Potato-Soya-Paneer Cutlets

Ingredients :

Nutrella Soya Chunks  - ½ packet

Potato -1 big ( Boiled,peeled and Mashed )
Onion - 2medium( finely chopped )
Paneer - 150 gm ( finely grated )

Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Corn-flour – 3 tsps

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Bread Crumbs – ½ cup

Bread – 3 slices ( for binding )

Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Coriander leaves – 3 tsps ( finely chopped )

Oil – 4 tsps

Salt – to taste

Method :

Soak soya in hot water for  2 minutes. Drain water from soya and squeeze the soya to remove excess water. Grind soya into coarse pieces.

In a deep bottomed pan, heat 1 tsp of oil. Add chopped onion and fry till golden browned. Then , add red chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell of the masalas disappears. Transfer the mixture on a plate and keep aside.

Soak bread slices in water for 30 seconds.
Remove excess water by squeezing gently. Crumble and keep aside. Prepare a medium consistency corn-flour paste by adding water as required.

In a bowl, add the ground soya pieces, grated paneer, mashed potato, fried mixture , coriander leaves, salt and mix all the ingredients evenly. Make small patties.

Dip the patties in corn-flour paste and then roll in bread crumbs.

Heat oil on a flat pan. Shallow fry the patties till golden browned.

      Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Healthy Dry fruits Kulfi

Ingredients :

Milk – 1 litre + ½ cup

Dried Anjeer – 2

Dates ( Khajoor ) – 3

Pista –5

Badam – 5

Powdered Sugar – 1 cup

Saffron ( Kesar ) – A pinch

Cardamom powder – A pinch

Water – As required for soaking

Method :

Soak  1 anjeer, 3 dates, 4 pista, 4 badam in ½ cup of water overnight.

Soak saffron in 1 tsp of water for 2 hours.

Grind the soaked mixed dry fruits into a smooth paste by adding ½ cup of milk ( do not add water again ).

Chop the remaining dry fruits into small pieces and keep aside.

In a deep bottomed pan, add a litre of milk. Stir continuously and reduce the milk to one third of its quantity on low flame. Add the ground paste, powdered sugar and chopped dry fruits pieces to the milk and cook further for 5 minutes stir continuously. Remove from flame. Add a pinch of cardamom powder and soaked saffron to the cooked mixture and mix evenly.

Pour the above cooked mixture into kulfi moulds, close with the lids and allow it to set in the freezer for 6 to 7 hours.

      Once mixture is set, de-mould the kulfi into the plates and garnish with chopped pista.

Healthy Dry fruits Kulfi is ready to serve.

Paneer - Potato Cutlets

Ingredients :

Mashed paneer – 200 gms
Bread slices – 2 slices
Potatoes - 2 , medium ( cooked and mashed )
Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Garam masala – ¼ tsp

Onion - 1, finely chopped
Corn flour – 3 tbsps

Ginger-garlic paste – ½ tsp
Salt – To taste

Bread crumbs – As reqiured

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Oil – 3 tbsps ( if shallow frying ) / 1 cup ( if deep frying )

Method:

Soak bread slices in water for 30 seconds.
Remove excess water by squeezing gently. Crumble and keep aside .
Mix the mashed paneer, crumbled bread , onion pieces , red chilly powder, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala powder and salt. Mix evenly and make small patties.

Meanwhile , prepare a medium consistency corn-flour paste by adding water as required.

Dip the prepared patties in the corn-flour paste, remove and roll in bread crumbs.

        On a flat pan , heat oil. Shallow fry or deep fry till both the sides of patties turn
        golden browned.
      Serve hot with Tomato ketchup.

Corn in creamy Spinach gravy

Ingredients :

Corn – ½ cup ( chopped into 1 inch pieces )

Spinach – ¼ bunch

Tomato – 1 ,medium ( chopped into small pieces )

Onion – 1 , small ( chopped into small pieces )

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tsp

      Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

      Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

      Coriander powder – ½ tsp

      Cumin powder – ½ tsp

      Salt – To taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Method :

      Wash and chop the spinach leaves.

Boil spinach leaves, tomato and onion together for 5 minutes , adding 1 cup water and little turmeric powder to it.

Boil the corn for 2 minutes.

Now cool the spinach mixture and grind along-with the water used to boil into a smooth paste .

In a kadai, heat oil. Add the ground paste and stir for 2 minutes. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder , cumin powder , ginger-garlic paste and salt . Mix evenly.Finally add the boiled corn and cook for 2 minutes.

      Serve hot.

Mushrooms with Spring Onion in Gravy

Ingredients :

Button Mushrooms – 2 cups ( chopped )

Spring onion greens – 20 stalks ( chopped )

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Garam masala powder – A pinch

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Coriander leaves – Little ( finely chopped )

Salt – To taste

Oil - 3 tsp

For grinding masala :

Tomato – 1 ( chopped )

Red chillies – As per taste or 3

Peppercorns – 1 tsp

Saunf / Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Coriander seeds – 2 tsps

Cashewnuts – 10 ( soaked in water )

Method :

Grind  tomato + red chillies + peppercorns + fennel seeds + coriander seeds + cashewnuts into a fine paste by adding little water. Keep aside.

 In a kadai , heat oil. Add cumin seeds. After it starts to crackle , add chopped spring onion greens and sauté for a while. Add chopped mushrooms and turmeric powder. Stir continuously. Add garam masala powder and mix evenly. Add ground paste ( If the gravy is too thick, add little water ). Add salt to taste and mix evenly. Cook till oil gets separated from the gravy. Finally , garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis / chapatis / phulkas. 

Kadai Paneer with Capsicum and Spring-Onion

Ingredients :

Paneer – 1 cup ( cubed )

Red capsicum – ½ , cut into square pieces ( you can use green capsicum or both )

Tomato puree – 1 cup

Onion – ¼ cup ( finely chopped )

Spring onion – little ( finely chopped )

Cashewnut paste – ¼ cup

Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – ½ tsp

Red chilly powder – ¼ tsp

Garam masala powder – A pinch

Ginger- garlic paste – 1 tsp

Oil – 4 tsp

Butter – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Method :

Deep fry paneer and set on paper tissue to drain excess oil.

In a kadai, add oil , butter. When heated, add cumin seeds, capsicum pieces, onion pieces, ginger- garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears. Add tomato puree, paneer cubes and cashewnut paste. Sauté well. Then, add cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, red chilly powder and salt. Mix evenly. Close and cook for few minutes.

Finally , garnish with spring onion.

Dahi bhalla

Ingredients :

Urad dal ( black gram , skinned and split ) – 1 cup

Curd – 1 cup

Cumin ( jeera ) powder – 1 tsp

Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Green chillies – 2 ( chopped )

Coriander leaves – little ( finely chopped )

Oil – for deep frying

Salt – To taste

Method :

Soak urad dal for 4 to 5 hours. Then , drain the water and wash urad dal again  thoroughly. Grind it along with green chillies by adding little water. Note that the batter should be of thick consistency and not watery. Add salt,  coriander leaves and mix evenly. Keep aside.

In a kadai, add oil. When heated, add a spoonful of the prepared batter and deep fry on medium flame till golden browned ( note that the colour of the vadas is not very dark ). Repeat the procedure for remaining batter.

Set the vadas to cool and later soak them for 2 to 3 minutes in luke warm water.

Squeeze out the water by pressing each vada between palms of your hands.Lay them in a plate. In a bowl, add curd, jeera powder, red chilly powder and salt. Mix evenly. Garnish it with finely chopped coriander leaves

Note :  If you prefer add date - tamarind chutney and some salted boondi (soaked in water and later squeezed out).

Red capsicum and Tomato chutney.

Ingredients :

Tomato ( medium ) - 1 ( cut into pieces )
Capsicum – 1 ( cut into pieces )
Cumin seeds ( Jeera ) - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Garlic pods - 4
Red chillies – 3

Black gram (Urad dal ) - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - A strip
Salt – To taste

Method :

Heat a pan, add red pepper, garlic and dry roast. Once they become soft, remove from the pan. Add the onion to the pan and dry roast until they turn translucent, add the tomotoes and red chillis fry until they are soft.
Add all the dry-roasted ingredients and salt to the mixer and grind into smooth puree without adding any water. Transfer the ground paste in a bowl.

In a seasoning ladle, heat oil. Add mustard seeds and jeera. When they become to crackle, add black gram ( urad dhal ) and curry leaves. Once it crackles, add it to the ground paste.

Serve with idlis & dosas.