Garlic Paneer aur Ambada Dal Chawal

Ambada which is red Sorrel leaves in hindi is one of those sour tart leafy greens which either people love or not so much. I happen to be one of those people, who just loveeeees it. I never miss a chance to get it whenever I find it in the Indian stores. There is another version of the Sorrel leaf rice or Gongura Pulihora which is make quite often. The version I made today is different and its equally delicious.

I served it with Garlic Paneer which can be easily changed to Garlic chilli paneer by adding finely chopped green chillies and bell pepper

Garlic paneer (Indian cottage cheese spicy stir fry)

Garlic Paneer

Ingredients:

1. 1 500 gms block of Paneer, cut into 1 inch cubes
2. 2 tablespoons oil
3. 1 tablespoon each of soya sauce, Chinese chilli garlic paste, white vinegar
4. 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
5. 1 small onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
6. 1/2 teaspoon cumin
7. 1 teaspoon or more finely chopped garlic
8. green onions and cilantro to garnish
9. Few curry leaves and few red chillies

For Marinade:

1. 2 tablespoons corn starch
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, red chilli flakes, ginger garlic paste

Mix the paneer pieces with the marinade items and set it aside for atleast 15 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the paneer until it starts getting slightly browned. Drain and set aside. add the rest of the oil and add the cumin, curry leaves and red chillies. Add the onions and the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.

mix soya sauce+ketchup+chilli garlic paste+vinegar+1/4 cup water

Add this mixture to the pan along with paneer and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with green onions and cilantro and enjoy

Ambada Dal Chawal (Rice with Sorrel leaves and split peas)

Ambada Dal chaval

Ingredients:

For Sorrel rice

1. 2 cups rice cooked and set aside to cool

3. 1 teaspoon each of salt, aseofotida, sesame seeds

4. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

5. 2 tablespoons oil

6. 1/2 cup chopped onions

7. 2 cups sorrel leaves

8. 1/3 cup chana dal

9. 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

For tempering

1.1 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal (black gram),

2. 3 dried red chillies

3. few curry leaves

For Sorrel leaves paste

1. In a pressure cooker cook the sorrel leaves and chana dal with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric for 4-6 whistles and let cool.

2. Grind to a fine paste

In a pan heat the oil and fry  urad dal, cumin, mustard seeds and dried chilli and curry leaves till the seeds start to crackle. Add ginger and onions and fry for a few minutes. Add sesame seeds, turmeric salt and hing and fry for a couple of more minutes. Add the sorrel leaves paste and cook for five minutes. Add the cooked rice and mix well. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Let it cool a bit and enjoy

Achari paneer 2

I was making butter Paneer for kids and I did not want to eat it. So I saved some paneer for myself and I made some super quick achari paneer for myself. There are different ways of making achari paneer and is here is one

The recipe today I used is super fast, and it is super delicious and the fresher the spices are the fresher and better the whole dish tastes

Achari Paneer (Indian cottage cheese in Indian pickling spices)

Achari Paneer

Ingredients:

1. 4oz paneer cut in ½ inch cubes 
2. 1/3 teaspoon salt
3. 1/8 teaspoon turmeric 
4. 1 tablespoon plain yogurt 
5. 1 teaspoon olive oil
6. 1/4 teaspoon each of kalonji (onion seeds),fenugreek seeds,  fennel seeds , cumin urad dal, methi
7. 2 red chillies
8. 1 teaspoons coriander seeds 

Mix paneer, yogurt, turmeric and salt. Set aside.
In a frying pan over medium heat, dry roast nigella, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, and black pepper for 1-2 minutes until seeds become a little dark.
Crush the roasted seeds using a mortar or rolling pin.  Set aside.
Add oil to the same pan, at low-medium heat. Break the red chillies into pieces and fry them.
 Add cumin and urad dal and fry for a minute. Add paneer mixture.  Stir fry for 3-4 minutes until most of the moisture has evaporated.  Do not overcook the paneer. Turn off the heat.

Add all the dry spices and mix well.
Serve warm achari paneer .

Tandoori paneer

Long time ago when we were in India we got a portable tandoor for Rs 2000 which was a big amount at that time. So a person from that company came to my house and showed me how to make some dishes using that tandoor. One of the items he made was tandoori paneer. It was yummy and super spicy

So finally after so many years I got back to that recipe and boy oh boy all the people in my household just devoured it. Since I did not have any red food color I added a little bit more turmeric and turned it really yellow and I served it with pink rice. It was nice to look at the plate too

Tandoori chicken (. Marinated grilled indian cottage cheese)

Tandoori paneer

Ingredients
1. 1 package paneer about 400gms cut into 1 inch cubes
2. 1/2 large yellow or red bell pepper
3. 1/2 cup red onion chopped big
For marinade
1. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
2. 1 heaped tablespoon plain yogurt
3. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and marinade the paneer pieces for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish with Pam and lay the paneer pices in a single layer. Mix the onion and bell pepper in the remaining marinade in the dish and lay them in the baking dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Turn the paneer pieces and serve warm with  Pink rice

Here is another version of the Tandoori paneer