A tribute to Desi Chinese!

Chilly Paneer/Paneer Chilly

I believe that one of the best things Indians have done is created our own version of Chinese cuisine. And I'm sure I can find about five hundred thousand people (or more!! :D ) who will vouch for this statement. Yes, the Chinese dishes that we get in India - at roadside shacks, to your local restaurant, to high end fine dining places are of such exemplary taste and variety that it will leave even the inventor of Chinese cuisine baffled!

You are a vegetarian? No problem. We have modified the chicken and duck dishes and come up with gems of dishes using cauliflower, baby corn, mushrooms and even the "Oh so Punjabi" Paneer! What's more? I did not know for a really really long time that there is no dish called "Manchurian" in authentic Chinese cuisine. That revelation left me gaping for a whole minute, cos Chinese means Gobi Manchurian (GM)to me! Gobi Manchurian is an all time personal favorite for me. I miss the ease of getting GM in US, versus India, where it is available more easily than you find Starbucks here(or Dunkin for Boston-ians)! So, the first time I went back to India, my dad got GM packed to the airport!! At 2.30 in the night I had 4 bewildered people staring at me as I gobbled it up! ;)

Before this post goes totally off track (that's what the thought of GM does to me ;) :D ), coming to the recipe at hand! I think Chilly paneer is like the ultimate tribute to Indo Chinese fusion! Paneer, as I said is totally Indian, this is magically transformed into Chilly Paneer - heaven for a vegetarian who loves spicy food! So, when I had a chunk of Paneer and the weather was cold, with threats of snow - I decided that there is no better fried food for this occasion than Chilly Paneer. It does take some effort- especially the deep frying part is a pain for me! :P But the end result is tohotally worth it! :)

This is for chilly paneer as an appetizer - a dry item. You can increase the quantity of sauce to make it like a gravy dish/side for rice/noodles. 

What you need:

Paneer : Cut into cubes - about 2 cups

Maida for batter

Corn starch - 2tbsp

Salt

Pepper powder

Oil for deep frying.

For sauce:

Onion sliced

Capsicums(Bell peppers) : sliced - 1 cup
Green chillies : sliced - as hot as you want it!
Garlic finely chopped - 2 tbsp(or less as per taste)
Ginger - 1tbsp (optional)
Tomato ketchup 4-5 tbsp
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Vinegar - 1 to 2 tbsp
Chilly sauce or red chilly powder (optional)
Pepper powder
Sugar - 1tbsp or less, depends on how sweet our ketchup is.
Chopped spring onions(scallions) or chopped cilantro for garnish.

Method:

Make a batter by mixing Maida, salt, water, corn starch and pepper powder. If you wish, add some chilly powder to this too. Some people prefer to add egg in this batter to make it crispy. The batter should be such that it gives a light coating to the paneer and not a thick coating.
You could skip the maida and just used corn starch + egg for the coating. I prefer the maida coating as it absorbs the sauce very well.
Coat the paneer pieces with this batter and deep fry in oil. Keep aside.

In a bowl, mix together tomato sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, chilly sauce, sugar and salt. Taste this mixture and adjust seasonings so that its good enough for the amount of paneer. Keep in mind the chillies and ginger that will be added to the sauce.

In another bowl, mix about 1 tbsp of corn starch with some water.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok. Add chopped garlic, ginger and chillies.

Next add the chopped onions and fry for about a minute or 2.

Add the bell peppers, saute for a minute.

Next add the sauce mixture and cook for a minute.

Add the corn starch mixture and cook till texture of sauce turns glossy.

Add pepper powder.

Put in the fried paneer pieces.

Garnish with cilantro/scallions.

Serve hot, eat immediately! :)

One pot meal.

Beany Pasta.

Talking about Indian meals, there is an unimaginable array of dishes cooked using different ingredients. The basic essentials are of course rice/wheat in some form. As time becomes a constraint and churning out different types of wheat breads like Roti, paratha etc. gets tougher (add to it my refusal to adapting to frozen rotis!), some other forms of basic carbohydrates like Pasta come handy. The pasta dishes available in restaurants, I admit, are yummy yummy. But originally pasta needs to have loads of cheese - bleep bleep bleep ("Unhealthy" sirens! ;) :D ).

I frequently make pasta at home, alter it to have less/no cheese, toss in a lot of veggies and of course add in some masala and chillies to satisfy my urge for the Indian spicy taste I crave for in EVERY meal I eat. :) One variation of this is adding different types of beans - chickpeas/kidney beans/black eyed peas or any bean protein you can think of! Result? A healthy one pot meal complete with your dose of protein and veggies. Adding Tofu might also be a good idea. I will try that next. :)

 I used different kinds of pasta - some wheat sphagetti, bow ties and penne. 

What you need :

Pasta

Kidney Beans + Black eyes peas - cooked with some salt.

Onions chopped

Ginger + Garlic

Green chillies chopped

Bell peppers - green and red

Corn kernels (Optional)

Tomatoes chopped

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp sugar

Chhole masala powder/Garam masala - use any readymade masala powder as per taste.

1 tbsp Kasoori methi (Dried methi leaves)- optional. Or use chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Salt

Oil

Jeera (Cumin seeds)

Method:

Boil pasta as per packet instructions. 

Heat oil, add Jeera.

Add ginger, garlic, chillies and onion. Saute for some time.

Add the cut bell peppers. Fry for 1 minute.

Next add tomatoes and corn. Add salt,sugar and masala powder.

Add the cooked beans, little bit of water and let it cook for 3-4 minutes.

Next add kasoori methi.

Add the boiled pasta and mix well.

Cook on low heat for a few minutes.

Serve hot with or without grated cheese. :)


This is my entry to Ramya's event :
Fusion Food -Pasta

A tasty dose of Haemoglobin and protein!

Beetroot-Dal Paratha

Parathas! The word immediately brings to my mind mouth watering memories of the many different kinds of parathas I've eaten over the years. Stuffed parathas, plain parathas, colorful veggie parathas! Nothing can beat the fulfillment of having a hot paratha with some raita/curd and pickle! :) <drool drool!>. Parathas- made with whole wheat flour and a variety of veggies are a healthy one-item-meal option. Definitely one of my favorite lunch box items back in college! Not one of your easier dishes to make though, as it involves some work from kneading the dough to rolling out the parathas.

Since parathas are made with practically all kinds of veggies on this earth (palak/mooli/onion and the list goes on..), I'm sure beetroot paratha must have been made/eaten by many of us. I do not recall having eaten this however. My hubby is not a big fan of different kinds of vegetables and its always a challenge to make him eat them- veggies being healthy is secondary, primary concern being, I love veggies and I want to eat them ;)

Beetroots are great sources of haemoglobin. So I thought of making parathas outa them. I used some masoor dal along with beetroots in this recipe, which I think made the parathas really soft and added a slightly different and pleasant fragrance and taste to the parathas. Turned out really tasty, hubby happy, me happy! :D

What you need :

2 medium sized beets

1/2 cup masoor dal

Whole wheat flour

1/4 cup finely chopped coriander/cilantro

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp grated garlic or use ginger garlic paste

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp cumin coriander powder

2 tsp kasoori methi 

Red chilly powder 

Salt

Oil 

Method :

Wash the beets and dal and cook them together in a pressure cooker with some turmeric and about a tsp of sugar for about 3 whistles.

Once it cools down, peel the beets, check how soft they are. Accordingly, mash/grate the beets.

Add ginger, garlic, spices, cilantro, salt. Mix well.

Now add flour and knead. Add as much flour as the mixture will hold to make a pliable dough.

The dough should be on the softer side. (This dough can be stored in the fridge for 2 - 3 days)

To make parathas: Take desired quantity of dough and roll it into parathas. Roast them on a tava with some oil. Serve hot with yogurt and pickle! Enjjjoooyyyy!!! :D

P.S: Have some kind of layering/folds while rolling the parathas. For eg: triangular fold, square folds, roll and coil like a laccha paratha.

Simple Mom style kadhi.

Palak Kadhi

Winter brings with it cold weather, depressing darkness and lots of laziness! What better in such weather than the comfort of an easy and wholesome meal?! Palak kadhi was one of the popular accompaniments with rice at home when we needed a break from the heavy dal/sambar routine. I always took this dish for granted and the day it sunk into me that I'm getting married, going away and will no longer have access to mom's cooking <sad sigh> , that very day I asked mom to make Palak kadhi and decided I had to learn how to make it. :) In fact this was one of the first few dishes I made in my new home and hubb loves it! Even when I moved in for a year with my roommate, this was the first dish I made. She loved it too and makes it even now! 

 

Palak kadhi is an easy to make, healthy, light and super tasty dish. Have it with some steaming rice with papad and pickle or make a soup  like meal of it! Add plenty of palak(Spinach) for your tasty dose of iron! The best part? Its ready in about 10 minutes! 

What you need : (Serves about 2)

Palak (Spinach) chopped - About 1 cup. Put in as much as you want..More the better/healthier.

Ginger grated - about 1 tsp 

Chopped green chillies(about 1-2 tsp) or 2-3 dry red chillies - more if you like it hot!

Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Curry leaves - 3-4 (optional)

Besan (Gram flour) - 2 tbsp

Yogurt (Curd/Dahi) - 3 to 4 tbsp 

Dhaniya Jeera Powder(Cumin coriander powder) - 1/2 tsp (optional) 

Sugar - 1 tsp

Oil - 1tsp 

Water - 2-3 cups

Salt

What you do :

Mix besan and curd with very little water.

Heat Oil in a pan. When it is hot, add jeera, hing, turmeric, ginger, chillies and curry leaves in the same order.

Add chopped spinach. Saute for some time (about 3-4 mins or till its a little tender).

Then add the besan/curd mixture. Saute for a minute.

Add water. Add less water if you want it thick/soup like. More if you want it to go with rice. 

Add salt, sugar and dhaniya-jeera powder.

Boil for about 4 mins and then simmer on low heat for a minute or two.

Serve hot hot hot! :) 

Desi Style Pizza Sauce

Here's the recipe for an Indian version of Pizza sauce/ Pasta Sauce. Use it to make spicy pizzas with the ready pizza base or even to make snacks like bread pizza. 

Ingredients:

2 cups Pasta sauce easily available in Dept stores (I use Pasta sauce as it already comes pre loaded with veggies) - You could substitute this with fresh veggies(Onion and Green peppers) and Tomato puree.

Garlic about 4-5 cloves.

1 green chilly finely chopped

Chopped onion(optional if using pasta sauce)

Red Chilly powder - as hot as u want the sauce to be.

1 tsp Coriander + Cumin powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

Lots of finely chopped cilantro(coriander) leaves (It goes very well with the sour tomato taste!)

1 tsp oil

1 tsp jeera(cumin)

Salt and Sugar as needed.

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. 

Add jeera. After it splutters add garlic and green chillies.

(If not using pasta sauce : Add the onion and green peppers, fry till golden brown, then add tomato puree.)

Pour in the pasta sauce.

Add the masala powders, adjust sugar and salt.Let it cook for about 2 mins.

Toss in the chopped cilantro leaves. Cook for about a minute.

Take off heat and cool. This sauce can be stored in the fridge for about a week.

PS: I sometimes add chole masala or pulav masala in place of garam masala for that slightly different flavor. It turns out really good! :)

Quick anytime Snack.

English Muffin Pizza

After coming to the US I've seen and tasted the most diverse kinds of bread. There are bread varieties for lunch and sandwiches, breads to go with salads and soups, bread for breakfast etc.... It basically represents different nationalities of breads coming together be it French, English or Italian.

One such interesting and popular breakfast variety are the English Muffins, having a distinct chewy texture. Get a batch in your next grocery shopping and use it for interesting snacks or eat it plain with some scrambled egg and cheese for a wholesome breakfast. :) 

I happened to have some pizza sauce (Click here for recipe) ready - (which is basically tomato puree/pasta sauce with an Indian spicy twist to it :D ) and some frozen corn leading to quick and tasty English Muffin mini Pizzas. Simple tomato ketchup should work as well.

What you need :

English Muffins

Pizza sauce

Frozen corn 

Chopped Onions, Green Peppers 

Other toppings of your choice - Mushrooms, Paneer - or anything you want to toss!!

Grated Mozzarella cheese

Method:

Toast the English Muffins in a toaster till they are slightly crisp - about 2 mins or more. (Crispy helps, because the next part in the microwave can make it soggy).

Spread the pizza sauce on the muffins. 

Add cheese and toppings.

Add some pepper if you wish.

Microwave for about 30 seconds - 1 min till the cheese melts.

Ready to gobble!!! :)

What MADE my Sunday morning!

Ragi(Finger Millet) Dosa (Jugaadu)

Before talking about the recipe itself, a little intro about the Jugaad term. Most Indians would be familiar with this popular hindi slang "Jugaad" which roughly means get something done by some means or the others. Many times it is used in context with a job being done as best as one can, with least available resources. So this Friday evening I'm grinding some Urad Dal to make batter for Idly and realize a bit too late that the amount of Idly Rava I have is too less for the amount of Urad dal soaked. Question at hand : What do I do with the extra urad dal paste? Since I had a cold/cough, urad vada was ruled out(which did make me very sad! :( ). 

I saw some Ragi flour and decided to mix it with the urad paste to make a dosa batter without much thought and was pleasantly surprised at how the dosas came out today morning! Melt in the mouth and cooked very quickly. I made a quick chutney and we enjoyed it with a steaming hot cup of tea! Ahhh.... my sunday morning was made!! :)

So next time you are planning to make idly, put in that extra cup of urad dal and easily end up with another meal taken care of... Ragi being really healthy is an added bonus.

What you need :

1 cup urad dal - soaked for about 6 hours and ground to a paste

About 2 cups of Ragi(Finger Millet) flour - I don't know exactly how much I added as I just added enough to mix well with the urad paste with a little bit of water.

Salt

Sugar

1 tsp of oil

Procedure :

Mix the Urad dal paste and Ragi Flour well. 

Allow it to ferment overnight. Sometimes takes more time than that depending on the whether. 

You will know when its done when it smells slightly sour, has tiny-bubbly texture.

Once fermented, it can be stored in the fridge easily for a week or more.

To make Dosas : Mix in salt and about 1 tsp each of sugar and oil into the batter. 

Heat a non stick tava. Check by splashing some water on it.

Once it is hot, spread the batter quickly and lightly without pressing the batter on the tava. Keep the heat at medium to high.

Drizzle some oil. Once it turns crispy (took about a minute), turn it around and cook for another 30 seconds.

Serve hot with coconut chutney and a cup of tea/coffee! :)

Grand Opening!

Hello to the world of blogging! :)

In recent times food blogs have been a a very important part of my daily life - reason? simple... I'm a biig (with as many i's that I can think of :D ) Foodie! I love to Eat/ Think/ See/ Cook food... I'm one of those "Live to Eat" people.. I love to look through the wide range of recipes and try them out.

Growing up in India, some of the best food I've had is in the roadside Dhabas - simple and super tasty. And yes, I say this in spite of being a Vegetarian!! I know that Dhabas make most of the people think of Butter chicken, but my mouth waters at the thought of the various types of Parathas, Aloo Gobhi, Baigan Bharta, Paneer Pakodas and of course the unbeatable Dal-Tandoor Roti-Pyaaz mirchi (Raw onion and chilly).. Sluurrrpppp!! :) I've been to Dhabas in many regions in India and the flavor and simplicity of food is unbeatable!

With all this drooling after thinking about Dhabas, lets come to my blog. I think my dream profession would be cooking and eating - and opening a Dhaba is what appeals me the most mainly because of the simplicity of it.. There are no fancy expectations to be taken care of and the focus is on food! My current profession is the the IT industry (Yes, add one more to the gigantic crowd!!!) and I do like it here! :) So here I am.. Giving some shape to my passion about food and cooking by writing at my very own iDhaba.. :)

The huge number of food blogs present today inspired me to write my own. I admit, I'm just a beginner in this field and can't compare to all the experienced and great cooks who have been here for a long time. :)  I will be posting some of my favorite and unique recipes learned/created over the years. The food craze started early on for me and my sister with my mom obviously, who is a fabulous cook and who went through the pain of attending various cooking classes to create a wide array of new dishes(pizza, north indian, chinese, ice creams, cakes were all created at home!!) for us!. Today, my hubby and a group of friends share this food passion with me! This blog encompasses all the knowledge Ive learned from mom, sis, mom-in-law, the numerous aunts, friends and my dad(Yes, he's a big foodie and cooks well too! :D ).  4 aspects of food are very important for me - healthy, easy, variety and of course Tasty!!

This is also a place for those people with limited time looking for nutritious home cooked easy meals.

Hope you all enjoy reading this.. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy writing too! :)

Bon Appetit!