Paalak Paneer ( Spinach with cottage cheese)

Palak ( spinach) 4-5 bunch

Paneer cubes – 200 gram

Onion – 1

Tomato - 2

Refined Oil – 5 spoon

Green chilli – 1

Garlic clove – 4

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Ginger grated – 1 spoon

Chilly powder – 1 spoon

Cumin powder – 1 spoon

Coriander powder – 1 spoon

Salt – 1 spoon ( as per taste)

Method of Preparation

1.                       Wash the spinach leaves and discard the hard stems

2.                       Take out the paneer from freezer and immerse it in water in a bowl

3.                       Finely chop the green chilly, garlic clove, tomato and onion and keep it in separate bowls

4.                       Grate the ginger, or use ginger paste if you have.

5.                       Boil one glass of water in a big container

6.                       Add the spinach leaves and boil for 1-2 minutes. Do not close the lid. Closing the lid will change the color of spinach from green to brown. So do not close the lid.

7.                       After two minutes remove the spinach from boiling water and let it cool.

8.                       By now paneer would have become smooth, so remove that from water, drain it and keep aside.

Part 2

1.                       Take oil in a Pan or Kadai

2.                       Keep it on medium flame

3.                       Add chopped green chilly, garlic and turmeric powder

4.                       Once garlic color changes to golden brown add onion and sauté for a minute. Sprinkle some salt.

5.                       Now add the tomatoes, add little more salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and mix well.

6.                       Allow the tomatoes to cook well with the masala.

7.                       Now grind the spinach with little water.

8.                       Add paneer to the tomatoes and add the remaining salt and fry for few minutes.

9.                       Now add the spinach puree to the paneer.

10.              Palak paneer is ready to serve in 2 minutes.

11.              The green color of palak will be there if you serve immediately without closing the lid

12.              If you close the lid after cooking and leave for few minutes, the color will change

13.              But taste will be the same J

14.              You can serve palak paneer with roti, chapatti, paratha and even rice.

Today we had palak paneer with chapatti, followed by curd rice. It tastes delicious as a side dish with curd rice.

Bhindi Do Pyaza (Bendekaayi Palya)

Ingredients

Ladies Finger finely chopped - 2 cups
Onion Finely chopped - 1 cup
Tomato Puree -  1 cup
Green chilley finely chopped - 2
Red chilly powder - 1 spoon
Coriander powder - 1 spoon
Cumin Powder - 1 spoon
Black pepper powder - 1/4 spoon
Salt - 1 spoon or as per your taste.
Ginger Paste - 1/2 spoon
For Seasoning

Oil - 3-4 spoons
Turmeric Powder- 1/4 spoon
Cumin Seeds - 1 spoon

Method
Take oil in Kadai or Pan. Put it on medium flame, once the oil is hot reduce the flame and add Turmeric Powder and Cumin seeds. Immediately add Onion and fry for a minute. Then add the Chopped Bhindi (ladies finger) and Fry for 4-5 minutes. Now add Salt by sprinkling on all peices. Dont put at one place, later it wont mix properly. After sprinkling the salt, saut for a while and close the pan with a lid. Leave it for 5-6 minutes or upto 10 minutes. Just ensure that it should not burn.

Now in a mixer take the boiled and cooled Tomatos, Pepper powder, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Ginger Paste and Grind to a paste. Add this paste to the Bhindis.  Mix well. You can add little water if required at this stage. Let it cook on low flame for few minutes. Once the mixture starts boiling you can switch off the heat.

Now the Bhindi Pyaza is ready to serve with Hot Indian Rotis. It goes well with Chapati, Roti, Naan and also rice. You can have it as a side dish with curd rice. It will be yummy.

Sankranthi Ellu Recipe

In Karnata we have a beautiful tradition of preparing this mixture of Sesame seeds, Dry coconut, Jaggery and distributing to all friends and relatives. Irrespective of caste or creed everybody participates in this festival and does share this unique sweet of Sankranthi.

Ingredients Required

Dry Coconut or Kobbari - 2
Square shaped Jaggery or Gud also called as Bella in Kannada - 2
Ground nut seeds - 250gm
Sesame Seeds / Til called as eLLu in Kannada - 100gm
Puffed Chana or Putaani - 100gm

Method

First you need to prepare Coconut for chopping. For this you have to carefully remove the outer coat of dry coconut by grating only outer side of coconut. Then you will have one white coconut. It will look like sugar ball. Now you can chop that into small pieces. Experts will chop it fine squares. But dont worry it will taste good irrespective of its size and shape. Thus chop into small peices. Now the coconut peices are ready, keep them aside.

Now you need to chop the Jaggery or Gud. I do this with the help of Knife and Hammer. Place the knife on the Jaggery and break it into equal half by placing the knife on centre and giving a blow on knife with hammer. Similarly you have to go on and get some long shaped Jaggery. Now you can cut them to small peices using knife. Once all jaggery is chopped keep it in a bowl.

Now you need to prepare the Ground nuts. You dry roast the groundnut in medium flame and take it on a cloth. Gently rub it, remove the cover. I put that in mora (its used to remove husk from rice) keeping rubbing and removing the skin. Once all the outer cover or skin of groundnut is removed you will have all groundnuts looking like cashew nuts.

Finally you have to roast the white ellu. ensure you will not fry it for long, as it will start popping out. so just roast it for one minute take out on a cloth. Taking roasted things on cloth ensures that the moisture that is created by loss of heat is absorbed by cloth.

Once Sesame seeds cool, mix it with coconut peices, Ground nut seeds, jaggery peices, and add putaani or puffed chana dal.

Now your Sankranthi ellu is ready to offer to God, and then to share with everyone.

Now Enjoy eating your own Ellu Bella..

SABBASIGE ROTTI

Sabbasige is one of my all time favourites. Anything made using it would delight me. It has great medicinal properties. Its called as Sowa in Hindi. Shatapushpa in Sanskrit.

Finely chopped Sabbasige or Sowa - 2 cups
Finely chopped Onions - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 4 cups
water - 4 cups
Red chilly powder - 1 spoon
Salt - 1 spoon
Sugar - 1 spoon
Asafoetida or Hing - Pinch of powdered Hing
Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1 spoon
Oil - 1 spoon for seasoning
and oil for making rotis as desired by you.

First in a cooking pan, Put one spoon of oil and add Jeera,Hing and onions once it is hot.
Add Sabbasige and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Now add  Chilley powder,salt,sugar and water.
Once it starts boiling, simmer the heat add rice flour and mix thoroughly. Switch off the flame.
Let this cool for a while. Then take it into a different bowl, and make it to small balls as shown in the picture.
Then take a clean thick cloth, immerse it in water and squeeze it. Then spread it on a platform. Put this rice ball on it, and you can flatten it with wet hand.
Else you take a thick plastic sheet, smear it with oil. Keep it on this ball, and press it using chapati roller.

Now you have to take a Kadai, and pick the rolled roti, along with cloth and put it on hot kadai.
Remove cloth.
Now put one spoon of oil around roti and close the kadai.
Then after few minutes open the lid, and turn the roti to other side. Now you can keep on high flame for half minute, and take out the roti from Kadai.

This will taste good as it is. You can have it with ghee/pudeena chutney/coconut chutney/chutney powder or any other gravy.

Garlic Dal

oil - 2 spoons
mustard seeds - 1 spoon
cumin seeds - 1 spoon
green chilly - 1
red chilly - 1
garlic cloves - 8
Karibevu - few leaves
onion - 1
tomato - 1
turmeric powder - 1/2 spoon
Tuvar dal - 1 cup
water - 4 cups
tamarind paste - 1 spoon