Paneer Makhani

2011-05-01T10:00:00.000+05:30

Paneer is a common ingredient used in Indian dishes and for non-Indians it is nothing but a form of cheese. You can even call it the 'Indian Cheese' and it is readily available in almost all grocery stores here in India. Paneer Makhani is a rich side dish usually prepared for dinners.

Ingredients

Tomato - 4 medium sized
Paneer - 200 gms
Ghee - 2 Tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 Tbsp
Cashews - 25-30
Tomato Ketchup - 1 Tbsp (Optional)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tbsp
Kasturi Methi / Fenugreek Leaves - 2 Tbsp
Milk - 1 Glass
Fresh Cream - 1/4 glass
Chilli Powder - 2 Tbsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 Tbsp
Coriander Powder - 1 Tbsp
Salt to Taste

Cooking Method

Slice tomato into 4 slices and soak it in 2 glasses of hot water for 10 mins.
Soak cashews in 1/2 glass of hot water for 10 mins.
After 10 mins grind them and make tomato and cashew paste separately.
Heat the pan and add ghee and cumin seeds to it.
Add ginger garlic paste.
Once the raw ginger garlic smell subsides, add the tomato puree and cook until it boils.

After Adding the Tomato Puree

Add the cashew paste, kasturi methi and tomato ketchup.
Also add chilli powder, salt, garam masala and coriander powder.
Leave this to boil for few mins and then add sliced paneer.

After Adding Paneer

While it starts to boil again, add milk and fresh cream and cook for few mins.
Garnish with coriander leaves and decorate with fresh cream.

Total Preparation Time - 15-20 mins

Serves - 4

Tips

If you prefer thick curries then make the tomato puree and cashew paste thick, else you can make it watery if you need more gravy (as I have made it).
If you want the dish to be more rich then add more cashew paste and if you like it less tangy then skip the ketchup or add just 3 tomatoes instead of 4.

Serve this dish with chapathis, rotis or parathas for dinner.

♥ Aarthi ♥

Apple Halwa

2011-04-01T10:00:00.000+05:30

Apple Halwa is an Indian sweet that goes well as an evening snack or a good dessert. Apple Halwa served with Vanilla Ice Cream has been an all time favourite to Indians. Though the cooking time is pretty long the dish is very easy to make and also the ingredients used can be easily spotted in any kitchen. If you are having guests and you don't have the mood to go out shopping, then this dish comes for your help.

Ingredients

Apple [Grated] - 3
Boiled Milk - 1/2 Ltr
Sugar - 1 Cup
Ghee - 2 Tbsp
Milkmaid - 2 Tbsp (optional)
Nuts and Raisins to Garnish

Cooking Method

Take a deep frying pan and add 1 tbsp of ghee.
Add grated apple to it and fry until the raw smell goes or until the water evaporates completely. This might take 10-15 mins.
Add milk to this and keep stirring continuosly. Let the flame be on high throughout, else this will consume a lot of time.

Keep adding sugar and keep stirring until this has little water as shown in the pic below. It might take 45 mins to get to this consistency.

At this stage you can lower the flame and add 2 tbsp of milkmaid. If you want it to be very sweet you can add more according to your taste.
Keep stirring until all water evaporates and the mixture is as thick as a halwa.

Now you can fry nuts and raisins in ghee or just use plain nuts and raisins [as I have used] to garnish.

Total Preparation Time - 1 Hr
Serves - 4

Tips

You can use red apples if you like the taste of plain sweet or if you are a fan of tangy tastes [like the one in rasagollas] you can use green apples.
After grating the apples if you mind the change in colour, add few drops of lemon juice. Anyway the colour will change while cooking.

♥ Aarthi ♥

Cooking - My Rocket Science

Paneer Makhani

Apple Halwa