Beans -Paneer Malai Sabji (French Beans and Indian Cottage Cheese in Creamy gravy)

This is a wonderful way to include French beans in your diet. Who doesn't like to eat a creamy gravy with soft cottage-cheese cubes in it?

I learnt this recipe from Geetha chithi and immediately tried it. Loved it and so did my hubby, who doesn't eat beans thuvaran or anything with Beans as the major veg. This is simple to make and tastes yummilicious :) It's also different in that, this sabji does not need the ubiquitous tomato-onion base that most North-Indian gravies come with.

This post has been pending for a long time and now, when a friend of mine asked for some easy North-Indian style recipes to whip up quickly, I am sending this one.

Beans-Paneer Malai Sabji with Garlic Rice

Time - 25 minutes
Yield - 2 to 3 adults

You Need -

French Beans - about 15 (chopped into 1" pieces)
Paneer cubes - 150 g
Potatoes - 1 medium (optional, I didn't add any)

Set A -

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Dhania/Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin powder - 3/4 tsp
Green chillies (slit) - 2
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp (Adjust according to your spice tolerance level)
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Fresh Cream or Malai - 5 tbsp

Nestle Cream works too.

To Temper -

Oil - 2 tsp
Whole Jeera - 1 tsp

To garnish -
Fresh Coriander leaves

How To -

• Take a kadai, heat 1 tsp oil and allow jeera to splutter. Try to spread the oil all around the sides of the pan.
• Add slit green chillies, beans, thawed paneer cubes (and potato, if you would like to) and all the spices from Set A along with fresh cream, in the quantities mentioned.
• Mix well and cover the kadai with a lid completely. This is to allow the veg to get cooked, plus get the creamy flavor infused in it in a lovely way :) Please turn the gas mark to Sim/Low.
• After 8-10 minutes, open the lid, the cream would have melted and the beans is now well-cooked.
• Check for salt and spice levels.
• If the veggies do not come together with the gravy, sprinkle some rice flour (~ 2 tsp) while stirring simultaneously. Rice flour binds them all together and the cream now coats the veggies uniformly. Do not add too much of rice flour as it will spoil the rich taste that malai (cream) lends to the gravy.
• Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

I served this sabji with Garlic rice and we both liked it :)

Kofta with Sprouted Green Gram Bean/Dal

You can see I'm still not over the kofta mania! But this time, it's healthier because I'm using sprouted green gram for making koftas. This is indeed a good way to make your family consume some proteins if they don't relish it in the form of sundals.

I made Palak gravy (similar to the one described in Palak Paneer) to go with the koftas, to make it healthier and take in all the nutrients from greens. You can also make tomato-onion gravy, just like the one we made for Paneer Butter Masala. Or even simpler, just serve these koftas as a starter with some chutney or sauce to dip in.

What You Need -

For the Koftas -

*Sprouted green gram dal - 150 g
Paneer - 100 g
Onions, chopped - 1 medium

Red chilli  powder - 3/4 tsp

Cumin powder (Jeera) - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Garam masala spices powdered - clove, cinnamon, cardamom (optional)

Bread crumbs for crispness
Oil - to fry


How To -

• Grind green gram sprouts without water.
• Mix with grated paneer (or mashed paneer), chopped onion, chilli powder, salt and spice powders to make a thick dough.

• Divide them evenly to make oval-shaped or ball-shaped koftas. 
• Coat the koftas in bread crumbs. Optionally, it is best to dip it first in maida batter to make bread crumbs sticking on better to the koftas. 

• Heat oil in a kadai and fry the koftas.

• Drain on kitchen tissues 
• Serve them with any gravy over it. I made palak gravy :)

That may not 'look' great, but sure tasted yummy!


* To make sprouts :

• Soak green gram dal in water overnight (8 hours)
• Wash it and drain off the water.
• Hang them in a moist cloth (like muslin cloth) for about 12 hours. 
• Sprinkle water often and do not let the cloth go dry.
• Wait for 3-4 hrs more if you don't see sprouts yet.

Malai Kofta (Deep fried paneer & potato dumplings in rich creamy sauce) - Step-by-Step recipe

Malai Kofta is a rich dish popular in North India, originally from Punjabi cuisine. It's very delicious, loved by everyone and best suited for lunch/dinner parties. Who wouldn't like something that has paneer, cream and potatoes in it? ;)

My hubby loves Malai Kofta :)  Sadly, the only Indian restaurant closest to our place doesn't list Malai Kofta on its menu.  Hence, I have been wanting to try and make this at home for a long long time. Inspired by Geetha chithi's mouth-watering pictures and simple recipe, I was much tempted and finally made this today for lunch.  I modified the recipe slightly and was immensely happy that it came out very well and we both enjoyed our meal. I served it with chapathis but Malai Kofta goes equally well with rice varieties.

Malai Kofta

What You Need -

For the Koftas -

Paneer - 150 g
Potatoes - 3 small/medium
Green chillies - 3 (finely chopped)
Jeera/ Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Raisins - as required

Maida/All-purpose flour - 4 tbsp (Can substitute with corn flour)
Oil - for frying

For the gravy -

Onions- 2
Tomatoes - 2
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Cashewnuts - 12  nos.
Raisins - 20 nos.

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

Cream - 4 to 5 tbsp
Cilantro - to garnish

How To -

• Boil potatoes. Peel the skin and mash them.
• Mash paneer and mix it with mashed potatoes, along with chopped green chillies, jeera, pepper and salt.

• Mix maida in some water. This makes our batter. 
• Divide the dough into small ping-pong sized balls. 
• Stud each ball with 3-4 raisins.
• Dip and roll the balls into maida batter and deep fry in hot oil.

• Make sure the oil is hot enough else the balls might disintegrate!

• A batch of 4 koftas would take about 5-7 minutes to get cooked and fried enough on all sides. You can remove and drain the koftas on kitchen tissues when you see them turning golden in color.

Golden Koftas - yummy as such :)

• These are just yummy as such and you can eat them right away with tomato-ketchup or any chutney :) But, save them if you want to eat them with the rich creamy gravy!

• To make the gravy, you need 4 kinds of pastes/juices. 

(1) Soak chopped onions in hot water for 15 minutes and grind them to a paste

(2) Blend ripe tomatoes in a juicer
(3) Ginger-garlic paste (you can go with the store-bought version too)
(4) Soak cashews and raisins in hot water for 15 minutes and grind to a paste

• Take a kadai, heat 2 tsp of oil and fry the onion paste and let it cook for 5 minutes.
• Next goes the ginger-garlic paste.
• Now, add tomato puree and add salt.
• Follow with all the masala powders - turmeric, garam masala, coriander and red chilli powder. Let boil.
• Once all these are well incorporated, mix in the cashew+ raisins paste and boil for another 2-3 minutes. 
• Finally, add in cream and garnish with coriander leaves/cilantro.

To Serve : Pour the gravy over the koftas just a few minutes before eating, to prevent them going soggy. I like soaked koftas in my gravy, so I soaked just 2 koftas right from the beginning and then crumbled them in the gravy. This also gives some thickness and texture to the gravy.

Happy to send this to Sinful Delights! Very apt description, indeed for Malai Kofta :)

Palak Paneer (Spinach and Cottage Cheese)

This is one dish which is tasty but at the same time, nutritious too :) It comes with the goodness of green leafy palak(spinach) and the heavenly paneer(cottage cheese)! This is also quick to prepare and can be served in 30 minutes! Now, do you need any more reason??

Palak Paneer

What I Used -

Palak - 1 bunch
Paneer - 15 cubes (of 1 cm)
Onions, chopped - 1
Tomatoes, pureed - 2 to 3

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Dhania powder (Coriander seeds' powder) - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1.5 tsp

How I Made It-

• Cook Palak in an open pan (to retain green color) with just enough water to cover it. This takes about 15-20 mins on low-medium flame.
• Drain most of the water and allow it to cool.
• Thaw the paneer cubes for about 30 mins. We can do this at the beginning itself to save some time. 
• In a kadai, heat 1.5 tsp of oil, saute onions and ginger-garlic paste until you don't sense the raw smell at all.
• Add pureed tomatoes.
• Add a little salt now. Allow this to cook for 5 minutes.
• Blend the cooked and cooled palak in a food processor and add this juice.
• Add Red chilli powder, Dhania powder and Garam masala and adjust salt.
• Mix well and cook together for 5 minutes.
• Add the paneer cubes directly to the palak gravy and cook for 5 more minutes. 
• Generally, I do not like to fry the paneer cubes unless absolutely necessary. If you'd like to fry them first, then keep them immersed in hot water for 5-10 mins so that they remain soft inside.

This is a North-Indian delicacy and goes well with both roti-varieties and rice.

You can sprinkle 2 tsp of shredded Mozarella cheese on top for a kick! :P Certainly, this is not a part of the traditional recipe!

When I'm lazy to make roti (Indian bread) or cook rice, I just eat it with multi-grain bread and it tastes yummy and very filling :)

Paneer Butter Masala - Quick & Tasty + Restaurant ki Swad

We all love paneer :) Paneer by itself is yummy and you can make your food even more delectable by adding stuff like tomatoes, onions and spices. I can't imagine how boring Indian vegetarian cuisine would have been, had paneer not been invented! Paneer is a type of cottage cheese of Indian origin. You can make delicious kurmas/curries with paneer or make Paneer Biriyani with rice.

Whenever I want to whip up a quick yet delicious meal (and I mean 15 minutes!) on a lazy Saturday afternoon, I end up making Jeera rice or Garlic rice and Paneer Butter masala. I would like to share with you, this really quick recipe for Paneer Butter masala that tastes just like the one you get in restaurants. Yes, bilkul asli taste :)

I have passed on this recipe to a my family and friends (which in turn, has been spreading like viral!) and everyone who tried it has absolutely loved it! :)

Paneer-Butter Masala Restaurant-Style!

You Need -

Paneer - 20 cubes of 1 cm (You can find cubed Paneer in the Indian grocery stores in the Frozen section)
Butter - 1 tbsp
Fried Onions - 3 tbsp (optional, for added crunch)
Onions (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Tomato puree - 3 tbsp OR Tomato paste - 2 tsp
Dhania powder (Powdered Coriander seeds) - 1 tsp
Garam masala -1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Kasuri methi - 1/2 tsp
10 Cashews soaked in 3 tbsp hot milk -> Make a paste of this and use
Salt - to taste
Milk - 4 tbsp
Cream - 2 tbsp (minimum)

Steps -

• Take a bowl, mix together the spice powders - dhania, chilli powder, garam masala and kasuri methi. Then add tomato paste and mix everything together adding water little by little. Alternatively, you may add tomato puree, but note that paste is more concentrated and should be used in lesser quantity than puree, as specified. Add the cashew paste too. Finally, add milk to this mixture. Whisk everything in the bowl together. 
• Now, add paneer cubes into the mixture in the bowl, let it coat every piece and let the paneer marinate for about 30 to 45 minutes atleast. This marination step is cruical, more so if you're using Tofu.
• After 45 minutes, Take a pan, Melt butter , add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2  minutes.
• Fry freshly chopped onions for a while and then optionally, add fried onions for a crunchy effect.

• Pour the marinated mixture into the pan and cover for 5 minutes.You may add a little water (100 ml) as well and let it all boil together.
• Add salt.
• Keep flame on "Sim/Low".
• After 5 minutes, add cream finally, mix well and switch off after 2 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves, if you like :)

Wasn't that quick 'n easy?

Paneer-Butter Masala in 15 minutes!

Serve with roti /chapathi /phulka /naan or any Pulao rice :)

Note:  

Cream is the secret to that perfect restaurant-style taste. I have tried Nestle, Amul as well as Bulla Thickened cream and they are all good. Feel free to use fresh cream, if you have the time and patience to prepare it at home. You'll need full-cream milk (milk with atleast 6% fat) to extract cream.

Tip:  

If you do not have paneer at home and can't travel to your Indian store, just substitute it with Tofu, if its easier to find Tofu. It then becomes Tofu-butter masala, of course! While using Tofu, I suggest marinating tofu cubes with the bowl of spices + tomato paste + cream added. About 20 minutes would do. For those who are suspicious about Tofu's taste (and don't believe me!!!), use 50% paneer and 50% tofu and try for yourself! :)