Chilli Paneer Wrap

Somehow Paneer has not been our favourite!!! But we do eat during the parties and get-togethers. I wanted to participate in the MEC: Paneer. So finally bought a small packet of frozen paneer and thought that will try it on my daughter as she would'nt be able to guess the basic ingredient Paneer.
I went through my cookbooks which I have maintained since 1995 when I started helping my ma.. I used to note it down. There are various recipes from TV cookery shows to the recipes given by friends and relatives. This particular recipe was from Tarla Dalal and I always knew it was worth a try. I made a few changes according to my availability of ingredients. My daughter loved it at the first bite and ordered to pack the same wrap for school the next morning.

Ingredients:

Chapathis - 4, left over or freshly made.
Yogurt dip or Mayonnaise or any spread of your choice

Filling:
Frozen or fresh Paneer - ½ cup, cut into 1" cubes
spring onion white or onion - ¼cup
schezuan sauce - 1 tbsp
capsicum - 1 medium
spring onion greens - ¼cup
olive oil - 2 tsp

Sauce:
soya sauce - 1 tsp
cornflour - 1 tsp
sugar - ½tsp
salt and pepper to taste
water - ¼cup

Method:
Defrost paneer and dice them into cubes. Chop finely spring onion white and greens. Wash and chop capsicum into small squares.
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and keep aside.

Take a microwave safe medium sized bowl. Add olive oil, spring onion white or onions. MW HIGH for 2 minutes. Now add the schezuan sauce and MW HIGH for another minute. Now add paneer cubes, capsicum and sauce mixture. MW HIGH for 3 minutes, till the soya sauce mixture thickens and coats the paneer and capsicum. Add spring onion greens and mix well. Keep aside.

Divide chilli paneer filling into 4 portions. Spread the yogurt dip/mayonnaise on the chapathi. Spread one portion of the filling in the centre of each chapathi and roll up tightly.

Warm the rolls wrapping them in a paper towel and MW HIGH for 40 secs.
Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup.

Chilli Paneer wrap is off to the MEC: Paneer Event and MEC: Announcement

Masala Bhindi

This is the dish i found from Jaya V. Shenoy's "Oota Upahaara" when i was eagerly looking for No onion-garlic recipes and I must say it is one of the healthiest and easiest dishes I have ever come across.

Ingredients:
lady's finger/okra/bhindis - ½ a kilo
lemon - 1
Besan/gram flour - 1 cup
coriander powder - 1 tsp
jeera powder - 1 tsp
hing powder/gum - 1 pinch
salt to taste
red chilli powder - 1½ tsp
oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash and pat dry the bhindis. Trim off the ends. Slit the bhindis vertically almost to the end (but keep the end intact).

Sprinkle salt all over the bhindis and leave aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile sieve besan and add red chilli powder, coriander powder, jeera powder and hing powder/gum(dissolved in water).
Mix well.

Sprinkle this mix over the bhindis till well coated. Sqeeze out the juice of lemon onto the bhindis.
Heat a non stick pan add oil, and arrange the spice coated bhindis in a single layer. Cover and cook on medium flame stirring in between. Cook till the bhindis turn out crisp and nice.
Serve hot as a starter or with steamed rice.

Falafel

My first try on Falafel was here in Doha where we used to carry this "fast food" wrapped in a pita bread while watching movies in Cinema Hall. I fell in love with this snack the very first time i tasted it. Falafel balls can be eaten alone as a snack or as a sandwich topped with salad, pickled vegetables, hot sauce and tahina. I was eagerly wanting to try this snack at home. But the problem was tahina. I was really not confident how would this tahina turn out if tried at home as I am not a great fan of sesame seeds. Then after a long hunt, i found this ready-made tahina paste at the grocery.

There are lots of recipes to this particular snack but i found this recipe at Namratha's blog -
Finger licking Food which tempted me to make this dish the moment I read it and I am really happy that I gave it a try. I have done minor changes here and there as I did not have few ingredients like oregano but still it was great to taste.

Ingredients:

Dried chickpeas or garbanzo beans - 1 cup
baking powder - 1 tsp
onion - 1 medium, chopped
garlic - 4 cloves, smashed
cumin powder -1 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
pepper powder - ½ tsp
Coriander leaves - one handfull
salt to taste
Breadcrumbs for binding

Method:
Soak the dried chickpeas overnight or slightly more. Rinse and drain.
Blend all the ingredients except bread crumbs to a coarse paste. Refrigerate for a while to get firm balls. Shape the blended and refrigerated mixture into nice round balls and arrange these balls in a single layer in an air tight container and freeze them in advance if using for a party or just deep fry these balls on medium flame till golden brown. Serve hot with Hummus, Yogurt dip and Pita bread.

This savoury snack and Vegetable Cutlet goes for the EFM - Savouries hosted by Srilekha at Me and My Kitchen

Burnt corn and sprouts salad

This would be my contribution for two events coming up.
This salad is very healthy and nutritious and a favourites among kids too!!

Ingredients:
frozen sweet corn - 1 cup
sprouted black chana - 1/2 cup
onion - 1 small
tomato - 1 medium
green capsicum - 1 small
Dressing
olive oil - 1+1/2 tsp
lemon juice - 1 tsp
chilli powder - 1 pinch
salt to taste

Method:
Defrost sweet corn, heat 1/2 a tsp of olive oil and roast corn on medium flame till slightly burnt.
Blanch sprouted black chana in salted hot water and drain.
chop onions, tomato into small squares
chop capsicum into small squares, red and yellow capsisum could also be added to make the salad colourfull.
Mix all the veggies in a bowl and refrigerate for an hour or so.
whisk out olive oil, lemon juice chilli powder and salt in a small bowl and keep ready.
Just before serving, mix in the dressing into the veggies thoroughly and serve straight away.

This Salad is my entry to the Cooking for Kids Event hosted by Sharmi at Neivedyam.



and also to the JFI-Sprouts Event hosted at Ammalu's Kitchen.

Vegetable Cutlets

Tasty and healthy altenative for the hunger pangs on a lazy weekend. I prepare these yummy cutlets in advance and freeze them. Just defrost them for 30 secs in microwave oven and shallow fry whenever you feel like eating these yummies!!! These cutlets are a boon in disguise when guests drop in.

Ingredients: makes 10-12 cutlets
onions - 1 big
ginger - 1" piece
garlic - 4 cloves
green chillies - 3
beetroot - 1 big
carrot - 1
frozen or fresh peas - 1/2 cup
potatoes - 2 medium
oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
salt to taste
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup

Method:
Peel and chop onions finely. Peel and mince ginger and garlic finely. Wash and chop green chillies finely. Easier step dump these onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies in a food processor and mince.
Wash, peel and grate beetroots and carrots.
Thaw frozen peas, add half a cup of water and cook on Microwave HIGH for 1 minute.
Wash and pressure cook potatoes or cook in microwave till done. Peel the skin and mash them.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide pan, add the minced onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Saute on medium flame till brown. Add salt to taste, grated beets and carrots mix well. Add cooked peas and mix well. Now add garam masala powder, mix well and put off the flame. Let aside to cool.
Now add boiled and mashed potatoes and knead well to smooth. Check for the seasoning, add salt if desired at this stage.

Shape out the mixture into round or oval flat patties. Place the bread crumbs in a wide plate. Roll the patties over the bread crumbs till fully coated. Now heat oil in a tawa and arrange the cutlets. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and cook on the other side till nice and brown. Serve hot with mint chutney or tomato ketchup.

Babycorn Chilli

I have made this dish many a times and always liked by everybody, be it family members or party guests. This dish has to be served hot right out of the stove, charm in eating these babycorns is heavenly!!!

Ingredients:
Baby corns-250gms (10 pieces)

capsicum - 1, deseeded and cut into square pieces

onion - 2, cut into square pieces

garlic - 3 cloves, finely chopped
ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp

red chilli powder - 2 tsp
cornflour - 2 tbsp

tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

soya sauce -1tsp
vinegar - 1tsp

salt to taste
oil -for deep frying + 1tbsp
coriander leaves - one handfull, chopped

Method:
Wash and slice babycorns into bite size pieces. Marinate babycorn with cornflour, ginger-garlic paste, 1tsp red chilli powder and salt. keep aside.
Chop the onions and capsicum to square pieces. Finely chop garlic and keep aside.
In a small bowl, mix soya sauce, tomato sauce and vinegar.

Keep the salt and remaining chilli powder ready on the counter.

These steps can be done well in advance.
When just about 10 minutes to serve, heat oil in a kadai for deep frying on one burner and heat a tbsp of oil in a wide pan on the other. when just about hot add chopped garlic and saute for a min or so. Add onions and capsicum and stir fry over a high flame for a minute.
Meanwhile deep fry the marinated babycorn till golden brown and drain on a paper towel.
Come back to the pan, after stir frying for a minute or so add the remaining chilli powder, salt, sauce-vinegar mix and give a quick stir. Now add the deep fried babycorns and cook for 2-3 min. Arrange the babycorn chilli in a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves.