Mattar paneer gravy

                              Mattar paneer gravy is creamier and rich gravy. This is served either with some indian roti's or jeera rice.  When i tasted it first in restaurant, i just love the taste of creaminess and combination of paneer and peas. I had some leftover paneer and some dried green peas, I prepared this for dinner to go with jeera rice. Taste is so good. My kid like the panner and he said after tasting it " i love cheese(paneer) "

Ingredients:

Paneer  -  1 packet
Peas / mattar - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 " piece
Garlic - 3 no
Onion - 1 small
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder  - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Can tomato puree - 1 can / tomato - 3 no
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Kasuri methi / fenugreek leaves - 1 tbsp
Half and half / full cream -  1/2 cup

Recipe:

* Chop onion into very fine pieces.
* Chop garlic and ginger and crush it.
* If you are using dried peas,soak it for 7 hours. Cook it in microwave for 4 or 5 minutes.
* Cut paneer in cubes or into thin strips.
* If not using canned tomato puree, chop tomato and grind it in blender.

1. Take 3 or 4 tbsp oil and fry the paneer till it turns slight brown color. Once it is fried, remove excess oil and soak it in warm water. We can also use unfried paneer too. ( I used both fried and unfried paneer in this dish).
2. Take a wide pan and pour enough oil. Add cumin and let it splatter.
3. Add crushed ginger and garlic . Now add finely chopped onion. Cook it till the onion turn translucent.
4.Now add all the powders(Turmeric , chilli and coriander powder). Add enough salt and mix it well. Cook till the raw smell of the powder reduces.
5.Add tomato puree,garam masala ,mix well and cover the pan. Cook for 5 more minutes till oil oozes out.
6.Add green peas/mattar and mix well.
7.Take dry kashuri methi leaves in your palm and crush it with other palm and spread it over the gravy. Mix ,cover the pan and cook for 2 more minutes.
8.Finally add paneer and cook for 2 more minutes.
9.Final stage add half and half/ heavy cream ,mix the gravy and switch of the flame and cover the lid.
 Mattar paneer gravy is ready.


Note:

1.We can use both fried and unfried paneer in this dish but i prefer the unfried one.
2. Instead of adding just crushed kashuri methi on gravy, i like to fry it in little bit oil in separate pan and add that one to the gravy. The aroma when adding the kashuri methi to oil is awesome.

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Malai kofta

              Malai kofta is one of the famous gravy which we order in restaurants . It goes very well with jeera rice and roti's. As my family like spicy dishes ,this gravy is sweeter one than other gravies. Once in awhile i used to prepare this gravy for jeera rice and chappathi. This gravy is bit sweeter and creamier . Those who are in diet can avoid adding cream and cashew nut.

Ingredients:

For kofta:
Potato - 2 no
Green peas - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1
Green chilli - 2 no
Jeera - 1 tsp
Paneer - 2 tbsp
Carrot and beans -  4 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
Corn flour - 4 tbsp
Oil - for deep frying
Salt - as per taste

Gravy:
Jeera - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 no
Tomato - 3 or canned tomato puree - 1
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
Cashew - 5 no
Half and half or heavy cream - 1 small container
Salt - as per taste.
Kashuri methi - 1 tbsp

 

Recipe:

 For Kofta:
* Boil potato and grate it and keep it in a bowl.
* Chop onion into very fine pieces.
* Boil carrot,beans and green peas and squeeze out excess water and transfer it to same bowl.
* Chop green chilli into very fine pieces.

1.Take all the ingredients which are under " For kofta" in a bowl and mix it well.
2.Make small small balls and coat it with corn flour and deep fry it in oil.
3.Transfer fried kofta balls on a plate layered with tissue.

For gravy:
* Chop onion into very very fine pieces.

1.Take a big kadai,add 1 tbsp oil. Once it is warm, add jeera followed by onion. Fry for awhile till onion turn translucent.
2 Add tomato puree  or chopped tomatoes. Add enough salt and cover the kadai. Cook till tomato is cooked and smashed well.
3.Now add all the powder,cashew and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes till raw smell of powder fades.Switch off the flame.
4.Once the content is cooled down,grind it in blender by adding little water.
5.Take another kadai,add little oil. Add jeera and fry. Now slowly pour the grinded mix.
6. Cook for 5 minutes.Once the mix is cooked,crush kashuri methi and add it to the gravy.Add salt if needed.Switch off the flame.
7.Finally add half and half or heavy cream,mix the gravy and garnish with coriander leaves.Cover the kadai.

Serve hot with roti or jeera rice.

Note:

* Those who are in diet,can avoid cream and cashew,instead can use curd.
* By adding the store bought tomato puree, the gravy gets its reddish color without adding red color. Those who are adding chopped tomatoes,can add food color.
* For kids, who love cheese can add chunks of mozzarella cheese inside kofta and cover it,before frying.
*  Those who feel difficult to fry kofta without breaking,can coat kofta with maida liquid and roll it in bread crumbs and then fry it. My son love this kofta than normal one.

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Mirchi ka salan

                       This is one of the famous dish in hyderabad.. The ingredient which are used in this gravy is different and sounds intresting too. So far i have prepared gravy using coconut paste, cashew paste, onion paste, tomato and onion puree, but this one mainly prepared using groundnut n sesame seeds.This gravy goes well with roti or any indian bread. In hyderabad , they prepare this gravy as side dish for biryani.

Ingredients:

Mirchi - 4 ( Banana peppers or bhajji milagai)
Jeera - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
Red chilli - 3
Roasted peanuts - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 6 cloves
Ginger - 1" piece
Mustard seed - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 small
Curry leaves - 3 or 4
Turmeric powder  - 1 tsp
Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp

Recipe:

* Chop onion into fine pieces.
* Slit mirchi, remove the seed and fry slightly in oil.
* Dry roast jeera,coriander seed and sesame seed. Grind it along with roasted groundnut/peanut,red chilli,garlic,ginger with 1/2 cup water.
           In a kadai,add oil. Once it is hot, add mustard seed,curry leaves,onion. Fry till onion is slightly brown in color. Now pour the grinded paste, turmeric powder,salt and 1 cup water. Cover the pan and cook till the gravy get thickens up. Now add tamarind paste,mix and bring to boil. Finally add fried mirchi n stir it. Cook for 2 more minutes. Serve the gravy  as a side dish for biryani or any indian bread.

Note:

* Use kashmiri red chilli , it will give reddish color to the gravy and also less spicy. Else, use red chilli powder instead of red chilli.
* We can also use simla mirch(capsicum) instead of this one.
* We can also add tomato puree in the gravy,  if we don't like the taste of peanut and sesame seed.

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Vegetable salna

    After coming to US,we miss many thing. One among it ,is roadside parotta and yummy salna. Being a vegetarian, i dnt prefer to make non veg salna to my husband( as i am lazy to prepare a separate gravy for me. So i was searching for vegetarian version of salna. I got this recipe from online and i can say ,so far i have made it more than 30 times. It taste yummy and satisfies both vegetarian and non vegetarian people. The gravy will taste like non veg salna but prepared with vegetables.

Ingredients :

To grind :
Onion - 2 no
Tomato - 1 medium
Garlic -  3
Ginger - 1 1/2 inch
Coriander seed -  4  tbsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Sombu - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 4
Pottukadalai - 1 tsp
Pattai - small piece
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 1 or cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Other:
Carrot - 1
Beans - 5
Cauliflower - small bunch
Potato - half
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp


Tampering :
Mustard - 1 tsp
Broken urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 stem
Red chilli - 2
Hing - a pinch.

Recipe:

 *Grind everything which is given under  "To grind " section with enough water. The consistency should be like a coarse paste.
*Chop all vegetables into big pieces.
                      Take a small cooker,pour the grinded mixture ,vegetables,turmeric powder and salt.Cook for 2 whistle.In a small kadai,add oil,mustard seed,broken urad dhal,curry leaves,red chilli and hing.Mix this tampering to salna and stir it. Close the lid for sometime so that the aroma of hing mix well with salna.

Note :

 * Serve this salna for chappathi and parotta.
 * I just love to make parotta into small small pieces and spread it in a plate.Pour the salna on top ,mix well and have it .Yummy .
* This salna taste yummier when the masala of salna soaked in vegetables.So this salna taste even better when had next day.We used to make kothu parotta with this salna first day and next day have it like the one which i said above.

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