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!!!

Fritatta

Fritatta is something I have always been fascinated with but never cooked. For that matter until a few days back I had not even tasted a fritatta. But somehow it just always managed to catch my attention from pictures in food magazines and food blogs and of course food shows on TV. On one of my shopping trips I even bought a oven proof pan particularly with the intention of making a fritatta. I just loved the idea of eating a big fat omellete filled with all kinds of delicious veggies, cheeses and mushrooms.

Well last week I was at the surgery (that's what a doctor's dispensary is called in UK) to see my GP . ( Reason for which was I had a nasty fall 2 weeks back and have been making quite a few trips to the doctor's for treatment on my leg which I hurt very badly.) So while I was sitting in the waiting area for my name to appear on the electronic display I was browsing through a magazine and once again my attention was drawn to a very yummy pic of fritatta. I memorised the ingredients and the method of cooking and decided there and then that I would make a fritatta before the end of the week and I did.

What's the verdict? Well all three of us loved it. Infact each of us could have done with one more helping but there wasn't any left. It was delicious , very filling and very easy and quick to make. Despite having bought a pan specially for that purpose I ended up using a oven proof Pyrex glass dish because as it turns out the pan is not big enough to cook a fritatta for three people. So what do i do with that pan now? Ohh I am sure I will find some use for it.

The ingredients for a Fritatta for 4 people are:

6 eggs

6/7 chestnut mushrooms (or any other)

1/2 a bellpepper (any colour of your choice)

approx 7 tblpns of grated cheddar

1 cup of finely chopped spinach,

8 to 10 leaves of fresh basil (chop these just before adding to the eggs)

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 deg C

In a bowl break the eggs and add all the other ingredients to it. From the cheese add only half of it and keep the rest for spreading on top. Season well with salt and pepper

Grease a oven proof glass dish and pour the mixture into it. Place in hot oven. It takes about 20 minutes to cook . After 20 minutes (or when the fritatta has begun to set) open the oven door, partially slide out the dish and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Return the dish to the oven and cook further until the cheese melts and turns slightly golden.

Let it cool slightly before cutting it into triangular wedges. This dish can be eaten at breakfast, lunch or supper. It can even be carried on a picnic.

Try it ! You will love it!

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 .

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.