Rashmi Paneer

Before paneer dish used to be exotic dish but after living abroad for so many years paneer is like a normal vegetable i cook very often. Got a few recipes of paneer on my blog and like all this one too is my favourite. I don't use much cream in my dish as i feel it adds some sweetness to the curries. But this one i added cream and i don't regret that. This dish too added into my regular list of curries i make without seeing the recipe. This recipe is Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe.

Ingredients:-

Paneer cubes
Tomato 1 sliced
Onion 1 cubed
Capsicum 1 sliced
Ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp
Coriander powder 1tbsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder 1 tbsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Tomato puree of 2 tomatoes
Oil 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Ginger  julienne few
Garam Masala 1 tbsp
Curd 2 tbsp (whipped)

Method:-

Heat oil and cumin seeds.Then add onion. Fry for while, here we are not frying until pink or light golden colour.

Now add sliced tomatoes and sliced capsicum. Fry for a while.

Add ginger garlic paste.Saute for a while.Add coriander powder and turmeric powder. Mix well

Now add tomato puree and mix well.

Add red chilly powder and salt. Mix well and add little water.Add paneer.

Now add curd and mix well.

Lastly add garam malasa powder mix well

Serve hot with roti/paratha.

Frozen Berries Pan Cake

Pan cake is my girls favourite breakfast apart from what we eat regularly (south indian breakfast). I keep on changing the flavours of the pan cake. This one i did with frozen mixed berries. Here is the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

Frozen mixed berries 1/2 cup
Plain flour 2 cups
Egg 1
Baking powder 1/2 tsp
Salt a pinch
Sugar 3 tbsp
Butter
Milk 2 cups
Maple syrup

Method:-

Mix flour, salt,sugar and baking powder.

Beat egg and add milk to the egg. Mix well.

Now add egg mixture to flour and whisk well.

Add frozen mixed berries to the flour mixture. mix well.

Take a ladle full of batter and pour on not so hot tawa/non-stick pan. Let it spread by itself. Wait for a minutes and flip it over. Again wait for another 2 minutes for the other side to cook.

Serve hot with maple syrup or with berries.

Bambino Vegetable upma/ Vegetable Vermicelli Upma

This upma is very common in south indian households. Its always bambino brand which is used mostly. Most of the time people don't say vermicelli they say bambino upma. I remember there used to be a recipe on the packet which i don't see now. Now we are getting fried vermicelli too making our life much easier. This upma husband made when i was sick but i was not that sick not to take the pictures ;).

Ingredients:-

Vermicelli 1 cup
Ghee 2 tbsp

For seasoning:-

Rai 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
Udad dal 1/2 tbsp
Cashew few
Chana dal 1/2 tbsp
Hing a pinch
Ginger 1/2 inch pc
Green chillies 2 chopped
Curry leaves few
Onions 1 chopped

Vegetables

Carrot
Potato
Peas
Corn

Method:-

Take ghee in a deep pan. Add vermicelli and saute for a while until vermicelli changes colour. Take if off the flame and keep aside.

Add oil to the ghee. Add rai seeds and cumin. Once they flutter, add channa dal and udad dal.

Saute for a while and add cashew and hing. Then add ginger, curry leaves and green chillies. Saute for a minute.

Add onions and fry for another minute. Add salt. Don't fry the onions to brown colour. We want the onions to be white only.

Now add all the veggies. Again saute for 1-2 minutes.

For 1 cup of semiya add 1 1/2 cup of water.

Once water boils add semiya. Mix well and reduce the flame.

Cover and cook until all the water dries up.

Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

Cheese Corn Balls

Daughter celebrated her 8th birthday and as always she wanted a small party at home with neighbor kids. She wanted a theme party and as i was sick last two weeks was not able to plan a theme party ahead. Nevertheless made all the food stuff at home much to her liking and she had a wonderful evening. I made cake pops, cheese corn balls and Oreo medals. Her birthday cake was store brought as i didn't had much time to plan and make the cake. And also i prefer store brought cake on birthdays than me making a cake and be tensed about the out come. Here is the cheese corn balls recipe :-

Ingredients:-

Corn 4 cobs
Cheese (Mozarella 2 cups)
Corn starch 1/4 cup
Boiled potato 2
Salt to taste
Oregano 1 tbsp
Chilly flakes 1 tbsp
Garlic 1 crushed
Bread crumbs
Plain flour
Oil for deep frying

Method:-

Make a smooth running paste with plain flour and water.

Boil corn and separate corn from the cob.

Gently crush corn and mash the potato.

Mix corn, potato,cheese,garlic,oregano,chilly flakes and salt.

Mix well with hands. Make small balls.

Take bread crumbs in a wide plate.

Take each ball dip the ball in the plain flour.

Rotate the balls on the crumbs and take each ball in the hand and gently rotate.

Once all the balls are done, deep fry in batches. Take them on a tissue and serve hot.

The left over balls can be refrigerated and can be fried later on.

The above pic and the below pic is of the next day i deep fried cheese balls with the refrigerated batter.

Rasam

When you google it you will get n number of rasam recipes but its always the recipe which is passed on to your  mom is used the most. This rasam is a comfort food for me. When you just want to eat something simple, something pipping hot, something for your sour throat or sometimes to go with rice and  mutton fry or sometimes just you want to drink a soup. My elder daughter just loves it. She won't  wait to eat it with the rice. Once the rasam is done, she takes it in a big glass and drinks it. I don't use store brough rasam powder and i never make rasam powder and store it. I always make rasam powder only for that day, fresh.

When i got married my sister took  all the ingredients in a small zip lock bag and told me to keep it as a ready reckoner. Here is my mom rasam recipe:-

Ingredients:-

Tomatoes  1 lbs
Tamarind small lemon size ball
Coriander leaves few
Garlic 1 crushed
Salt to taste

Rasam powder

Tur dal/kandi pappu 1 tsp
Red chilly 3
Pepper corn 10-15
Coriander seeds 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp

Grind the above ingredients into a coarse powder.

For seasoning

Oil 2 tbsp
Rai 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves few
Hing a pinch

Method:-

Take out tamarind juice and discard the pulp.

Take chopped tomatoes in a bowl. Add salt,rasam powder,crushed garlic and coriander leaves. Mash it with one hand (wash your hands thoroughly).

In a pan take oil. Add all the seasonings. Once they flutter add the mashed tomatoes. Saute for a while and add the tamarind juice.

Let it come to boil and once froth starts forming switch off the flame and add more coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice or just have it like soup.

Murmura uggani/marmaral upma/Puffed rice Upma

 

 My childhood memories are attached to this breakfast recipe. This is mostly done in the Rayalasema and bordering districts of Andhra pradesh and Karnataka. My dad is from Bellary and most of his relatives live in Chittor and Kurnool. My mom learnt this recipe from her inlaws and used to make this at home. This is best eaten hot with sprinkle of gun powder on top of it. Here is the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

Murmura/puffed rice 3-4 cups
Onions 1 chopped
Green chillies 1 chopped
Tomatoes 1 chopped
Peanuts 2 tbsp

For seasoning

Rai 1/4 tsp
Channa dal 1 tbsp
Red chilly whole 1 broken into two.
Curry leaves few
Oil 3 tbsp

Method:-

Take oil in a deep bottom kadai. Add all the seasoning. When rai splutters add peanuts.

Saute until peanuts are light brown in colour Add Onions and green chillies. Add salt.

Now take murmura in a big bowl of water. Once all the murmura gets soaked in the water immediately remove it transfer into a stainer. Murmura should not be in the water for long or else they become very soft and mushy.

Then add tomatoes to the fried onions. Saute until the tomatoes are cooked. Now add Murmura and mix well. Switch off the stove and sprinkle gun powder/chitla podi or mulaga podi. Serve hot.