Achari paneer with zeera rice

The other day I was searching for recipes online and you know the google autofill suggested Achari Paneer. And since I already had store bought Paneer on hand I decided to make it. And for the main course I made zeera rice and the combination was D-Vine. So here is the recipe for your palatable pleasure

Achari paneer (cottage cheese in Indian pickling spices)

Achari Paneer

Achar spice mix

Ingredients
1. 2 cups 1/2 inch cubes of paneer
2. 1/4- 1/3 cup of plain yogurt
3. 1/2- 3/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
5. 1 tablespoon oil
6. 2 tablespoons tomato sauce ( 1 tablespoon tomato paste)
7. 1/2 cup chopped onions

For roasting
1. 3/4 teaspoon each of nigella seeds ( kalongi ) , fennel seeds
2. 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seed ( methi), black pepper
3. 1 tablespoon coriander seeds or powder
4. 2 dried red chillies

Dry roast the ingredients in the roasting and let them cool. Grind to a coarse paste.
Mix the yogurt, salt, turmeric and paneer and set aside.
In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions on medium heat till they start changing color. Add the spice powder and fry for couple of minutes. Add paneer and fry for few minutes. Add tomato and cook on low flame for 5-7 minutes. Add some water if it becomes too dry. Enjoy with jeera/zeera rice

Lima beans Chicken Pulao and Raita

Summer if finally here and I am lovin' it. It was also summer in many of the cartoon shoes  (wuw shoes on my mind!!!) Shows my daughter watches and in one of such shows' the characters went on a picture. So my little sweetie wanted to go to. Hence I had to whip up something super fast in about an hour which is fun and easy and delicious to eat. SO the one put wonder Pulao, Pilaf, Palao whatever you call it.
        I had some leftover chicken so I am using it and I am out of the usual veggies you use in a fried rice- peas and carrots. But I recently got a can of Lima beans and I decided to use them. And believe me you, these lima beans elavated the taste of the rice to a whole new yummy level.
         Since I was going out at about 6.30 PM and the food will be eaten in less than an hour I also made some yogurt side to go with the rice. You can skip it if you are going out on a hot afternoon

Lima beans Chicken Pulao (Rice with Lima beans and chicken)

Lima Beans Chicken Pulao

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups basmati rice cooked with 3 cups water
2. 2 cups left over chicken curry or store bought rotiserrie chicken shredded and deboned
3. 1 can medium sized lima beans (drained and washed)
4. 1/2 cup chicken broth or use water
5. 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh basil finely chopped
6. 1/2-2/3 teaspoon salt
7. 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper or regular pepper fresh ground
8. 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed

Cook the rice in a rice cooker and let it cool a bit. In a pot heat the chicken broth or water and add the rinsed lima beans and cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients except rice and lemon juice and stir. Reduce the heat to medium low and add rice and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Garnish with cilantro stir again and cover and cook for 3 more minutes. Cut the heat and add lemon juice and stir to combine. Serve hot or at room temeprature

Dahi Raita: Add one green chillie finely chopped if you want it a bit spicy

Also try my other one pot wonders

1. Zeera Rice
2. Vegetable Zeera Rice
3. Plain Pulao
4. Soya Chunk Pulao
5. Armenian Narenj Pulao

Zeera rice with Chicken Masala Coorg

It seems like its been a long time that I made any chicken dishes. SO today I set forth to make a curry out of chicken and I didn't make any of my usual stand-by curry recipes. I made this new recipe I found called Chicken Masala Coorg and it turned out great
            To go with it, I thought of plain 'ol rice but then I made it more delicious by adding some Cumin (Zeera, Jeera, Jeelakarra etc) and some cashew.
            I ate this particular Zeera rice for the first time during my brother's wedding. As is customary in India, for the wedding to happen in the bride's town/city and the whole of the bridegroom's family and relatives go and stay there a day or two before the wedding. And the bride's family has to send the whole lunch and dinner and everything in between and beyond. So my sister-in-law's family sent this for one such lunch and I fell in love with the dish. It is the most simple and delicious rice dishes around

Zeera Chawal (Rice with cumin)

Zeera rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups basmati rice rinsed till the water turns clear
2. 31/2 cups water
3. 1 tablespoon cashew pieces
4. 2 tablespoons oil
5. 1 teaspoon cumin
6. 2 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon, 1 cardamom
7. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt

In a pot heat the oil and fry the cumin and cloves, cardamom and broken cinnamom pieces along with cashew for about 5 minutes ot until the cumin turn dark. Add water and salt and bring to boil. Add rice and simmer until rice gets cooked. Serve hot

Chicken Masala Coorg (Spicy chicken curry in onion paste)

Murgh Masala Coorg

Ingredients

1. 2 chicken breasts cubed
2. 1 Green Chilli (or less if you like it mild)
3. 2-3 garlic pods
4. 1/2 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
5. 1 inch ginger piece chopped 
6. 1 meduim onion chopped 
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of roasted Cumin, Black Pepper Corns 
8. 1/2 teaspoon Salt
9. 2 tblsp Oil
10. 1 tablespoon white Vinegar 
11. chopped Cilantro  

Grind the green chillies, garlic,ginger, cumin seeds,pepper corns,red chilly powder, onions with the salt and the vinegar into smooth paste and marinate the chicken in it for an hour. Heat oil in a pan and add the chicken and fry for 2 minutes stir and fry 2 more minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken gets cooked and the oil floats on top. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with jeera rice.

Vegetable zeera rice with Malai Chicken

The other day my brother and his family were here and I had to whip up a quick dinner for them. Ofcourse I was planning to make chicken anyway, so the chicken breast were already thawed. So the curry was a no brainer cause this version of malai chicken is very delicious and I consider it easy to make. And I also feel it cooks pretty fast if you don't consider the time it is marinating and getting cooked in oven (Atleast you don't have to stand in front of the stove). Set the timmer and sit with the family until the time is up
            Anyway, you might have seen my Zeera rice recipe. This vegetable zeera rice is a modification of the same and it is much more yummy

Vegetable Zeera Rice (Rice cooked with vegetables and cumin)

vegetable jeera rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups basmati rice washed
2. 1 large or 2 small carrots diced medium
3. 1/2-3/4 cup of cut green beans (about 1/2 inch pieces)
4. 1/2 cup turnip
5. 1 green chilly chopped
6. 1 teaspoon cumin
7. 3 tablespoons oil
8. 3 bay leaves
9. 2 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon
10. 3/4 teaspoon salt

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and fry the cumin and bay leaves for 4 minutes. Add cloves and cinnamon and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the vegetables and and green chillies and fry for five minutes. Add drained rice and stir to combine. Add 3-31/2 cups of water 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook until rice gets cooked (about 20 minutes). Serve hot

Malai Chicken (Chicken cooked in tomato and cream gravy)

Malai chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts cubed
2. 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
3. 3 tablespoons oil
4. 1 teaspoon salt, chilly powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder
6. 4 oz tomato paste
7. 1-11/2 cup whole milk or 1 cup cream
8. 1 medium onion ground to paste
9. 2 inch of ginger

Marinate the chicken with salt, chilly powder and turmeric for 20 minutes. Add yogurt and marinate further for 1 hr (This step will make the chicken super tender)
Bake the chicken for 20 minutes at 200 degrees (This step will speed up the cooking process on the stove)
In a pan heat the oil and fry the ground onion and ginger till the onion starts changing color. Add garam masala, cumin and coriander powder and mix well. Add tomato paste and cook till the paste turns dark. Add chicken and the juices from the pan and the milk, stir to combine and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with roti, rice or zeera rice