Gobi paneer masala

So...I was looking through my fridge and not much left in there, but I saw a Cauliflower and hence the hunt for the recipe. It turned out to be pretty spicy and delicious

Gobi Paneer Masala (Spicy Cauliflower with Indian fresh cheese)

Gobi Paneer Masala

                                              

1. Paneer   1/2 cup 
2. Cauliflower/Gobi    1 and 1/2 cup( cut in to small florets)
3. 1 medium Onion (finely chopped)
4. Tomato   1 finely chopped
5. Ginger garlic paste    1 teaspoon
6. Cilantro    2 tbsp (finely chopped)
7. 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder    
8. Pav bhaji masala     1 teaspoon
9. 1 heaped teaspoon Kasoori Methi   crushed
10. Tomato sauce    1 tbsp
11. 1/2 teaspoon Salt   
12. Oil   1 tbsp
13. Jeera/cumin seeds    1tsp

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin till they start to splutter. Add onions and fry till they become translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add tomatoes and cook till they become pulpy. Add the spices and mix well. Add the cauliflower pieces and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add paneer and 1/2 cup water and cover and cook for 5 more minutes. Add kasoori methi and tomato sauce and mix well and cook for 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy

Sweet and spicy thai coconut soup

After moving to this new city we have missed our favorite Thai restaurants on the west coast. So here one day we found a Thai restaurant with good reviews to it and went to try it. The Thai coconut soups was very good but that's it. Nothing else was praise worthy. Anyway, the following is my take on the Thai coconut soup and yum yum it warms your up from inside. Enjoy

Sweet and spicy Thai coconut soup 

Sweet and Spicy Thai Coconut soup

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
2. 1/2 tablespoons each of grated fresh ginger , grated garlic
3. 1 teaspoons red curry paste
4. 2 cups chicken broth
5. 1 tablespoons fish sauce (optional)
6. 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
7. 1 heaped teaspoon smooth peanut butter (optional)
8. 1/4 teaspoon or more sambal
9. 1/2 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
10. 1 Tablespoon each of finely sliced onion, sliced mushroom

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions and mushroom for 5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add red curry paste and stir for 1 minute. Add all the other ingredients and bring to a gentle rolling boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon dried basil and finely chopped cilantro before serving. Serve hot

Sweet Potato Roll

Happy new year everyone. Hope you had a wonderful year and ready for another terrific year.
Starting from ThanksGiving till the end of the year average American gains about 3 pounds and I know exactly where my 3 pounds came from :) . One of my co workers got this amazing Pumpkin roll to the office...and it was heaven in my hands ...aaaahhhhh...holy music :)

Since I did not want to make pumpkin roll I made sweet potato roll and it was equally divine and I reduced the amount of fat and sugar as the sweet potato is naturally a little bit sweeter than pumpkin

Sweet Potato Roll (Sweet potato cake rolled with cream cheese filling)

Sweet potato roll

Ingredients:

1. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
6. 3 large eggs
7. 3/4 cup granulated sugar
8. 2/3 cup home made sweet potato puree

FILLING:

1. 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2. 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3. 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
4. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. 

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in sweet potato. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack. 

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired. 

Punjabi Lamb Curry

 This curry turned out to be so super delicious. When I had one bite of the roomali roti with this curry it transported me to the Tandoori restaurant we used to go by the side of  Upper Moosi river bridge in Hyderabad.


Punjabi lamb curry (Spicy Lamb Curry)
Ingredients

For Marinade:

1. 1 lb lamb
2. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder

For Curry:

1. 1 medium large onion sliced 
2. 1 large tomato chopped fine
3. 2-3 green chillies slit
4. 2 bay leaves
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of methi, saunf
6. 1 teaspoon each of ginger-garlic paste, crush dried kasoori methi, garam masala
7. 1 tablespoon oil

Marinate the lamb with the ingredients in marinade for atleast 1 hr. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, add methi and saunf and fry for a minute (The original recipe calls for grinding them into paste...but I got lazy). Add onions and fry till they start becoming dark brown. Add bay leaf and slit green chillies and fry for 30 seconds. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and fry for 5 minutes. Add the marinated lamb and mix well. Add a tablespoon of water. Close the cooker and cook for 3-5 whistles. Let the steam escape. Open the cooker and add kasoori methi and simmer till the gravy thickens to your liking. Serve with Roomali roti.

Roomali Roti aur Punjabi lamb curry

Mmmm mmmm mmmm. The recipe was super delicious recipes for roomali roti and Punjabi mutton curry

In all these years I never tried making roomali roti because I thought it was complicated but it was simple. The only thing is, you have to roll it into the thinnest roti you could make

Roomali Roti (Super thin Indian wheat bread)

Rumali Roti

Ingredients:

1. Whole wheat flour (atta) 2 cups
2. All purpose flour (maida) 1/2 cup
3. Salt to taste
4. Cold water  as required
5. Wheat flour  for dusting

Sieve the whole wheat flour and refined flour with salt. Mix it. Slowly add cold water and make a soft dough. Keep it covered with a damp cloth for thirty minutes. The dough should be very elastic. Knead well again. 
Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Shape them into round balls. Roll out each ball into small rounds on a floured surface as thin as you could roll (dust the surface as needed else the roti will stick to the surface)

Serve immediately with Punjabi lamb curry and onions.

Other curries which go great with Romali roti

Kaleji Rogan Josh

Kaleji Shorbadaar

Kaleji Masala

Apple coffee cake

The other day when I went to "Sprouts" super market they had the tiny apples...perfect for lunch boxes in a bag. They look good and yummy and I got a bag. Ofcourse as it always happens when you have too much of something at home no one touches it. So I have this bag of apples sitting on my counter for about 2 weeks now and today I made this yummy apple coffee cake to use up some apples.

     I couldn't use up as many apples as I would have liked but the cake turned out super delicious and my little Sou chef was helped me quite a bit.
 The recipe I followed is by Emeril Lagasse

The recipe seems to have a lot of super in it but it wasn't sweet at all. I skipped the glaze part. But after eating a couple of pieces I think I will add the glaze.

Apple Coffee Cake

Apple coffee crumb cake

Ingredients:
Cake:

1. 1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2. 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3. 2 large eggs
4. 2 cups all purpose flour
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1 cup sour cream
9. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
10. 2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples

Crumble Topping:

1. 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2. 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3. 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze:

1. 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3. 2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter.

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

Bengali lamb curry

So... There has been a new addition to my extended family from west Bengal-one of the north eastern states of India with a very distinct cuisine. 

      So, it was the inspiration for me to search for a Bengali lamb curry and bioy oh boy , it turned out super yummy. I will be making it more often 

Bengali lamb curry ( lamb in sweet and spicy gravy)

Ingredients

1 lb lamb cut into 1 in cubes

1 tablespoon oil 

1 medium large onion chopped

2 green chillies

1 heaped teaspoon ginger garlic paste

Ingredients for marinade

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon each of brown sugar, ground mustard, oil (preferably mustard oil) ( I used canola)

1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilli powder, turmeric

Marinade the lamb pieces in the marinade for minimum 30 minutes .

In a pressure cooker heat the oil ( the original recipe called for mustard oil, but I did not have any. So I used canola and fried 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds till they started to splutter) and add onions. fry the onions till they start turning brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 1-1.5 minutes. Add slit green chillies and fry for 30 seconds. Add marinated lamb and fry for 5-7 minutes. Stir to combine, add 1/4 cup water and cook for 3-5 whistles. 

Let the steam escape, open the cooker and simmer till the gravy reaches your desired consistency.

The original recipe calls for garnishing with toasted almond slices but I skipped it.

Serve with vegetable fried rice or plain white rice and enjoy