Food Recipes of Palak paneer

Cottage cheese cubes in pureed spinach curry

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

Recipe Ingredients:

500g Spinach

200g paneer (cottage cheese)

2tbsp tomato puree

½ tsp cumin seeds

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1tbsp ghee

3-4 green chilies

1tsp lemon juice

1tbsp cream for garnish

Salt to taste

½ tsp garam masala

Recipe Method:

Cut the paneer into 1" cubes. Remove Food Recipes the stems of the spinach leaves. Wash well in plenty of boiling water. Blanch the spinach in plenty of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and refresh in cold water. Drain and puree with green chilies.

Heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds splutter, add the chopped garlic.

When the garlic turns pink, add the tomato puree and cook till the oil separates from the tomato puree. Add the spinach puree, salt, 1 cup water and the paneer cubes. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Allow the curry to simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and remove from fire. Sprinkle the garam masala. Garnish with cream to serve.

Badam ka halwa

Try making badam ka halwa at home with these easy steps

Ingredients 

2 cups badam

2 ½ cups sugar

2 drops kesar colour

1 cup ghee and 1 cup milk

Method: Leave the almonds in hot water for Food Recipes an hour. Remove the outer skin and grind to a paste with milk. Make sugar syrup and boil till it reaches one string consistency. Add the badam paste and cook till it thickens. Add the kesar colour and ghee and stir continuously on low heat. Serve hot.

Indian-style eggs

A new way of serving the good old masala eggs!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20minutes

Serves: 4 Recipe

Ingredients: 2 tbsp light olive oil 2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed 2 brown onions, finely chopped Pinch sea salt 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 500g ripe tomatoes, finely chopped 2 small fresh red chillies, seeded, finely chopped 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander(cilantro)

8 eggs Recipe

Method: Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add coriander seeds and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add onions and salt and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until golden. Add ginger, garlic and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, chillies and 2 tablespoons Food Recipes water, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until tomatoes are saucy. Stir in coriander and season well with salt and pepper. Spread mixture evenly over the base of pan. Make a hollow in the tomato mixture, then break an egg into the hollow. Continue with remaining 7 eggs, spacing them evenly.

Cover and cook for 8 minutes for slightly soft yolks or 10 minutes for firm yolks. Spoon eggs and sauce into serving bowls and serve with gluten-free bread. The tomato mixture can be made a day ahead and reheated in pan before adding eggs.

Khichdi with oats, tomato and garlic

Daliya or phada can be given a miss to give break to monotony in your breakfast. Food Recipes Oats khichdi is equally delectable too.

Winter is 'the' time to experiment and it is the season to let the farm fresh ingredients add a hint of lip smacking taste. Ingredients like spring garlic, ginger and spring onion simply add different tastes and texture to a preparations. Similarly, the basic ingredient can also be replaced by other ingredients to add another element of difference to a dish. Making khichdi with oats is one such preparation that does not require much time. Easy to prepare and very sustaining the oats khichdi when cooked with tomatoes, potatoes and farm fresh chives, is a yummy treat to the taste buds.

Ingredients:

Oats: 100 gms

Moong dal: 2 table spoons

Tomatoes: two

Potato: 1

Spring garlic: a couple (as per your liking)

Spring onion: a couple (as per your liking)

Ginger: chopped - little quantity

Curry leaves: few

Red chilli whole: 1 to 2

Salt to taste

Turmeric: a pinch

Ground pepper: a pinch

Mustard and hing for tadka

Method:

In a pan, take two to three tsp of oil or ghee and heat it. Put hing and mustard seeds to the hot oil and as soon the mustard seeds start to crackle add the halved whole red chillies, curry leaves, followed by chopped tomatoes, diced potato, chopped ginger, chopped spring garlic and spring onion. Mix the ingredients well. Add moong dal, ground pepper and salt. Allow these ingredients to cook in steam for two minutes by covering the lid. Take the lid off and add 50 to 100 ml of water for the entire thing to cook well.

Note: For the moong dal to cook quicker, just soak it for about 15 minutes before cooking, that way you will be able to save on the cooking time.

Once moong dal and potatoes are cooked, add oats. Mix the ingredients well. Add 50 to 100 ml of water. And allow the entire khichdi to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve the piping hot khichdi along with ginger flavoured tea or a hot cuppa of coffee.

Tip: If you want the khichdi to taste spicier, you can add a pinch of sambar powder or even a pinch of curry masala. Either way, the taste gets enhanced as per one's liking.

Yummy caramel custard

It's simple and yum. Cook the caramel custard at home and sample dollops of tasty Food Recipes stuff without looking out for anything expensive in the market.

If your loved one has been sampling all the packaged custard and pudding, for that matter the jelly-pudding from the bakery and the confectionery shop, and been asking for pudding everyday, cooking caramel custard at home will take away the burden from the buying rigors every day. Here is how:

Ingredients:

Eggs: 2

Milk: 500 ml

Sugar: 2 tablespoons for caramelizing

Ground sugar: 2 tsps

Corn flour/custar powder (vanilla flavour): optional

Method:

Take 2 table spoons of sugar in a saucepan and caramelize it on a low flame by constantly stirring. Once the sugar turns light brown in color, switch off the flame and immediately take the saucepan off the stove.

In a separate bowl, beat two eggs with yolk and add milk and mix the contents well. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar or add the amount which suits your taste buds. But do not make it too sweet as it will take away the charm.

You can add some corn flour or vanilla falvoured custard powder to the milk to add thickness if you do not want to use egg. You can do it by taking 1 tsp of corn flour and mix it well by adding two tsp of milk. Add this corn flour and milk content to the milk bowl. If you are using eggs, corn flour becomes optional.

Now, pour the entire caramel into another container. Add the milk with eggs.or milk with corn flour. If you are pressure cooking it, carefully select the water level at the bottom of the pressure cooker. Do not put more than 200-250 ml of water and allow the custard to cook in the steam. Do not put the weight on the pressure cooker. Cook it for 15-20 minutes.

After switching off the flame, allow the custard to settle for another 10 minutes. The best way to see if it has been cooked is to insert a knife and if it comes out clean, your custard is cooked perfect.

Keep it in the refrigerator and serve it chilled.

Homemade whole wheat pizza

When it comes to comfort food, pizza - with lots of flavoursome toppings and dripping with cheese - is possibly there on top of the list.

While the easier thing to do would be just to Food Recipes dial the pizza delivery number (which is on your speed-dial, isn't it?) and order six slices of instant gratification with soul satisfaction on the side, but there's nothing quite like making a pizza from the scratch.

What if I say you can make your own homemade and healthier version of deep-dish or thin-crust pizza with any amount of your favourite toppings in less than 20 minutes - the fastest pizza delivery time? Moreover, a homemade pizza is so much more romantic on those lazy stay-in Sundays!

So here's the recipe for one medium-sized pizza:

INGREDIENTS

The Dough

Whole wheat flour: 2 cups

Basil leaves: 6-7

Olive oil: 100gm (for various purposes)

Salt: 1 tsp

Sugar: 1 tsp

Yeast powder: ½ tbps

Water (warm): 1 cup

Fine flour (maida): 10gm

Parchment paper: 1

The Sauce

Tomatoes: 1 cup, pureed

Onion: 1 cup

Chicken/vegetable stock (optional): 1 cube

Dried oregano: 2 tsp

Red chillies (optional): 1 tsp

Garlic: 5 cloves

Toppings: You can add any amount of cold-cuts, pre-cooked and processed meats (like ham, pepperoni, Spanish chorizo, frankfurters, Russian kielbasas etc). Vegetables like olives, eggplant, mushrooms, bell-peppers, cottage cheese, and sundried tomatoes make for excellent combinations for a pizza. You can also add some grapes (yes, that's right) to give a sweet dimension to the flavours. Just like the tomatoes, grapes too add moisture to the pizza.

Cheese: Well when it comes to making pizza, more cheese, the merrier! Use different combinations of cheese as it add depth to the flavours. The classic pizza cheeses are mozzarella, cheddar, and gouda. You will need 100gm of cheese for a medium size pizza.

DIRECTION

THE CRUST

Make the pizza dough, for the crust, a couple of hours before your meal-time.

1. In a bowl, mix water, yeast, and sugar together and let it sit for 10 minutes.

2. Once the mixture foams up, add whole wheat flour, salt, finely chopped basil leaves, and olive oil. Bring it all together by kneading with your hands to make a soft dough. You should be able to pinch it without the dough sticking to your fingers.

3. Wrap the bowl with cling film and keep it aside for at least two hours for the dough to rise.

THE SAUCE

On a pre-heated pan, put a 2 tbps of olive oil and add coarsely chopped onions. Fry till translucent and add the pureed tomatoes. Once the oil starts to appear on the side, add garlic, chillies, chicken/vegetable stock cube, salt, sugar, and oregano. Mix them well for two more minutes. Check for flavours and adjust accordingly. Remove the pan from the fire, and keep it aside to cool down.

MAKING THE PIZZA

1. Start with the crust. Tear off a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle fine flour or maida over it. Take a chunk of the dough, make a medium-sized ball, and roll it out thin with a rolling pin (belan). Keep the thickness according to the crust you'd like. Roll the edges inwards so that the cheese and the sauce doesn't flow out while baking.

2. By now, you should pre-heat your oven at 250 degrees (together with the baking tray) for 15 minutes before your pizza goes in.

3. Add the sauce to the crust and spread it evenly and generously.

4. Add the thinly sliced meats and veggies to the crust.

5. Grate all the three kinds of cheese with equal measure on top of the meats and veggies.

6. Put the crust together with the parchment paper on the baking tray (watch out, it's hot!)

7. Bake the pizza till the crust firms up and the cheese turns golden.

8. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil before serving hot.

Food Recipes Keema samosa

Rains may not have arrived yet, but there are some monsoon delicacies, which can be enjoyed nevertheless. And spicy, exotic keema samosas Food Recipes certainly belong to this category...What's more! They are quite easy to make!

Ingredients:

Mutton mince ½ kg.

singer 1" piece

garlic - a few flakes

Garam masala 1 ½ tsp.

coriander leaves chopped 2 tbsps.

Mint leaves chopped 2 tbsps.

Onion finely chopped 1 no.

Green chilies cut fine 4 nos.

Thick curd 1 tbsp

Maida 300 gms

Oil for frying

Salt to taste To taste

Preparation:

Make a stiff dough with the maida, 4 tablespoons oil and salt. Make 20 medium sized balls of this dough.

Roll thin round chappatis of the balls. Heat a tava and roast the chappati on one side only.

Make all the chappatis in the same way.

Now cut each chappati into two pieces and keep them covered.

Using a little water make a thick paste of 2 tablespoons maida and keep aside. Make a paste of ginger and garlic

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the onions, chilies and ginger and garlic paste.
Now add the mince meat, salt and cook on a low flame till done.

Add the garam masala, curd, coriander and mint leaves and cook for some more time.

Remove from the flame and let it cool.

Make a cone of each half chappati and fill with the mince.

Then seal the edges with the flour paste.

Make samosas with the rest of the chappatis in the above manner.

Heat oil well and deep fry the samosas till golden brown.

Serve hot with pudina chutney.

Food Recipes of Rava laddoo in minutes

It's nutritious, tasty Food Recipes and easy to make. Rava laddoo is a yum treat if you want your children to indulge in some home-made sweet delicacies.

Grated coconut, roasted rava, select dry fruits and nuts, and sugar is all you need to make a delectable platter of homemade rava laddoos. And lots of ghee and lots of love of course.

Ingredients:

Rava or sooji ( semolina): 200 gms

Coconut: 1

Sugar: 200 gms

Ghee: 200 gms

Nutmeg: half a pinch

Cardamom ground: a pinch

Dry fruits: kismis, sliced badam and kaju -as per your liking

Method:

Grate one whole coconut and add sugar to it. Keep this mixture aside in a bowl. Roast the rava in a non-stick pan till it attains a light brown colour. Take the pan off the stove. Add ghee to it. Pour the grated coconut with sugar on the layer of rava and ghee. Mix the ingredients well. Add nutmeg and cardamom to it and mix well.

Start making laddoos by taking the laddoo mixture in your palm. You can decide on the size of the laddoo on how big or how small you want them to be. Embed the dry fruits as you make each laddoo in your palm.

Once the entire lot is done, let your little ones feast on it.

How to make ghee at home

Homemade ghee has got its own taste Food Recipes and texture. While health benefits of ghee are known to be immense, making ghee at home contrary to the perception is not so cumbersome. So here is how can simplify the process of making ghee at home.

Cream it: Store the cream on a daily basis in a safer container - either high quality plastic or a steel container. After your boiled milk is cooled, a layer of cream is formed. Collect this layer of cream in a container. Refrigerate it. For three to four days, keep on filling the container with layers of cream after you have boiled the milk. Once you think enough amount of cream has been stored to make adequate ghee, get set to prepare homemade ghee.

Method:

-Take out the cream from the refrigerator and transfer the contents into a larger pan. Allow the cream to thaw for one or two hours.

-Now, on a slow flame allow the cream to melt while stirring. Ghee preparation time will depend on the quantity of the cream. The ghee will separate itself from the cream sediment which will remain at the bottom of the pan.

-Let it cool. Filter the ghee and transfer it to a container. Discard the sediments that remain after your filter.

-Traditionally, the centrifuge method is applied, which gives rise to more yield of ghee. However, since it is time consuming, preparing straight from the cream can equally be a shortcut you can try at home.

Noodle chaat with Manchurian sauce

Bite into this Food Recipes delectable crispy fried noodles, topped with Manchurian sauce and crunch vegetables. Enjoy!

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes 

Serves: 4 

Ingredients:

4 cups boiled noodles

Soy sauce: 2 tbsp

Vinegar: 1 tsp 

Corn flour: 1 tbsp

Green onions: 4 nos

Garlic: 8 cloves 

Ginger: 2 inch piece, grated

Tomato ketchup: 4tbsp

Spring onions: 2

Finely chopped vegetables (carrots, capsicum, cabbage) : 1 cup

Vegetable oil for frying

Salt to taste 

Method:

Finely chop the ginger, garlic, spring onion whites and greens.

Mix together the tomato ketchup, soya sauce, corn flour, salt vinegar and 1 cup water.

Heat sufficient oil in a pan.

Deep-fry the noodles in hot oil till golden brown. Do this in batches.

Heat 1-tablespoon oil in a wok or pan till fairly hot. Add chopped onions whites, garlic and ginger. Saute on high heat till golden in colour. Add the corn slurry. Bring to an immediate boil and cook till the gravy thickens.

Put some fried noodles in a bowl. Add some chopped vegetables over it. Top with some Manchurian sauce. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and serve.