Paneer “meat” balls with Spaghetti

 Ingredients 

1/2 block of organic paneer - low fat if you want 

1/4 cup of Besan ( little more if you feel dough is not forming balls )

3 tbsp Rice flour 

Pinch of , cumin paprika, salt. 

1/4 cup onion finely chopped 

1 or 2 green chillies as per taste 

1 small piece ginger finely chopped 

4-5 stalks of  cilantro, finely chopped 

Marinara Sauce ( as saucy as you want the pasta to be ) I used 1/3 cup. 

1/2 tbsp soy sauce.

Green peppers -1 small. Cut to strips 

Spaghetti pasta - cook per box instructions. 

Method 

First in a mixing bowl, crumble the paneer , add salt, Besan, rice  flour, paprika, cumin ,  cilantro, onion, green chilies mix to form firm dough. 

Prepare airfryer tray, with a liner , and spay oil to avoid the balls sticking to the airfryer.

Spread a little oil on your hands, and make 1-2 inch sized balls. And place on the liner paper, spray oil on top of the balls to cover ( or brush on oil ) 

Air fry at 375F for 5 mins, take took, turn the balls around , and put it back in fryer for 3-4 more mins. They should be crispy on the outside when done. Keep aside. 

In a large pan , use 2 tsp oil, saute green peppers , add salt, soy sauce 2 tbsp of marinara sauce , put the balls in , coat with sauce. Then put the pasta and remaining sauce. Garnish with Italian seasoning if you want . 

Amritsari Paneer Bhurji with Palak

Ingredients 

Paneer - 200gms

Besan 1.5 tbsp

Curd/ yogurt 1.5 tbsp

Pav Bhaji masala 1 tbsp

Cumin powder 1 tsp

Coriander powder 1 tsp

Turmeric - a pinch 

Spinach- 1 cup chopped 

Salt to taste 

Hot oil / hot water - 1 tbsp

Milk/ coconut milk - 2 tbsp

Tomato - 2 small 

Onion - 1 medium 

Ginger garlic paste  1 tbsp

Oil to saute.

Method 

1. Make a slurry of Besan, spices, curd, milk, salt , little water to make it slurry like, add hot oil . Stir well Keep aside. 

2. In a pot, add oil to saute, add onions, ginger garlic paste, saute till onions are golden brown

3. Add tomatoes, a pinch of salt , a pinch of turmeric and saute till tomatoes are cooked and oil floats on top 

4. Add the Besan slurry, cook again till oil separates

5. Add spinach and saute for 2 mins 

6. Add paneer , a little water if gravy is thickened too much

7. Cook on low for 8-9 mins

8. Turn off the stove and garnish with cilantro leaves and a bit of lemon juice. 

Whole Moong Khichidi

 Ingredients 

Green Moong, sprouted  -1 cup 

Rice , soaked for 20 mins - 1/2 cup 

Water - 3.5 cups

Salt - to taste

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Jeera seeds for tempering 

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Green chilli 1-2. 

Chopped ginger or paste - 1/2 tbsp 

Optional - tomato 1 small

Method

Add 1 tbsp ghee to pressure cooker or Instapot. 

One it melts add jeera seeds,  saute for a bit, add green chillies, ginger and saute for 1-2 mins and if using , add the  tomato and let it get soft.

Add the green moong, the soaked rice with water, salt , turmeric. Stir and cook for 12 mins in Instapot. Or 3 whistles in pressure cooker, for pressure cooker , leave on sim for 5 mins before turning off. 

After releasing the steam, add the rest of the ghee and stir, serve with Raita or pappad. 

Note: adjust consistency as you wish with additional water.

Note- for more flavor add broth instead of water. 

Mushroom Ghee Roast with Alterations

 It’s the season - wintry cold air makes you want to cozy up with food that warms your belly and tastes nice and spicy. 

I love Biryani, rasam soup and other good heart and body warming dishes. My family doesn’t usually eat spicy , so I have to tone down a bit from standard recipes to get the whole family to share my favorites ! 

One of the spicy-yet-tasty recipes that my MIL introduced me to is Ghee Roast - I follow this receipe to make it  https://www.kannammacooks.com/mushroom-ghee-roast-recipe/ 

 But I alter the spice and the water quantity for soaking - the first time I made this dish as per instructions , it was very spicy, and the “masala paste” wasn’t a paste, with the water quantity mentiones, it became a smoothie and I needed to cook it down for literally an extra 40 mins . 

So I have the ingredients as - 

4 Byadgi Chillies, 2 normal chilies if you increase Byadgi to 6 also it’s fine. Alternately , sub with 4 Byadgi and 1/2 teasooon of chilli powder. 

In the hot water for soaking the paste mix - use just enough to soak the mix- the yogurt already has enough liquid- so 1/4 cup or less - even if you scale the recipe to 3x, don’t scale the water - use just enough to soak the spices - 

With that! Good Luck ! 

Palakura pappu

 Ingredients

Dal mix :

1:1/2:1/2 measure of toor dal : Yellow moong dal : masoor dal mix 

In this recipe - 1/2 cup toor , use 1/4 cup moong and 1/4 cup masoor dal 

2 medium Campari tomatoes

1/2 bag of baby spinach ( about 2 cups loosely packed ) 

1 green chilli ( Serrano ) 

Rock salt and table salt 

7-8 cloves of garlic - ( chopped fine ) or 4 tbsp of garlic powder

1 teaspoon- Chilli powder  

1/4 teaspoon turmeric, pinch for cooking dal

1/4 teaspoon coriander powder 

1/4 teaspoon - jeera powder 

Dime sizes tamarind ball - soaked in hot water and tamarind juice extracted 

Ghee for tadka 

Mustard seeds , white Urad, jeera, dried red chilies , for tadka

Fresh curry leaves for tadka , cilantro for garnish 

Oil for sauté 

 Method 

1. Wash and Cook the dal mix in pressure cooker for 25 mins with 2x water , tablespoon of rock salt and a pinch of turmeric. 

2. Once the dal is cooked keep aside and , start with the rest of the work - in a pot , heat 1 tbsp of oil , add garlic , sauté till aromatic, add chilli , cook till skin of chilli is blistered - add half the salt measure mentioned in ingredients 

3. Add tomato and sauté till it turns mushy

4. Add chopped spinach, table salt , chilli powders , coriander powder, jeera powder

5. Sauté till the spinach leaves all its water - about 10 mins on medium heat 

6. Add  turmeric and then the cooked dal mix, tamarind extract 

7. Slow cook for about 15-20 mins - the dal will be simmer boil. Not a rolling boil 

8. Taste and adjust spices if needed to your taste. Adjust consistency of dal to be as thin as you want. 

9. Take a separate tadka dish - add 1 tbsp ghee , add first Urad dal , then jeera , last mustard seeds and when mustard splutters, add red chilies , once they start to darken, add curry leaves and hing 

10. Pour the tadka mix into the dal. 

11. Boil on low for 5 mins and turn off. Let it rest for 10 mins before transferring to serving dish. Enjoy! 

Pro tips 

- I like to use instapot to cook dal in larger amounts to freeze and use during weekdays 

- use instapot slow cook option for even more flavorful dal. Slow cooking for 8 hours makes the proteins break different and gives a completely different yummy taste 

Mom’s Gutti vankaya - no gravy

Ingredients 

1/2 kg small brinjals

Masala ingredients: 

4 dried red chillies

1 tbsp dhaniya 

1 tbsp chanadal 

1 tsp cumin seeds 

Pinch of fenugreek seeds ( 6-7 grains) 

1/4 cup groundnuts 

1 tsp white poppy seeds ( khus khus) 

2 tbsp desiccated coconut ( add 1 tbsp more if nutty taste is desired) 

Quarter sized Tamarind ball to be soaked and extracted to paste ( or 1/2 tbsp readymade paste) 

10 garlic pods 

Method: 

1. Fry chana dal , peanuts, khuskhus, cumin, red chillies , coconut powder in a tsp of oil on low heat, set aside.
2. Sauté garlic and onions in 1-2 tbsp oil  , with salt as per taste. Let them become brown. 
3. Add tamarind paste to the garlic-onion, and take the masala from step 1 , grind them all into rough paste, don’t add any water. 
4. Cut the brinjals with a cross on the smooth bottom , till half the length , keep the brinjals crown . 
5. Put them in salt water until ready to stuff. 
6. Fill brinjals one by one . 
7. Pan fry the brinjals with enough oil to coat the sides. Or bake them in the oven till all sides are crisped and inside is mushy. Do the frying in medium flame with a lid. Turn with a fork.
8. Transfer to bowl and garnish with coriander leaves. 
9. If any gravy is desired, make extra stuffing ( increase quantity by 1/4th) , grind this to more smooth paste, sauté in 1 tsp oil till it bubbles. Set aside in a bowl, then use the same pan to roast brinjals. Transfer to bowl with gravy gently. 

Enjoy this with Jeera rice, Ghee rice or any mild rice. 

Amaranth Chutney - Thotakura Thokku

Growing up, Rajgira or Amaranth seeds/flour were the healthier substitute for rice and wheat flours.
But the leaves of amaranth (Thotakura) were a yummy staple in a few South Indian households, including mine.

We would make dals, fried vadas, quick sautés, but my favorite was and still is the thokku ( mash/chutney). Rich in Iron, Vit-C,Vit-A amaranth leaves are as nutritious as they come and Mom’s recipe made it it a treat to eat.

The recipe has many variations ..
Some of the ones I personally recommend :

1. Adding a 1/4 cup of dry roasted peanuts or dalia before blending. 
2. Adding fresh raw mango as well when roasting the leaves
3. Using Green chilies instead of red ones
4. Using broth/whey instead of water while grinding 
5. Making it more thicker ( as my mom does, rather than saag like that my family prefers) 

The Original Recipe : yields about 2 cups of thokku ( saag consistency)

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of amaranth leaves -washed  
• 2 tomatoes - chopped 
• 1 medium onion chopped 
• 6 -8 pods of garlic chopped
• 4 dried red chilies
• 2 tbsp oil for roasting , 2 more fur tempering
• Tamarind ( 1/2 inch ball) 
• Salt to taste

Tempering 

• Urad seeds
• Mustard seeds
• Methi (fenugreek) seeds 
• Curry leaves 
• Hing powder
• Dried red chilies
• Save a few pieces of garlic and onion for tempering 

The ingredients are simple , not many spices, as the idea is to highlight the flavor of the Amaranth.

Method:

1. Take 2 tbsp oil in a nonstick pot and let it warm up (not hot) , once warm , add the red chilies, garlic and a pinch of salt , roast till they are aromatic (no need to brown the garlic)
2. Spoon out the chilies and garlic in a  bowl or the blender directly, leave most oil back in the pot , to this add onions and tomato and sauté for 5 mins 
3. Once the onions and tomatoes are mushy add the amaranth leaves and mix them up , leave on medium-high for 2-3 mins till amaranth leaves wilt and shrink. Cook for a 1 min more. 
4. Take the mix into the blender with salt, tamarind and the garlic and red chilies that were roasted. You can add water to make it saag like or leave it out as make it paste like blend. 
5. In the same sauté  pot ( I am a cook-in-one-pot person) , add 2-tbsp oil , add all the tempering dry ingredients and wait for mustard to splutter and seeds to turn brown, add the curry leaves, and garlic and onion pieces
6. Add the blended chutney to the pot and mix well and let it simmer for 2 mins. 
7. Thokku is ready to be served!