Tag Archives: North Indian

Recipe: Dum Paneer Kali Mirch

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A couple of weeks back, I was searching for recipes to make when I chanced upon this recipe in NDTV food which was a pure paneer recipe. It intrigued me enough that I decided to make it, after making some changes to it based on what I had at home. It was super delicious and it’s a definite keeper at home.

This recipe cooks on dum in the last stage which essentially means cooking it in its own steam and not let the steam escape. I have cooked something on dum on a stovetop for the first time and it was achievement unlocked for me with this recipe!

Dum Paneer Kali Mirch

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups paneer, chopped into biggish chunks
  • 2-3 pieces of clove
  • 2-3 pieces of cardamom pods
  • 1 inch piece of cinnamon
  • 2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
  • 3-4 garlic pods
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 4 green chillies (use a lesser number if you are using the smaller green chillies as they tend to be spicier)
  • 10 pieces of cashew nuts soaked in warm milk for 20 mins and then blended to a smooth paste
  • 1 small cup of beaten yoghurt
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp pepper powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked pepper (to garnish)
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add the onions and on fry them on a medium to low flame. We need to brown the onions, but not burn it, so you need to keep stirring. When nice and brown, cool it, blend into a fine paste and keep aside.
  • Grind the ginger, garlic and green chillies to a fine paste and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, add the remaining oil and fry the dry whole spices – cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and let them fry till the oil becomes fragrant.
  • Now add the browned onion paste and let it fry for around 5 minutes till the oil starts leaving the sides of the pan.
  • At this point, add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste and saute for a few minutes.
  • After this, add the cashew paste and let it cook for a few minutes.
  • Next, add the beaten yoghurt and the dry spices – turmeric powder, chilli powder, pepper powder and garam masala and let it cook.
  • Add some water to bring it to the consistency you want and let it come to a rolling boil.
  • Add the paneer/cottage cheese and salt and any extra water should you need.
  • Now you need to cook it in dum. What it means is that you cook it in its own juice with no steam being able to escape. You seal the pan with aluminium foil and then cover it with the lid of the pan and let it cook on a low flame for 5-10 minutes.
  • Remove the foil, garnish with coriander seeds and cracked pepper and serve hot with any rice dish or even Indian flatbreads. I served this with a simple pulao.

Simply delicious!!

Recipe: Dal Fry

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Dal Fry is such a ubiquitous dish that it finds a place in almost every menu that offers Indian food. However, and when I think back, it is quite strange that I’ve not made this dish ever for the children and S, considering it used to be a staple in my repertoire pre-marriage! So anyway, while planning on my menu last week, I decided to make this at last and it was very well liked by everyone at home. 

This is a fairly easy dish to make and makes the dal thick, unlike traditional dals. So when you cook the dal, make sure you do not add too much water while cooking, so it retains its thickness.

Dal Fry

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups toor dal, washed and soaked in warm water with a pinch of turmric powder for 30 minutes
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large red tomato, finely chopped
  • 4-5 pods of garlic, grated or made into a paste
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, grated or made into a paste
  • 1 tbsp ghee or oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp carom seeds (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder 
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 3-4 dried red chillies
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • In a pressure cooker, cook the dal for 5-6 whistles. If using the stovetop to cook the dal, cook till it is very mushy and becomes whole and smooth with a paste-like consistency. Keep aside.
  • In another pan, heat the ghee and when it warms, add the cumin seeds and carom seeds one after the other, with a few seconds of stirring in between.
  • Now add the dried red chillies and stir for a few seconds. Next add the chopped onions and stir well, letting the onions become translucent.
  • When the onions become translucent, add the garlic and ginger and let them cook for a while.
  • Now add the dry ingredients – salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and stir for around 1 minute.
  • Add the tomatoes and cook until the mixture becomes mushy and the tomatoes lose their shape and become soft.
  • Now add the cooked dal and stir well. Check for seasoning and add what is missing. Add the garam masala and let it cook for around 5-10 minutes. You can add water to make it the consistency you like.
  • Switch off the gas and add the lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. 

Serve hot with plain or jeera rice and a vegetable of your choice.

Recipe: Spicy Mixed Dal

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One weekend, when vegetables were low and I was bored of making the same dishes all the time, I decided to make something different. So I found this mixed dal recipe from Tarla Dalal and made it with some slight tweaks, based on what I had available in my pantry.

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Spicy Mixed Dal

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsps split yellow moong dal
  • 2 tbsps urad dal
  • 2 tbsps chana dal
  • 2 tbsps toovar dal
  • 2 tbsp whole green moong dal
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 5-6 cloves of Garlic
  • 1-inch piece of Ginger
  • 4-5 fresh red chillies
  • 2 tsp garam masala powder
  • 2 tsps (more or less) red chilli powder
  • 2 tsps coriander powder
  • 2 tsps cumin powder
  • 2 tbsps Ghee or oil
  • 1 cup of beaten yoghurt
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash all the dals. Soak them in hot water for 20 – 30 mins and then cook them in a pressure cooker along with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder until mashed well.Allow the steam to escape and then open the lid.
  • In the meantime, blend the ginger, garlic and red chillies into a smooth paste and keep aside.
  • In a small pan, heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds, then the onions and saute till the onions are slightly translucent.
  • Now add the ginger, garlic, chilli paste and saute till the oil starts coming out.
  • Then add the tomatoes and the dry spices (remainder of turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder) and saute for a while.
  • When the oil starts to come out, add the yoghurt and stir continuously on a medium flame till the mixture comes together.
  • Pour this gravy into the cooked dal and mix well. Check for seasoning and cook for around 10 minutes till the dal is completely mashed and mixed well.
  • Season with coriander leaves and serve with any rice or roti.

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Recipes: Stir-fry Potatoes

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2A couple of weeks back when S’ cousins came home for dinner, I had made this potato dish which was inspired by the simple potato stir-fry from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. This is a very simple dish to make but is slightly heavy on the masalas used. It was super yummy and since then BB & GG have been asking me to keep making this. This dish is a keeper and goes very well with any rice and dal combination as well as with any roti or Indian flatbread. When I make it for lunch, BB also takes it with him to school, as a filling for a sandwich.

1Potato Stir-fry, UP inspired

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 medium sized potatoes, scrubbed and washed well
  • 2-3 tbsps oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • ½ tsp ajwain seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ to 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Amchur or dry mango powder
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala powder

Method:

  • Wash and scrub the potatoes well. Then slice them into thick slices and then cut vertically into 1 inch sticks and slice the sticks finely. Wash well and keep aside.
  • In a pan, heat the oil and when the oil is warm, put the dry masalas one by one – cumin seeds, then fennel seeds, caraway seeds and stir for a couple of seconds. Then add the salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida, dry mango powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and stir for a few seconds.
  • Then add the potatoes and stir and mix well so that the masalas mix well with the potatoes.
  • Cover and cook on a low flame for around 10-15 minutes or until it is almost done.
  • At this point, add the garam masala powder, stir well and cover to cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Check for seasoning and switch off the flame.
  • Enjoy the potato stir-fry with rice or any flat bread

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Recipes: Bhindi Do Pyaza aka Okra Onion Gravy

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img_0254I’ve always seen Bhindi Do Pyaza in restaurant menus and have eaten it before also, but I’ve always wondered at the dish’s name and how they make it. Every restaurant has their own recipes and so this has been different in each restaurant I’ve eaten too.

The other day, fed up with cooking almost the same dishes every day and also facing rapidly diminishing refrigerator contents, I decided to make this, albeit slightly differently to go with a peas and corn pulao. Usually this recipe will be more dry than a gravy at restaurants, but since I was serving this with rice, decided to make it with a red tomato gravy. Bhindi Do Pyaza was a hit and everyone loved it and this will become part of our usual menu.

img_0251Bhindi Do Pyaza

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 kg bhindi or okra, washed and dried completely
  • 4-5 onions, cut into half and sliced finely lengthwise
  • 4 medium sized tomatoes
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp onion seeds
  • 2-3 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Make small x cuts in the top and bottom of each tomato and keep aside. Take some water in a pan and when the water starts boiling, put the tomatoes top down and let them cook. Keep an eye on them and turn occasionally.
  • In the meantime, cut the okra into 1 inch pieces.
  • Heat around 1 tbsp oil in a pan and when the oil heats up, put the okras to fry. Stir occasionally, shake the pan if needed. Cook the okras till they are three quarters done and remove from the pan and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and add the cumin and onion seeds and fry for a couple of seconds. Then add the ginger and stir for a minute. Next add the onions and fry them till they become translucent and start to brown.
  • When the tomatoes are done, remove them from the water, peel the skin away and blend the pulp into a smooth paste.
  • When the onions start to brown, add the dry spices one by one – turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin power and and a bit of salt.
  • If the mixture is very dry and starts to burn, add some of the water which you boiled the tomatoes.
  • When the mixture is completely cooked, add the fried okra and cook for a few minutes.
  • Now add the tomato paste and check for seasoning. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of garam masala if you want here.
  • Let the dish cook till it starts  bubbling and at this point, reduce the flame and let it cook for another 5 minutes. If you need to add water, use the water you used to boil the tomatoes. When you have the consistency you want, switch off the flame.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with a flatbread or rice of your choice.

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