Recipe 1
Mutter Paneer – Peas and Cottage Cheese Curry
Mutter Paneer is perhaps the most commonly ordered
vegetables curry in the Indian restaurants. It is an amazing side dish in a non
-vegetarian meal and can also be the ideal main dish in a vegetarian one.
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients:
Fresh coriander leaves sliced fine to garnish –
1/3 cup
Hot water -1 and 1/2 cups
Finely sliced 2 green chilies
Quarterly sliced 3 medium sized tomatoes
Quarterly sliced 2 large onions
Shelled peas – 200 gms
paneer cube – 500 gms
Double/thickened/ heavy cream – 3 tbsps
Vegetable/ sunflower / canola cooking oil – 6
tbsps
Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
Garam masala -2 tsps
Cumin powder -1 tsp
Coriander powder -2 tsps
Garlic paste -2 tbsps
Ginger paste -1 tbsp
Salt
Step by step instructions:
1.
Crushed tomatoes into a fine paste and keep aside.
2.
Crushed the onions into a fine paste and Keep aside.
3. Put 2
to 3 tbsps of cooking oil in a deep pan or kadhai and heat it. After a while,
add the cubes of paneer and fry till it gets golden. Then take out the paneer and keep it aside on
paper towels.
4. Add
the remaining cooking oil in the same pan and put the onion paste. Fry the
paste till it gets a little browned.
5. Next,
add the garlic, ginger, and tomato paste and fry for another 2 minutes.
6. After
that put the finely chopped green chilies as well as the cumin, coriander,
turmeric and garam masala powders into the pan. Mix it continuously and cook
until the cooking oil starts to discrete from the spice mixture.
7. Now
add the peas to the masala and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
8.
Finally, add salt, hot water, and the fried paneer. Reduce the heat and
cook as long as the gravy gets thicken.
9. Once
the gravy gets as thick as you would like, turn the heat off and mix the cream.
Your dish is now ready to serve. Before serving
decorate it with coriander leaves and serve it with Naan, Paratha, Chapati, or
even Jeera or plain Basmati rice.
Recipe 2
Navratan Korma
Navratan means nine gems. This wonderful Mughlai
dish gets its name for the uses of nine different veggies, nuts, and fruits in
it. This delicious vegetable curry is amazing with hot naans (tandoor-baked
Indian bread).
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 – 6
Ingredients:
Pineapple cubes – 1 cup
Cauliflower florets, parboiled – 1 cup
Peeled, cubed, parboiled potato – 1 cup
Green peas, parboiled – 1/2 cup
Paneer (cottage cheese) cubes (1″ cubes) – 1
cup
Cashews, broken into bits – 1/2 cup
1 medium-sized green bell pepper, cut into 1″
squares and seeds removed
2 medium carrots, parboiled and chopped into small
cubes
2 medium-sized onions sliced and crushed to a fine
paste
3 tomatoes sliced and crushed to a fine paste
12-15 French beans, parboiled, tops, and tails
removed
Double/thickened/ heavy cream – 3 tbsps
Garam masala powder -1 tsp
Red chili powder -1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Ginger paste – 1 tsp
Garlic paste -2 tsps
Vegetable/ sunflower / canola cooking oil – 4
tbsps
Salt
Step by step instructions:
1. Take a
deep pan and add 1 tsp of cooking oil to it and heat. After a while, add the
cashews and fry till it gets a little darker. Then take out the cashews and
keep it aside on paper towels.
2. Repeat
the same procedure for the paneer cubes and keep them aside to use later.
3. Add
the remaining cooking oil in the same pan and heat it. After that put the onion
paste and fry till it gets a little browned.
4. Add
the ginger and garlic pastes and cook for 1 minute. Then put the tomato paste
and cook for another 1 minute.
5. Put
all the spice powders and fry till the oil starts to discrete from it. To keep
the masala from burning and sticking to the pan, you need to stir it
frequently.
6. Put 1
cup of warm water to this masala and stir well for 1 minute.
7. Now
put all the vegetables, paneer, pineapple, and previously fried cashews. Stir
well with a soft hand to make sure not to break or mash the pieces of the
vegetable and paneer cubes. Cook around 15 minutes.
8.
Finally, add salt and cream, mix it well and turn off heat.
9. The
dish is now ready to serve.
Recipe 3
Country Captain Chicken Curry
This delicious and easy to prepare Indian Chicken
dish is a tried and tested well-rounded meal. This chicken curry can be as mild
or hot as you like it. You can make it hotter by adding crushed green chilies
than just putting whole or chop ones. You can freeze it for weeks and when you
wish to eat, simply reheat and decorate with fresh slices coriander and it’ll
be ready to go.
Prep Time:
45 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Total Time: 90 Minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Chicken on the bone, cut into 3″ pieces – 1
kg/ 2.2 lbs
Unsalted chicken stock/ broth – 1/2 cup
Sliced fresh coriander to garnish- 1/4 cup
2 fresh green chilies
3 large onions sliced thinly
Juice of 1 lime
Vegetable/sunflower/ canola cooking oil -5 tbsps
Red chili powder -1/2 tsp
Freshly crushed black pepper -1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
Ginger paste -1 tsp
Garlic paste -1 tbsp
Salt
Step by step instructions:
1. Take
lime juice, turmeric, pepper and chili powder, ginger and garlic paste, salt,
and chicken in a bowl. Mix all the ingredients well so the chicken is evenly
layered and keep it for at least 40 minutes to marinate. Keep in mind that the
longer you marinate the better.
2. Take 3
tbsps of cooking oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan and heat with a medium
temperature. When oil gets hot, put the chopped onions into the pan and fry
till they get a little brown in color. Take half of the fried onions out of the
oil and keep it aside on paper towels.
3. Now
add another 2 tbsps of cooking oil with the marinated chicken and green
chilies. Cook as long as the chicken gets golden or brown in color. You need to
turn/stir often so the chicken does not get burned or attached to the bottom of
the pan.
4. When
the chicken gets browned put the chicken stock/broth and mix them well. Cover
the pan and cook until most of the gravy/liquid gets dried.
5. Once
most of the gravy gets dried, turn the heat off. Your dish is now ready to
serve,
Finally, serve the curry with the chopped
coriander and reserved fried onions.
Recipe 4
Sweet dessert Recipe: Rice Kheer
This Indian traditional dessert is rich, creamy
and a pleasure for the taste bud. At the end of any dinner or lunch, serving
rice kheer makes the whole experience celestial. It is easy to cook but needs
time and patience. Slow cooking is the key issue here to give a lovely texture
to it. Here is a simple and easy rice kheer recipe for you.
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Total Time: 60 to 90 Minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Fragranced Basmati rice – 1/4 Cup
Full cream milk – 6 cups
Sugar – 1/4 Cup
Condensed Milk – 3/4 Cup
Silvered Almonds – 10 Gram
Green cardamom powder – 1/2 TSP
For garnishing:
Whole Pistachio nuts – 30 Gram
Slivered Almonds – 20 Gram
Step by step instructions:
1. Take
the rice, wash and soak it for 20 minutes and set aside.
2. In a
heavy bottomed pan, boil milk and then add the washed and whacked rice.
3. Stir
it continuously and rumble for 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Add
condensed milk and mix it well.
5. Add
silvered almonds, cardamom powder, sugar, and mix them from top to bottom.
6.
Finally, serve them hot or chilled decorated with roasted whole
pistachio nuts and slivered almonds. You can add any nuts you like – raisins,
walnuts, pista, cashew nuts, or even dates.
Notes: if you want more flavor, you can add rose
water or/and broiled saffron. You also need to make it sure that you use a
heavy bottomed pan to avoid sticking or burning of the milk to the bottom of
the pan.
Recipe 5
Turmeric
The most visually recognizable Indian spice,
turmeric gives many Indian dishes their characteristic color. This vivid yellow
spice is the key coloring agent in most of the Indian dishes. The inside of
turmeric is deep orange-yellow and gives the food a yellowish color. It is
slightly bitter in flavor.
Turmeric is not only known as a key additive of
color and flavor in curries but also popular for its health benefits. Many a
time raw turmeric is crushed into a paste and used on the skin to have a better
complexion. It also has great medicinal properties, especially with regards to
anti-cancer and anti-inflammation effects.
Usually dried powdered form of turmeric is sold in
the grocery stores or shops and commonly used in cooking.
