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 .

Laal Paneer

Today being Sunday evening, I wanted to make something fast and easy because we had a looooong day. I wanted to make something with beet root. I always make beet root fry which is super fast and super delicious but today since I was in mood for a curry I.e something with some gravy. I made beet root with paneer and the paneer take on the nice pink hue from the beet root hence the name Laal ( red ) paneer

Laal paneer ( indian cottage cheese and bet root curry)

Ingredients

1. 1/2 slab of paneer about 200-250 gms cut into thin strips

2. 1 can shoe string beet root drained

3. 1 medium small tomato chopped fine

4. 1-2 cup finely chopped onions

5. 2 tablespoons oil divided

6. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder

In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the paneer pieces for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add the remaining oil and add the cumin and fry for a minute. Add onions and fry till they start to change color. Add tomato and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and all the other powders and stir to combine. Add drained beet root and paneer and mix well. Add 1/2 cup water and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or paratha

Bengali Rasgulla from Scratch

When we wanted to eat Rasgulla in India we just go to any sweet stall and we get great rasgulla but here in the USA sometimes they are fresh sometimes not. I have been wanting to eat Rasgulla and I couldn't find them anywhere in the Indian sweet stores here and finally I got a canned Cham Cham (I am not sure what the difference is between chamcham and Rasgulla) but they were a dissapointment. They were so hard in the middle
                    So I want to http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/ and got the recipe for Rasgullas form scratch and they turned out to be great. So here is the recipe and if you want to watch the video of how to make it, click on the link above

Fresh Homemade Paneer (Home made Cottage Cheese)
Ingredients:

1. 5 cups whole or 2 percent milk
2. 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
3. 1 tablespoon water

Mix the water and lemon juice and set aside. Bring the milk to a boil and add the the lemon juice and keep boiling and stirring for a minute. Strain using a cheese cloth. Water the fat in the cloth with with running water to remove the lemon taste. Remove as much water a possible. Use it in your favourite recipes.


Bengali Rasgulla (Fresh cheese balls in sugar syrup)

Homemade Rasgulla

Ingredients:

1. Fresh Cheese or paneer (made above)
2. 4 cups water
3. 11/4-11/2 cups cane sugar
4. a pinch saffron (optional)

Knead the paneer on a clean surface for 5-7 minutes until all of it comes together. Mix the saffron if using. Divide it into 12-14 pieces. (Mind the size because when cooked these balls of cheese will double in size). Apply a little pressure and roll each piece into a ball between your palms
Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a pressure cooker. Add the paneer balls and cover the cooker and cook for 1 whistles. After one minute slowly remove the steam (but lifting the weight of the cooker very slowly...BE VERY CAREFUL). Transfer the rasgullas into a sereving bowl and chill in the refridgerator for atleast 2 hours. Serve your delicious home made Indian desert

Palak Paneer and Sorakaaya pulusu

I got paneer from the Indian store the other day and today I am ready to cook it. So the Palak paneer and sorakaaya pulusu

Palak Paneer (Cottage cheese cooked with Spinach)

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 lb or about 2 cups of paneer cubed
2. 3 cups frozen or 1 big bunch of chopped spinach
3. 1/2 teaspoon cumin, turmeric powder
4. 1 teaspoon salt, chilly powder, tomato paste, coriander powder
5. 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
6. 2 tablespoons oil
7. 1 medium garlic chopped fine (don't grate it)

Here is how to make fresh paneer
Put the chopped spinach in a microwave safe bowl, cover it and cook for 3 minutes . (This step is entirely optional and it is just to speed up the cooking time)

In a pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the paneer pieces for about 5 minutes. Take out the paneer pieces and take about 3 or 4 cubes and crumble them and set them all aside.
In a pan heat the remaining oil and add the cumin and fry for a couple of minutes. Now add onions and fry till they become tender. Add spinach and all the other ingredients, stir to combine and simmer for 6-8 minutes. Add paneer pieces back to the pot and simmer futher for 6 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro, serve with roti or serve with rice along with bottle gourd sour curry

Kaddu ka khatta (Bottle gourd cooked in Tamarind juice)

Kaddu ka khatta

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium small bottle gourd peeled and cut into1/2 inch pieces
2. 3 cups juice from 1 small lime sized tamarind
3. 1 green chilly chopped and 2 red chillies
4. 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
5. 1/2 teaspoon cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, finely chopped garlic
6. 1 heaped teaspoon besan
7. 2 tablespoons oil divided
8. few curry leaves

In a pressure cooker add 1 tablespoon oil and fry the onions till tender. Add the gourd pieces and fry for 5 minutes. Add salt and turmeric and the tamarind juice and cook for 2 whistles or else cook in a pot till the gourd pieces become tender. In a pan heat the remaining oil and fry the cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds, red and green chilly pieces and the curry leaves and fry till they start spluttering. Add the cooked sorakaya pieces, juices and all to this.Add the besan if your are using it. Simmer till oil separates. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy