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Makhani is referred to gravy, which is cooked in ghee and with tomatoes. Never mix up paneer butter masala and paneer makhani. both are different. Paneer makhani gets a little bit of tangy taste from tomatoes and there are whole spices and garam masala in it. You will find the difference, once you try this absolutely delicious paneer gravy!

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Never compromise on few ingredients to make this gravy, like kasuri methi, fresh cream and kashmiri red chilli powder(for the colour of the gravy)!

Starred Photos

Paneer Makhani

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serves                |                 preparation and cooking time
2 or 3                |                   less than 30 minutes
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Ingredients:

Paneer - 100 gms (cut into cubes)
Onion - 1 (very finely chopped)
Ginger - 1' inch size (very finely chopped)
Ghee - 2 tsp's
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 and half tsp
Corriander powder - 1tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Kasuri Methi / Dried Methi leaves - 1 tsp
Fresh cream - 3 tsp's

To Blanch the tomatoes:

Tomatoes - 2
Cinnamon - 1"inch size
Bayleaf - 1
Cardamon - 2
Water - 1 cup

Method:

1. First to blanch tomatoes, in a cup of water, add cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cardamon and boil it for 5-7 minutes, till the skin of tomato puff's up. cool the tomatoes, peel it's skin and grind the tomatoes alone into a fine puree.

2. Heat a pan, add 2 tsp's of ghee, add finely chopped onions and ginger. saute till the onions turn translucent.

3. Add corriander powder, cumin powder and saute them along with onions for at least a minute.

4. Now add Tomato puree to the pan and let it boil. add little bit of water and mix well. add chilli powder and garam masala to the pan and mix well. add salt to taste. let the gravy boil for 2 minutes in medium flame.

5. Add the paneer cubes to the gray and give a mix. Crush the kasuri methi with your hands and add to the gravy. Switch off the flame and add 2 tsp of  fresh cream to the gravy and mix well. see to that the gravy is not too runny.

6. Take  a small cover. to one of  it's inside corner, drop a spoon of fresh cream. just cut a very small nick of the corner of the cover, as we cut our mehendhi cone and draw lines over the gravy!

Serve with Chapathi, or with pulao.


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Notes:

Add chilli powder and kasuri methi, according to your taste. add little salt, kasuri methi may have salt sometimes.

If you are serving the gravy little late, it is better to add the paneer just an hour before serving. otherwise the paneer get's sour with the tanginess of tomatoes.

To de-frost the paneer, put them in warm water and let it rest for about 10-15 mins.

It's year after year i am complaining, how hot it is in chennai. This year water scarcity joins the club. so you should imagine my state(TN). Let's hope this coming monsoon gives enough rainfall!!

Watermelom Ginger Juice
 
Having a slice of water melon during summer is such a relief. You will feel chill inside on consuming, but you will be standing under the sun!! When i did my college in chidambaram, we had to cycle 2 kms from hostel to college, then return for lunch and then cycle back to college. We always manage to have a slice of water melon on our way to hostel for lunch.
 
Watermelon Juice

 In summer day's, i do not like cooking/eating, and i can just survive on water melon, tender coconut water and with curd rice. that's what we yesterday did.

Watermelon juice served with pudhina

Hubby suggested me to add a piece of ginger in the juice. believe me, i did not get  the taste of ginger in juice. so why not hide a piece of ginger in your glass of watermelon juice herein? Mint gave a refreshing look to the juice. i just served with mint sprig. you can also add 5 mint leaves while blending the melon.

                                                               WATERMELON  JUICE
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makes - 2 glasses
preparation time - less than 5 mins.
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Ingredients:

Water Melon - 2 cup's (diced)
Ginger - an inch sized
Ice-cubes - 3
Mint Sprig - 2 to serve

Method:

Put the diced water melon, with or without seeds, a piece of ginger, ice-cubes in your mixie jar or in your blender, grind them for about 15-20 seconds. strain the juice out. serve chilled and see how your tummy enjoy's this chilled drink!

Notes:

1. Either you can discard the seed's before you blend the melon. i prefer blending the water melon and then to strain the juice out. This works well for kids.

2. If using already refrigerated water melon, you need not use ice-cubes seperately. also there is no need for sugar and water to be added while blending.

 

 
 Very few times, we have the ingredients and mood to prepare a dish, that was just shown on TV. This spinach pie is such one dish, which i saw in TLC, prepared by donna hay. instantly, i tried and served for break-fast!
 
 
I bought some spring roll sheets months back, and they were lying in my freezer, the idea of making spinach pie in spring roll sheets was instant and am glad that it worked out perfect.
 

 
We all liked this pie, the spiring roll sheets were crisp and the filling was too good and tasted cheesy. who will say no to a iron rich and protein rich filling!
 
                                                      
                                                      Spinach Pie with Spiring Roll Sheets
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makes 2 pie's
serves - 2 to 3
preparation time - 50 minutes
baking time - 35 mins
recipe source - Donna Hay

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Ingredients:

Spring roll sheets / Filo pastry - 6 sheets
Butter - 40 gms (melted)
Fresh Spinach leaves - 200 gms
Panneer - 200 gms
Egg's - 2
Grated Mozzarella cheese - 2 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Thaw the spring roll sheets for about 30 minutes, before starting.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C /350F.

Wash the spinach leaves and drain them. chop the leaves finely and set aside.

Crumble or grate the paneer and transfer it to a large bowl. add in the chopped spinach leaves to the bowl. crack two egg's into the bowl, mix well with a fork or spoon.

Add salt and pepper to taste. then mix the filling thoroughly. add in the grated cheese and give a final mix.

Line a baking tray with butter paper. Now lay a spring roll sheet on a parchment paper/ foil sheet/ butter paper, brush the melted butter on the spring roll sheet. place another spring roll sheet on top again brush, then top it with another spring roll sheet. Now place the filling in the centre of the sheet and fold the four sides of the sheets. brush butter on top of the folds. if the folds don't hold, just prick in tooth picks to the four corners of the folded sheets. like wise make another pie.

Bake them for about 35 minutes, till the filling is completely set and the spring roll sheets should have turned into light brown and crispier.

Serve the spinach pie warm.
 

spinach pie

 Notes:

This is the best way to make the kids eat greens. if serving for kids, add more grated cheese to the filling.

Serve warm, else it's not so good to eat. you can re-heat before serving.

 


Brahmin style Vatha kuzhambu

This Vatha kuzhambu recipe is the perfect recipe. Making perfect vatha kuzhambu and mor kuzhambu remained  as a dream to me before. Now i have a favorite tutor on youtube, from where i learned to make perfect traditional brahmin style vatha kuzhambu. i have prepared vatha kuzhambu with same ingredients, but now i know, the order in which the ingredients should be put to cook. simple tricks! come on i will teach you, what i learned.

Meal with vatha kuzhambu, sambhar, poriyal

The tricks i learned this time is to roast the sambhar powder, before adding the small onions and garlic. next trick is allowing the kuzhambu to boil well and let the kuzhambu leave oil in the sides of the pan.

Sundakka Vatha kuzhambu

Traditionally vatha kuzhambu is made in kalsatti, it seams the kalsatti made kuzhambu is extra special in taste. Still in many brahmin house-hold, making vathakuzhambu in kalsatti is in practice. When i visited a mess in west mambalam, few people were having curd rice and vatha kuzhambu as the side dish. even i started to eat like that way back home, Its better than eating with pickle! Try for yourself!

This vatha kuzhambu will be bitter, tangy and spicy. a bit of jaggery makes all the taste get balanced. No wonder, this vatha kuzhambu remains as favorite to many people.



Vatha Kuzhambu Recipe

Meal with vatha kuzhambu, sambhar, poriyalPrep Time10 mins 
Cooking Time: 20 mins  
Serves4
Recipe CuisineIndian
Recipe TypeCurry

Ingredients:


Sundakka, Manathakkali vathal - 1/4 cup
Old tamarind- 1/2 a size of lemon
Small onions - 1 cup (15 no.)
Garlic - 1/4 cup (10 no.)
Sambhar powder - 3 tsp's
Jaggery - a tiny bit

For Tempering:

Sesame oil / Nallennai - 1/4 cup
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek / vendhayam - 1/4 tsp
Cumin / Jeeragam - 1/4 tsp
Chana dal / Kadala paruppu - 1 tsp
Dry red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp


vatha kuzhambu ingredients

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup of warm water for about 10-15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind and get the extract in a bowl. repeatedly add water to tamarind and squeeze it twice. this helps in taste.

2. Peel the outer skin of small onions and garlic and keep aside.

3. Heat a tsp of oil in a small pan and roast the sundakka and manathakkali vathal in medium flame for about a minute.

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4. Heat a thick bottomed pan, add 1/4 cup of sesame oil, when the oil is hot, drop in the mustard and let it pop, then add chana dal, jeeragam, fenugreek, dry red chilli, asafoetida powder and curry leaves.

5. Next add in the sambhar powder in slow flame. roast the sambhar powder in slow flame for about 1-2 minutes, till you see change in colour.

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6. Then add the small onions and garlic, roast the onions and garlic in slow flame for about 5 minutes, till the shallots and garlic turn soft and cooked.

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7. Now, when the small onions and garlic are cooked, add in the tamarind water and some curry leaves. add salt to taste and stir well. let the kuzhambu boil in medium flame for about 5 minutes.

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8. The oil should seperate from the curry, only on seeing that, add in the roasted sundakka vathal. Add a small piece of jaggery at the end. again let the kuzhambu boil for about 2-3 minutes.

Switch off the flame and serve hot with rice and appalam. Few people like to have this vatha kuzhambu as a side, for curd rice.

வத்த குழம்பு

Notes:

I have added medium amount of tamarind, you may increase to a small lemon sized one, if you prefer more tangy kuzhambu!.

Vatha kuzhambu stays good for 2-3 days in room temperature.

While you want to prepare food for travel, prepare this kuzhambu the earlier night. prepare it little thick. next day, mix the kuzhambu with hot rice and pack for your travel. it should keep well for 6-8 hours.

Add little salt to the kuzhambu, as the sundakka vathal and manathakkali vathal has salt in it. so it will get  balanced in the kuzhambu.






I love shopping online at jabong. When bharathy asked to send entries for her spicy recipe event, i wanted to prepare a recipe with red chilli, just to suit her blog logo! i tried chilli bread sticks, chilli-mint flavored paneer. no dish looked sexy and hot with dry red chilli!

Hot Chocolate drink

I still do not know, whether bharathy will accept my entry or not, as the deadkine for the submission  just closed yesterday.

Chilli Hot Chocolate

serves - 3
preparation and cookin time - less than 5 mins

Ingredients:

Dark chocolate - 45 gms
Milk - 250 ml
Red chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1" inch size stick
Sugar - 4 tsp

Method:

Heat Milk in a pan, add dark chocolate and cinnamon stick and keep stirring, till the chocolate melts.
add sugar and mix well. bring the milk to boil and reduce the flame. let the chocolate milk simmer for about 1 or 2 minutes. finally remove the cinnamon stick and add red chilli flakes. remove from the flame. Serve hot to your loved ones.
 

Chilli Chocolate drink

Note:

To prepare dry red chilli flakes, take 3 o 4 dry red chilli and remove the stalks of the red chillies. grind coarsely so that you get chilli flakes.

Just a pinch of chilli flakes will do for a serving.

Bhindi is favourite vegetable at home, i prepare sabzi with it quite often. This aloo bhindi sabzi from tasty indian recipes caught my eye and i prepared it today. Both the vegetables made a great combination. sabzi turned out tasty.

Aloo Bhindi sabzi

This sabzi can be served with chapathi's or phulkha's or with jeera rice, peas pulao etc. Iam yet to make phulkha's for dinner to serve with this sabzi!!
aloo bhindi in bhuna masala

                                                          
                                                                  Aloo Bhindi Sabzi



Aloo Bhindi Sabzi Recipe

Prep Time10 mins 
Cooking Time: 20 mins  
Serves2
Recipe CuisineIndian
Recipe TypeSidedish

Ingredients:


recipe adapted from Tasty indian recipes

  • Aloo - 2 (small)
  • Bhindi - 10
  • Onion - 1
  • Tomatoes - 2
  • Green chilli - 2
  • Ginger - 1'inch size
  • Turmeric powder - 1 /4 tsp
  • Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
  • Corriander powder - 1 tsp
  • Cumin powder - 1 tsp
  • Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
  • Amchur powder - 1 tsp
  • Oil - 2 tbsp (to fry bhindi and aloo)


For tadka:

  • Oil - 1 tsp (for tadka)
  • Mustard - 1/2 tsp
  • Cumin - 1/4 tsp
  • Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Corriander leaves to garnish

Method:

Peel the skin of the potatoes and wash them clean, slice them into a medium thick pieces. also trim the head and tail of bhindi and cut them into two or three pieces.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the potatoes first, till they are cooked. it takes about 3-4 minutes at high flame. once the potatoes are fried remove from oil and put it on kitchen tissue, so that tissue absorbs the oil. Then fry in the bhindi pieces. it may take 2-3 minutes in medium flame to get fried.


bhindi aloo sabzi

Chop the Onions, tomatoes, ginger and green chillies very finely.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan, add mustard and let it pop, then add cumin, green chillies and ginger. saute them for a few seconds and add in the finely chopped onion. once the onions turn translucent, add in the finely chopped tomatoes and saute them well. add salt and turmeric powder and mix well. in medium flame, let the tomatoes get mushy and mix well with the onions.

Then add the red chilli powder, corriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala to the pan and mix well with the onions and tomato mix. once the masala and onions mix well and come together add in the fried aloo and bhindi to the pan and give a mix. add amchur powder or lemon juice and mix well. sprinkle a tsp of water to the pan and scrap the masala's sticking to the bottom of the pan. then remove the sabzi to the serving bowl.

Garnish with finely chopped corriander leaves.
Best served with chapathi, roti or with jeera rice, veg pulao.



Notes:

 You can steam the potatoes than frying. also microwave the bhindi with a tsp of oil in microwave at very high mode for about 4-5 minutes. this way you can avoid frying the vegetables.



I have tried many recipes from Rak's kitchen. Recently i tried her rava idly last week. gobi manchurian the previous week. every recipe from her blog comes out great! when it comes to diwali preparations, for the past two three years i have been cooking her murukku, seedaibadhusha, kara sev, etc. Her step wise pictures makes the recipes easy all the time. i always wonder, how she manages to click all the step wise pictures with much clarity!! 

This post is for Tried and Tested hosted by sowmya. click the recipe name to go for the recipe.

Poosanikai / Pumpkin  Rasavaangi


Podalangai / Snake gourd poriyal


I wanted to try this rasavaangi and podalangai poriyal for a long time. and today i tried. as usual it came out great and we loved both a lot! Thanks Raks for all wonderfull recipes and for your dedication!!