook on both sides until tiny brown spots appear on the surface.
4. Cook all the parathas in the same way and just before serving cook them once again this time with a small amount of oil.
5. Serve with your favourite accompaniments .

Paneer Jalfrezi (A spicy end to a very sweet Diwali)

After a very sweet Diwali I thought a spicy Jalfrezi was a good recipe to post . This is a firm favourite in my house. Actually anything with paneer is always welcome in my family, that's particularly because I adore paneer. My husband teases me by saying that my face glows with happiness when I cook ,eat or even buy paneer. I don't believe him and know he exaggerates. But I can't deny the fact that I love it. I don't know what the word Jalfrezi means but I have always associated the word Jal with fire and therefore make this dish a little more fiery than normal.

So here's my very simple recipe for a spicy and mouth-watering Paneer Jalfrezi:

Ingredients:

200 gms Paneer cubes,

1 large onion chopped (chop them into small square shapes if possible),

3/4 cloves garlic crushed,

1/2 inch piece ginger grated or 1 tspn ginger paste,

2 large tomatoes coarsely pureed,

1 tspn concentrated tomato puree (optional),

1 large green capsicum cut into small square shapes,

4 baby corn (each one cut into 2 to 3 chunky pieces)

1 tspn garam masala,

2 tspn chilly powder,

4 tblspn oil for cooking

salt to taste,

lots of coriander for garnishing and a few cherry tomatoes if available.

Method:

Note: Before starting the actual cooking immerse the paneer cubes in warm water and leave them in the water until the time you need them. This makes the paneer beautifully soft on cooking and doesn't turn it leathery.

1. Heat the oil in a kadhai and saute the onions ,ginger and garlic for a few mins,

2. Next add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste and cook thoroughly on a medium heat. Add small amounts of water if the mixture begins to stick to the pan,

3. Now add garam masala, chilly powder, salt and stir it all in,

4. At this stage add the baby corn and the capsicum and half a cup of water . The baby corn and capsicum should be cooked but there should also be a bit of crunch in them. So don't overcook them.

5. At the last stage add the paneer and give the whole jalfrezi one last boil on medium heat and switch off the gas.

Decorate with whole cherry tomatoes, thin slices of raw capsicum , fresh coriander and serve with parathas or rotis

Palak Paneer from UK

I call this dish Palak Paneer from UK because I saw this recipe on a show on UKTV Food. I am always intrigued when English chefs cook Indian food on TV. All the ingredients seems so much more exotic when they talk about it. Everyday items from an Indian Kitchen like curry leaves, cumin powder, garam masala, fresh coriander and ginger-garlic paste which are used by me without giving them a second thought appear so much more glamorous on TV.

Terms like beautiful and gorgeous are used very frequently to describe very commonly used spices,but I must say they do make you see stuff in your own kitchen from a different perspective. And I like that. sometimes while cooking something mundane I pretend I am on a TV show and say things like "Now lets put some of this gorgeous yellow turmeric powder in our curry" or "I am going to chop some of this beautiful fresh green coriander and garnish my lovely crunchy salad" It really makes me laugh while cooking and takes away some of the boredom out of everyday cooking .

I am sure by now all of you are thinking "This Anupama has really lost it this time" But you know what even as a kid of 12 or 13 I used to browse through Tarla Dalal's recipe books while eating something very ordinary at home like rice and dal or something similar and pretend that I was eating the dish that was reading about.

Before I saw this recipe on TV I always made Palak Paneer in a slightly different way. I never used tomato in it and I admit I always felt that my dish always lacked something that I could not really put my finger on. But I loved it this time.

So these are the things I used:

2 bunches of baby spinach leaves finely chopped , 1.5 onions finely chopped, 1 large tomato finely chopped, 4 cloves garlic crushed, 1/2 inch piece of ginger, 1.5 tspn coriander powder, 1.5 tspn cumin powder, 1/2tspn garam masala, 1 green chilly chopped, 1/2 cup milk, 2 cups paneer cubed, salt to taste, 3 tblspns oil

And this is what I did:

1. Heat the oil and saute the ginger , garlic and chilly for few seconds,

2. Add the chopped onions and fry these for a minute,

3. Next add the chopped tomato and the spice powders and cook until the raw smell of tomato disappears. Add small quantities of water so the masala does not stick to the bottom of the pan,

4. Now add the spinach, lower the heat to medium and slow cook the spinach until completely cooked,

5. Next add the milk. You can use cream here but milk also gives a great creamy flavour without all the unnecessary calories,

6.Cook further for 2 to 3 minutes until the whole dish gets a creamy texture, now add salt, and check the seasoning

7. At the final stage add the cubed paneer (I did not fry the paneer, but while I was cooking the spinach I immersed the entire block of paneer in warm water. This really softens the paneer beautifully) and cook on a low heat for just one min and switch of the gas.

Palak paneer never tasted so good to me . So do give it a try.

Matar Paneer, Frozen Phulkas and Cucumber Spirals { Summer Express Cooking Event}

When I read about Shaheen's Summertime Express Cooking Event (Meals under 30 mins) my first thought was "Oh but that's what I do practically everyday when I cook an entire lunch for my husband's tiffin . Yes he does carry a complete Indian Lunch sans rice almost everyday to office.(Barring those days when he is out of office all day and has to MAKE DO with a delicious baguette sandwich from Upper Crust.

I admit it needs a bit of pre-planning to cook a meal in 30 mins or less but thats no hassle once you are in the habit of doing it. Besides the daily tiffin lunch the other times when I want a good meal on the table in a very short time is on weekends. Yes being a full-time home-maker I spend quite a lot of my time during the week in my kitchen, (in fact most of my elaborate meals are made during the week because I do have the time for them ).So its only fair that I want to spend more time relaxing with my family on weekends , but at the same time have a delicious meal on the table ,which is everybody's favourite when hunger beckons.

One way I save on cooking time during the weekends is my using frozen phulkas. No not the store-bought variety. I make my own during the week and store them in batches of 10. That's how many the three of us consume at one meal. This cuts down amazingly on cooking time .

So whenever you have the time make extra phulkas or chappatis whatever your preference and freeze them in batches of 10 or 12 in stack in freezer bags. Put the date on which you are freezing them and a use by date on them . I normally use them up within a week to 10 days. When you want to use them just wrap them in kitchen paper and pop them into the microwave for 10 to 12 secs and you have a soft phulka ready to eat.

The meal I have here today is a firm family favourite and although the total items in the meal are just 3 ,the meal as a whole is so satisfying that you don't need anything else. The Matar Paneer here tastes so good that it will give any Punjabi Dhaaba a run for its money.

So here's how :

Ingredients for Matar Paneer:

200 gms Paneer cubed (Store bought or Homemade ),

2.5 cups frozen peas,

2 large onions, (just cut into chunks)

4 cloves of garlic,

1 inch piece of ginger, (to save on time peeling garlic cloves and grating ginger just use 2 tspns of ginger garlic paste),

1 can chopped tomatoes,

10 cashew nuts,

1/2 a cup of milk,

1 generous handful of fresh coriander, (washed but no need to chop)

1 tspns each of Coriander and Cumin powders,

1 tspn Kitchen King Masala (if this is not available substitute with 1 tspn Kasoori Methi),

1 and 1/2 tspn chilly powder,

1/2 tspn turmeric powder,

4 black pepper corns,

1 small stick cinnamon,

1 bayleaf,

4 cloves,

3 tblspns of ghee (you can use oil instead but believe me it tastes awesome when cooked in ghee) I know all dieters are shaking there heads with disapproval.

salt to taste.

Now what do you do with all these:

1. Before you actually start the cooking immerse the paneer in some warm water and leave it that way until its time to put it in the gravy,

2.. In a kadhai heat the ghee and put in the cinnamon, cloves ,peppercorns and bayleaf. Fry until they release a spicy aroma,

3 Next add the ginger -garlic paste and fry it for few seconds,

4. After that come the onion chunks. Keep the heat moderately high so they turn a nice golden brown,

5. When the onions are golden tip in the chopped tomatoes and at this stage also add the cumin coriander powders,chilly powder, kitchen king masala, turmeric powder and the handful of coriander. Putting coriander inside a curry gives the entire dish a sensational aroma. Now let all this cook for 10 mins .( Add a little water if necessary)

6 After ten minutes switch off the gas remove the bayleaf from the mixture and tip in the entire contents of the kadhai into a deep container in which you can use a hand blender to blend everything to a paste. (By using a hand-blender you do not have to wait for the mixture to cool down at all)

7. Before blending add the cashew nuts and the milk and then blend it all together.

8. Pour the gravy back into the kadhai, add the paneer cubes,frozen peas , a cup of water, and salt to taste. Give it another boil for 5 mins and your matar paneer is ready to serve.

Now that almost 20 mins have been taken by the matar paneer you can use the remaining 10 mins to cut the cucumber (I cut them into spirals ) and microwaving the frozen phulkas. Plate it all up and what you have is a delicious hot meal ready in 1/2 an hour flat.

Note:To make the cucumber more interesting mix it with some plain yogurt and chaat masala or another idea is to rub some mango pickle on the cut cucumber to make it nice and spicy. Take your pick.

Now let me just pop over to Shaheen's Malabar Spice with my ideas for her Summer Express Cooking Event

Baked Potato Paneer Tikki

Baked Potato Paneer Tikki, originally uploaded by Anupama 72.

This was just an experimental trial I had where I baked these Tikkis (Cutlets) instead of frying them and I must say they did come out much better than I had anticipitated. The whole recipe was not just these tikkis but it was Paneer Tikki Chaat which I followed from Tarla Dalal's Book "Chaat". But I could not take any pics of the entire dish put together as I was busy playing hostess when my friends were gorging on it. But fortunately I had some unfried tikkis left which I baked the next day instead of frying them. So I thought I would post these at least.You can find the entire recipe for Paneer Tikki Chaat on Tarla Dalal's site. I'll just share with you the way I made the tikkis which are a little different than her's .

Ingredients for around 12 tikkis:

4 large potatoes

100 gms paneer grated or crumbled (indian cottage cheese)

1/2 cup green peas boiled and coarsely mashed

3 tblspns cornflour

2 slices of bread (soaked in water ,squeezed and then crumbled)

1/2 cup fresh coriander finely chopped,

5 cloves garlic crushed,

2 to 3 tspns red chiily powder,

juice of one lemon,

2 tspn sugar ,

salt to taste.

To coat the cutlets you need:

1 cup semolina.

3tspn dry celery/mint/coriander (if easily available)

1 tspn salt

What you do:

• Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker.
• While the potatoes and cooking, collect all the other ingredients and keep them ready.
• As soon as the potatoes are done, peel them while they are still hot and mash them.
• Mix all the other ingredients in the potato mash while it is still hot . (This is important because once the potatoes cool down they will get awfuly sticky and it gets very difficult to make the cutlets. I can tell you because I have been through it)
• What you have now is a nice non-sticky and easy to handle mixture of potato and all the other ingredients.
• You can now shape them into cutlets
• Coat each cutlet in the semolina and celery mixture.

To bake them: Lay a sheet of aluminium foil onto your baking sheet and lightly brush it with oil. Arrange all the cutlets on to the sheet. Spray the cutlets with oil. In case you do not have a spray. Spoon 1/2 a tspn of oil over each cutlet and bake at 200 deg c until golden. Turn them over once . Use more oil only if required. Your Tikkis(cutlets) are ready.

Eat them according to the Chaat recipe or simply with a sauce and chutney of your choice. They are great when sandwiched between 2 slices of bread too.