Paneer Matar Masala (Gravy with yogurt)

For this Thanksgiving, I got a good deal on a branded food processor that I have been eyeing on for quite sometime. More so, my only solace after VJ 's travel away from home ;) 

I always fancy how chefs (in food channel) use food processor for almost everything. Quite frankly that's what inspired me to get one for myself too! With this beautiful food processor sitting in front of me, all Giada's, Ina's, Paula's and Rachael's inside me were cheering to conquer & rule the food processor. With lots of expectations, I decided to use my food processor for kneading chapathi dough and shredding few veggies for the side. I felt like a queen in my kitchen watching the food processor do the job for me ... until ..  err... errrr ... I had to actually clean the food processor! Cleaning was quite a job - thanks to the sticky chapathi dough!! How I wish food channel had also shown "the tougher part" of using a food processor .. sighhhh!

Nevertheless - chapathi turned out to be really very soft and paneer matar masala was a home-run! And, I am still a happy & proud owner of my food processor! 

Basic Info
Complexity - Medium
Prep time - 30 mins
Cook time - 30 mins
Serves - 3

Ingredients
Peas - 1 cup (Fresh/Frozen)
Paneer - 1/2 cup (Cut into small bite size cubes)
Onion - 1 no (shredded, used my food processor for this job)
Tomatoes - 2 nos (medium, pureed, used my food processor for this job)
Ginger - 1 inch (grated)
Garlic - 2 pods (minced)
Bay leaf - 1 no
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Cloves - 2 nos
Cardamom - 1 pod
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Tandoori masala / Garam masala - 1 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1-2 tsp (optional)
Cilantro - 1 handful
Yogurt - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1/4 cup

Method

Microwave peas for upto 2 mins and keep it aside. Skip this step if you are using frozen peas. I used fresh peas and do I have to even say - 'fresh is better' ?!?! I felt fresh peas had a bite to it even after cooking, where as frozen peas had no body. 

Shallow fry paneer cubes in little oil until brown on both the sides and set aside. Paneer might splutter when frying in oil - so, take extra care.

Heat oil in a deep pan. To oil, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom seeds and stir for about a minute or till fragrant. To this, add shredded onion and cook on low heat until onion turns brown, for about 8 - 10 mins.

To this, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, tandoori/garam masala and stir for about a minute. Now, add pureed tomatoes and let it cook until the raw smell of the tomato/masala are gone. Add kasoori methi and stir for a min. Remove pan from heat, add yogurt and mix well. Moving the pan away from heat will prevent yogurt from curdling.

Return pan to the stove. Add peas and let it simmer for about 10 mins. Then, add fried paneer cubes and remove from heat. Finally, garnish it with finely chopped cilantro and enjoy with roti/rice.

Beetroot Pulao

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with great food, good company & gaining deals!

For me, Thanksgiving '12 was not really thankful but handsful! If you think I grabbed quite 'some' deals on black friday, you are wrong! VJ had to travel away from home for few weeks and that got me handful with two 'ever-active' kids! Believe it or not, it took me two full days to sink into reality that VJ will not be around to help with the kids!

On the brighter side, this is the only time when I get to try variety of recipes, anything & everything that is NOT elaborate (or) south-Indian ;) And, the very first day after VJ left, I tried this one-pot meal that I have been wanting to try for long! Here it is - a healthy, complete & colorful meal that can be easily put up in no time.

My 'fantasy-obsessed' daughter thought it was very fancy to eat a "purple" pulao and she absolutely loved it! The recipe is very mild when it comes to heat, but you can always bump up green chillies/red chilli powder if you are a heat lover!

Printable Recipe

Basic Info
Complexity - Medium
Prep time - 25 mins
Cook time - 40 mins
Serves - 4

Ingredients
Grated Beetroot - 1.5 cups, packed (from 2 medium-sized beets)
Raw basmati rice -  1.5 cups

Onion - 1 no (Medium sized, finely chopped)
Green chilli - 1 no (slit vertically)
Ginger - 1 inch (grated)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Shelled Edamame / Peas - 1/4 cup

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp, replace it with red chilli powder
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Mint leaves - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Cilantro - 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Ghee - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method

Wash rice and soak in 2 cups of water.

In a thick bottomed saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. When hot, fry bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom pods, cloves until fragrant. To this, add onion, green chilli, grated ginger/garlic and saute until onion turns soft and translucent. Add grated beetroot, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, sambar powder and saute until the raw smell of beets are gone.

Drain rice from water, add to the pan and saute for a min or two until rice turns crisp. Take care not to burn the rice.

Lastly, add shelled edamame, coconut milk, 2.25 cups of water, chopped mint & cilantro, ghee, required amount of salt and give it a good mix. When the water starts to boil and as the rice starts to expand, close the saucepan with a lid and let it simmer on low heat. After 10-15 mins, switch off the stove. Leave the saucepan undisturbed for another 20 mins. Do not open the lid in-between.

Fluff up the rice with a fork and garnish with roasted cashews. Hot & tasty pulao is ready to be served! Cool cucumber raitha with chips makes a perfect side for the pulao!

Multi-grain Adai

Packed with lot of flavors & loads of protein, multi-grain adai is my take on Navadhanya adai. Navadhanya adai is a healthy variety of dosa made from nine lentils/grains including rice. Though traditional navadhanya adai could possibly use different set of grains, I gave it a shot with the grains available in my pantry. Nevertheless, adai came out perfectly delicious and tasted heaven with aviyal on the side.

Basic Info
Complexity - Simple
Prep time - 3-4 hrs
Cook time - 30 mins - 1 hr
Serves - 25 - 30 nos (approximately)

Note
You can store the unused batter in refrigerator for upto 2 days.

Ingredients
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Channa dal - 1/4 cup
Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Masoor dal - 1/4 cup
Black Channa - 1/4 cup
Rajma (Kidney beans) - 1/4 cup
Red Choli (karamani) - 1/4 cup
Whole green moong - 1/4 cup
Rice - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Salt - to taste
Red chillies - 5-6 nos
Green chillies - 2-3 nos
Hing - 1 tsp

Method

Soak all the dals together in water for about 2-3 hrs. Soak rice separately in water for the same amount of time.

Grind all of the soaked dals, rice and other ingredients together into a coarse and slightly thicker batter.

Heat a flat griddle on medium-high. When hot, spoon a couple of ladles of the batter on to the griddle and spread it in a circular motion. Add 1/2 tsp of sesame oil around the adai.

Once cooked, flip it to the other side and drizzle 1/2 tsp of oil around the adai. After both the sides are cooked, remove from heat and serve it hot with favorite side of yours!

Chipotle-style Burrito

Here is the recipe to make your own Chipotle-style veggie burrito at home! Do I need to say more? I think the name Chipotle speaks volume for itself!!

Moving on to the recipe...

Basic Info
Complexity - Lengthy but Simple
Prep time - 30 - 45 mins
Cook/Assemble time - 20 - 30 mins
Serves - 3

Ingredients
Red Onion - 1/2 no (medium sized, very finely chopped)
Ripe roma tomatoes - 3 nos (chopped into small pieces)
Black beans - 1 cup
Red Onion - 1/2 no (medium sized, sliced into thin vertical pieces)
Green Bell pepper - 1/2 no (medium sized, sliced into thin vertical pieces)
Jalapeno pepper - 1/2 no (small sized, finely minced)
Cilantro - 1 bunch (medium sized, finely chopped)
Avocados - 2 nos (medium sized, pitted & scooped)
Corn on the cob - 1 no
Cooked rice - 1.5 - 2 cups (cooked & fluffed up into separate grains, I used sona-masoori)
Lemon juice - from 3 ripe limes
Salt - to taste
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Paprika - 1/4 tsp
Olive oil - 2-3 tsp
Cheese - Jack & mild cheddar cheese blend.
Sour cream

Method
Believe me, the taste was very close to the burrito you get in Chipotle, except for the beans that I mushed up a little. Try it and you are sure in for a surprise!

Cilantro-Lime rice

Mix rice with required amount of salt, lime juice from 1 lime, a tsp of jalapeno, a little more than a handful of chopped cilantro. Do not break the rice grains while mixing. Keep it aside.

Fajita vegetables

Saute sliced red onion & green bell peppers with salt in a touch of olive oil until bright and slightly crisp.

Beans

Drain and rinse the can of beans. Add beans, salt, cumin powder, and little water to a sauce pan. Simmer & slow cook for about 15 mins until beans are tender but slightly al-dente (Actually, mine got a li 'l mushy, you could also use raw black-beans). Stir occasionally.

Tomato salsa - mild

Mix tomatoes with 1-2 tbsp of red onions, 1 tsp of jalapeño peppers, 1-2 tbsp of cilantro, 1 tsp of lime juice, salt for a mildly tangy and refreshing taste. Set it aside atleast for 1/2 hour for tomatoes to get soft & release all its juices.

Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa

Roast jalapeno peppers (poblano chillies are recommended) on stove-top/grill and let them cool. Remove corn off the cob and boil them in water until soft & cooked. Dice roasted jalapenos into small pieces. Mix corn, roasted & diced jalapenos/poblanos, salt, cilantro.

Guacamole

In a large bowl, mash avocado pulp with a ladle/fingers. To this, add a tbsp of cilantro, 1-2 tbsp of red onions, 1 tsp of jalapeno peppers, lime juice from 1 lime, salt and mix well until silky & delicious. Store it in refrigerator until use.

Cheese

I got 2 very small blocks of jack & mild cheddar cheese and grated them using a grater. Alternatively, you can buy the grated cheese blend too.

Assembly

Now, get a bowl and layer the bottom with cilantro-lime rice. Add a second layer on top with fajita veggies/beans/salsa(tomatoes & chili-corn). Top it with guacamole, sour cream, and sprinkle some cheese. Voila, burrito bowl is ready!

Warm up a tortilla in a pan and layer the burrito with all of your favorite toppings! Roll it up and enjoy! Easy as a snap!

Note:
Though making a burrito seem to be long and involves lot of components, it is actually very simple & fairly quick to make. Here are some tips to make it even more easier:

• Juice the limes, chop tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro and keep them ready.
• The salsas and guacamole can be made several hours before and stored in the fridge.

Once you are ready with all the components, let your family layer their own bowls and what else, just dig in!

Pepper Aval Upma

Are you in a fix to put up a hearty & healthy breakfast in a very less time?! Well, you are at the right post! 

Pepper Aval Upma is one of the easiest breakfast that you can cook in no time. The flavor & aroma from cumin & pepper is truly droolworthy. I love the touch of heat from pepper especially during cold mornings.

Basic Info
Complexity - Easy
Prep time - 15 - 20 mins
Cook time - 15 - 20 mins
Serves - 2

Ingredients
Aval (or) Poha - 2 cups
Cumin seeds - 1.5 tsp
Pepper corns - 1.5 tsp
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 1 no
Urad dal & Channa dal - 1/2 tsp each
Curry leaves - few
Ghee - 1-2 tsp
Oil - 1-2 tsp

Method
In about 3 cups of water, soak aval/poha for about 15-20 mins.

Coarsely powder cumin & pepper together in a mixer.

Heat oil in a large skillet, and splutter mustard seeds. Next, fry urad dal & channal dal until red & crispy. Add red chillies & curry leaves and saute for a min. Add cumin+pepper powder and give it a stir for less than a min. Add completely drained poha/aval, salt and give it a good mix for cumin/pepper powder to evenly coat each & every poha. Finally, add a touch of ghee and remove from heat. Serve hot.

Note:
If you do not soak poha for enough, it will turn rubbery/chewy when cold.