Paneer remains my all time favorite. When I was a kid (I am not one now despite what my mom wants me to believe), mom always made a paneer dish once a day. Lunch always used to contain fish, which is obvious as we were a typical Bengali family, but on Saturdays it was no fish. Instead we had a paneer dish. As far as I was concerned for me it made no difference. I loved fish, chicken and paneer equally. In fact some days when we had leftovers, I had to select between paneer or chicken and it used to be a very difficult decision indeed. So it is no surprise that when we visit Kolkata these days (that too once a year), paneer is an important ingredient in mom’s dishes. In fact this time when we visited, she made 4 different paneer dishes. Yummy!!

So today I am posting one of those 4 dishes. It is a classic in North Indian cuisine. Bengalis, however, have paneer usually in other forms. But my mom loves to make paneer with peas. And I just love the dish. Hope you all enjoy it too.

Ingredients

• Paneer – 400gm
• Peas – 100gm
• Onion – 1 sliced into small pieces
• Onion – 2 whole (cut into big slices)
• Cashewnuts – 50gm
• Green Chillies – 6 sliced
• Tomato – 1 (cut into big slices)
• Capsicum – 1 big (slices into small pieces)
• Salt – to taste
• Kasoori Methi (Dried Fenugreek seeds) – 1 pinch
• Jeera (Cumin) Powder – 1/2tsp
• Dhaniya (Coriander) Powder – 1/2tsp
• Chilli Powder – 1/2tsp
• Garam Masala Powder – 1/2tsp
• Shahi Paneer Masala Powder (if present otherwise not needed) – 1/2tsp
• Tomato Sauce – 1/2 small cup
• Butter – 50gm
• Refined Oil – 4Tbsp
• Fresh Coriander Leaves for Garnish.

Method

Grind and create a paste of 2 whole onions (cut into big slices), cashewnuts, tomato, and green chillies, in a mixer. Keep aside.

Cut paneer into small cubes. In a non-stick wok, add oil and fry the paneer cubes till they turn light brownish and remove from oil. Keep aside.

Fry the capsicum slices and keep aside.

Now add 1 sliced onion to the wok and fry. When brown, add the prepared paste from the first step and keep frying. When it becomes well fried, add all the remaining spices.

Now add the peas and fry well in the spices.

In a different utensil, heat little water and add the kasoori methi.

Now in the main wok, when the peas get fried well, add the kasoori methi water and butter. Bring it to a boil.

When the mixture starts boiling, add the fried paneer cubes and capsicum. Keep cooking till everything get mixed and the water evaporates. Now add more water and cook further. When fully cooked, add tomato sauce and garam masala. Mix well and switch off the flame.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Related posts:

1. Paneer Vegetable Delight
2. Paneer Noodles Quickie

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Matar Paneer

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

It’s been ages since we posted a recipe. Things haven’t been very smooth at the home front. We have been extremely busy with our work. My parents are visiting us and there were lots of trips to the hospital to check whether everything is alright with them. Things are looking better now. The past few months haven’t been exciting cooking wise. We ate pretty regular stuff as mom wanted to eat regular food. My diet went for a toss as I really wanted to stop the low carb diet for few days. So over and all there was not much to blog about. However as I was looking at my notes, I stumbled upon my mom’s recipes which Sumi and I jotted down when we went to Kolkata during the winter. So over the course of next few posts you will find her delicious recipes.

Chutneys are a regular in any Indian menu, mostly as appetizers. But among Bengalis, it prominently features as a dessert quite logically as a sweet. The tomato chutney (Chaatni in Bengali) is a regular and is also a special dish prepared on festivals. There is also the date chutney, jaggery chutney (khejuri gurer chaatni) and lots of other varieties. My mom makes a special chutney with 5 fruits and vegetables (hence the name pancharangi). It tastes different as in each spoonful you might find some other fruit My mom made quite a lot of it that was supposed to have gone on for few days but the big mouth in me gobbled almost half of it in 1 day hehehe. Hopefully you all love it too.

Note – Some ingredients are typical Bengali ones. I have tried to explain it as best as I could. You can try a variation of spices though depending on what you get from your nearby Indian shop.

Ingredients

• 6 Tomatoes
• 1 Apple
• 1 Carrot
• 50gm Aamsotto (fruit leather made out of mango pulp mixed with concentrated sugar solution and sun dried)
• 20gm Cherry
• 8-10 Cashewnuts
• 20gm Raisins
• Sugar (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Paanch Foron (Indian five spices)
• 1tsp Bhaja Mosola Guro (Indian five spices dry roasted and grounded to powder)
• 1Tbsp Refined oil

Method

Chop all the vegetables and fruits and set aside.

In a wok, add the oil and then the paanch foron and saute for 10-15 sec till the fragrances come out. Add the cashew, raisin and the other chopped fruits and vegetables and cook covered for 15-20 min sauteing in between. Take care that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Just when it is cooked, add the sugar (add sugar as per your taste – usually it is 1 cup).

Keep sauting till the the gravy thickens. Take it out and add the powdered spice on top. Garnish with extra cashews. You can set it aside in fridge for better taste.

No related posts.

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Pancharangi Chaatni

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Monday is vegetarian day at our home. All because of that woman in my home :p She was following this for a long time so even though I argue, I usually give in. So today we were out of options. There was no paneer, which we usually have on Mondays, and almost no vegetables barring few spinach bunches and little bits of this and that. I don’t know what got into Sumi but she decided that it’s high time she tried something new with spinach.

We had this awesome spinach soup at a restaurant before and ever since wanted to try it ourselves. The main problem Sumi faces is washing the spinach leaves properly. We do not get a good quality in our locality store here and it usually has loads of sand and dirt. So this is what she spent the maximum time on. Honestly I would never have the patience to wash each and every bunch (and leaves) and then cut them nicely. But that’s Sumi for you. Anyways after this strenuous preparation, she cooked the stew surprisingly faster. And the end result was very yummy. Oh the joys of wifey cooking for you, I tell you.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of fresh spinach stems removed
• 1 medium capsicum sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes sliced
• 1 big onion sliced
• 2 green chillies chopped
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 small green cardamom
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 50 ml fresh cream
• 80 g butter
• Canola oil as required
• Water/Vegetable stock  100ml
• Salt as per taste

Method

In a wok add some vegetable oil; now add chopped garlic, green chillies, onion, capsicum, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir for 4-5 minutes till onions are translucent.

Add spinach, black pepper, tomatoes and cook for 5 min. Now add the stock and cook again for 15 min till gravy reduces. Add salt as per taste.

Mix well with butter, cream and parsley.

Serve hot.

Related posts:

1. Lau Chingri

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Palak Stew with Fresh Cream

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness

Friday nights are usually a fast dinner nights. We usually are tired by the time Friday evening comes and look forward to the weekend. Hence we always try to whip up something quick. And if a nice movie comes on television (nice as in Sumi’s dictionary), the task usually falls on me. So Sumi decided and I made and Chicken in Tangy Sauce was ready This is the first time we cooked something like this but were glad with the outcome.

Ingredients

• 200gms boneless chicken cut into small pieces
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2tbps melted butter
• 1tsp black pepper dry roasted and crushed
• 2 Garlic Flakes minced well
• 1tbps fresh parsley (coriander leaves) chopped
• 1/2tsp chilly powder
• 2-3 green chillies chopped into small pieces
• 1tbps tomato ketchup
• 1/2tsp sugar
• Salt to taste

Method

Boil the tomatoes for 3-4 minutes, peel it and then cool. Now put it in a blender and turn it into puree.

Heat oil in a wok. Put half of the chopped onions and the minced garlic in it. Cook well till the onions get softened. Add the tomato puree that you made and mix it well. Add a little bit of sugar and salt to taste. Boil the mixture in low flame and turn it into a thick sauce. Keep it aside.

In a separate utensil, wash the chicken, add salt and melted butter and mix well. Now add the rest of the onions and green chillies. Sprinkle with roasted black pepper. Let it marinate for around 10-15 minutes. Now put it in a microwave oven, set it to Micro+Grill combi mode (use around 540W power) and let it cook for around 10-15 minutes. Keep close watch so that the chicken doesnt get burnt.

Now take out the chicken, add the sauce prepared, add little bit of sugar and mix well. Put it back to the oven in micro mode for around 3-4 minutes.

Take the prepared chicken out, garnish with parsley and serve hot

No related posts.

If you like this post please post your comment by going to the original post here Chicken in Tangy Sauce

© Copyright Enjoyable Recipes - Simple everyday recipes with bits of this and that and a touch of Bengali-ness