Deepavali

Rangoli 1

Rangoli 2

Deepavali !!!! This time of the year is full of festivals, and one of them is Deepavali. It’s marked by days of celebration, full of fun, family re-union, lot of crackers and definitely a variety of cuisines.

The countdown has already started with less than a week left. I have lot of memories associated with deepavali, since my childhood days. Buying crackers with my brother, lighting the diya’s and candle in the evening, in and around the house. Waiting impatiently for the pooja to get over not to get the sweets but to lay my hands on the crackers and so on. Over a period of time, things have changed a lot and now instead of bursting crackers, I prefer watching kids having a good time with crackers, while I spend my time in the kitchen and decorating the house. Decoration, reminds me of rangoli, which is an integral part of Deepavali .

Keep watching the space for lot of recipes. Have a safe & happy deepavali !!

Rangoli 3

Palak Paneer (Cottage Cheese Cubes in Spinach Puree)

Preparation Time:  15 mins

Cooking Time:       40 hrs

Ingredients:

Paneer(Cottage Cheese):   200 gms

Palak(Spinach):                 500 gms

Onion:                               2 medium sized

Tomatoes:                         3 medium sized

Salt:                                  As per taste

Cinnamon:                        2

Black Cardamom:             2

Bay Leaf:                          2

Turmeric Powder:             ½ tbsp

Coriander Powder:           ½ tbsp

Oil:                                   5 tbsp

Unsalted Butter:                50 gms

Fresh Cream:                    50 gms

 Preparation:

Cut the Paneer into equal size pieces of ½ inch each and keep it aside.

Wash the Palak, well under running water.

In a big mouthed pan, boil water enough to submerge the Palak.

Once the water starts boiling, add a tablespoon of salt and then submerge the palak.

Lower the flame to medium, and allow the color of palak, to change to dark green.

Once the color changes to dark green, wash the palak under running cold water.

In a mixer, put the semi-boiled spinach, and make a paste of it and keep it aside.

Make tomato puree and onion paste and keep them aside.

In a big mouthed pan, heat the oil.

Add the Cinnamon, Black Cardamom, and Bay leaf in the hot oil, and let it cook for 2 minutes.

Add the onion paste and keep stirring until it turns golden.

Add the tomato puree and then add turmeric powder and coriander powder and salt.

Keep stirring until the raw smell is gone, and you can aroma of the spices starts emanating.

Add the Spinach paste, turn the flame to almost low and allow the spinach to cook for few minutes.

At the end add the Paneer cubes, and unsalted butter and let it cook for 10 minutes on the flame.

Put everything in a microwavable bowl, and microwave it for another 5 minutes.

Before serving add the fresh cream to it.

Aloo Kasuri Methi (Boiled Potato with Fenugreek Leaves)

Preparation Time:  10 mins

Cooking Time:       20 mins

Ingredients:

Boiled Baby Potato:           500 gms

Dried Fenugreek Leaves:   4 tbsp

Salt:                                   As per taste

Chopped Green Chili:        2 tbsp

Powdered pepper:             ½ tbsp
Lemon Juice:                     2 tbsp (Optional)

Oil:                                    5 tbsp

 Preparation:

Peel the boiled potatoes, and cut them into 4 equal parts.

In a big mouthed pan, heat the oil.

Add the chopped chilies and then add the chopped potatoes.

Let it cook for 2-4 minutes.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and dried fenugreek leaves.

Mix slowly so everything mixes uniformly.
Add lemon juice, if you want it to be a bit tangy.

Cover the pan and allow it cook on low flame for 10 minutes.
Stir 2-3 times so that it does not stick to the pan.

A Peek into Durga Puja Pandal !!

Durga Puja, is a week long festival celebrated all over India. A few pics that I could not stop from sharing.

Rosogolla

Preparation Time:  10 mins

Cooking Time:       1 hr

Ingredients:

Milk:                            2 lts

Lemon Juice:                3 tbsps

Sugar:                          500 gms

Water:                         1 lt

Rose Water:                2 tbsps

 Preparation:

1. Take the milk, in a thick bottomed pan, and allow it come to boil.
2. When it starts boiling, reduce the flame to low, add the lemon juice, and keep stirring, until the milk curdles completely.
3. Drain it into muslin cloth and wash the cottage cheese well, under running water.
4. Drain every bit of water from the cottage cheese.
5. In a big vessel knead the cottage cheese, so that it becomes very soft, and feels light.
6. Make small round pellets of cottage cheese, and ensure that they have a very smooth surface. (The pellets should not be bigger than the size of pea-nuts)
7. Take 250ml of water in a wide mouthed pan and add the sugar, to make sugar syrup.
8. Add the rose water to the sugar syrup.
9. The syrup should be of a thread consistency. Smear the syrup on your thumb and press with forefinger, when you pull slowly you should see a thread.
10. Add the pellets in the sugar syrup, and let it cook on low flame, until it swells to twice or more than its size.

Chenna Payas (Cottage Cheese dumplings in thickened milk)

Preparation Time:  10 mins

Cooking Time:       2 hrs

Ingredients:

Milk:                            3 ½ lt

Lemon Juice:                3 tbsp

Sugar:                          500 gms

Water:                          1 lt

Powdered Cardamom: ¼ tbsp

Chopped Pistachios:    1 tbsp
Chopped Almonds:      1 tbsp
Saffron:                        Few Strands

 Preparation:

1. Take 1 ½ lt of milk, in a thick bottomed pan, and allow it come to boil.
2. When it starts boiling, reduce the flame to low, add the lemon juice, and keep stirring, until the milk curdles completely.
3. Drain it into muslin cloth and wash the cottage cheese well, under running water.
4. Drain every bit of water from the cottage cheese.
5. In a big vessel knead the cottage cheese, so that it becomes very soft, and feels light.
6. Make small round pellets of cottage cheese, and ensure that they have a very smooth surface. (The pellets should not be bigger than the size of pea-nuts)
7. Take 250ml of water in a wide mouthed pan and add 300gms of sugar, to make sugar syrup.
8. The syrup should be of a thread consistency. Smear the syrup on your thumb and press with forefinger, when you pull slowly you should see a thread.
9. Add the pellets in the sugar syrup, and let it cook on low flame, until it swells to twice the size.
10. Pour the remaining milk in a heavy bottomed pan and allow it boil on low flame of big burner.
11. Allow it to simmer until the quantity of milk is reduced to 2/3rd of its original quantity.
12. Keep stirring after every 5 minutes, so that it does not stick to the bottom.
13. Add the remaining sugar and powdered cardamom, mix well and allow it come to boil.
14. Remove the cottage cheese dumplings from the sugar syrup and put them in the thickened milk.
15. Ensure that you press it, so as to drain off the sugar syrup from it. This will help in absorbing the milk.
16. Allow it cook for another 15 minutes on low to medium flame. It will further swell and come to the surface as in "Pic 2".
17. Turn off the flame and allow it cool. 
18. Sprinkle chopped pistachios, almonds and saffron.
19. Serve cold...

Pic 1

Pic 2

 

Note:

Use full cream milk, rather than skimmed/toned milk.

The entire cooking should be done on low to medium flame.
After cooking it should be refrigerated for 4-5 hours, so that it absorbs the milk.