Kadaai chukka paneer

Stir fried paneer (Indian cheese) with capsicum and peas.

Most of us wish for something extra special for a Friday dinner and this recipe would definitely fit the bill. This Friday I made my own version of kadaai paneer, which is one of the most favorites for hubby and myself. In my view, this dish should take very less time to prepare, but would give a gorgeous look. 

Kadaai paneer came in to our kitchen, only after we tasted it in a restaurant (Data Udipi hotel) in Chennai after our marriage. As we both are from typical south Tamilnadu, our foods wouldn't have much of garam masala or strong spices. Sambar, dal , chutney, idli, dosa, vada are our specialties along with occasional non veg.  So these kind of flavorful north Indian dishes became more appetizing for us (especially when it comes to vegetarian foods). I started preparing them as close to the restaurant version after that.

Nowadays kadaai paneer takes a more liquid form, while in those days it resembled like a chukka fry (dry curry). So here is my own version of early style kadaai paneer.

Ingredients: (for 2 generous servings)

Paneer - 150 gm (cubed into small pieces)

red onion - 1 small (chopped)

red / green capsicum - half (sliced)

green peas - handful

tomato - 1 (vine tomato / country variety)

peanut oil - 2 tbsp

fennel - 1 tsp

butter 1 tbsp

salt - to taste

turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

cumin powder - 1/4 tsp

red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

coriander powder - 1 tbsp

garam masala - 1 tsp

ginger - 1 inch , garlic - cloves (crushed together)

To garnish:

chopped cilantro - 2 tbsp

finely chopped green chili - 2

Special vessel needed :

A thick iron kadaai (or) wok (or) any heavy bottom pan.

Method:

Heat oil in a heavy bottom vessel.

Add fennel, after it gets red, add chopped onion.

Stir fry it till it gets soft (not red).

Pound the ginger garlic together in a mixer or hand mortar & pestle.

Add the crushed ginger garlic mixture and stir fry for few seconds to remove raw smell.

Then add finely chopped tomato , pinch of salt.

Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, salt. 

Cook covered in low heat.

Cook this till oil separates.

Microwave and cook the green peas with a tbsp of water.

Then add sliced capsicum, cooked green peas. Saute well. 

Meanwhile heat butter in a tempering wok (kadaai).

Cube the paneer.

Saute the paneer pieces all at once , till they turn soft and golden.

Pour this to the prepared masala. Stir well and bring it to a dry curry consistency.

Switch off , garnish with chopped green chili, cilantro and serve hot.

Kadaai sukka paneer is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish with any kind of roti, chapati, naan.

Also goes well with cumin rice, brinji rice or plain ghee rice.

Calorie calculation:

30 gm paneer (5 big pieces) - 90 cal.

This is a calorie rich dish.

Zucchini pasta

Zucchini noodles or zoodles has become a favorite for many people nowadays. I started thinking about it a lot after my sweet friend Raji told me that it tastes great and that's a low calorie food. I said to myself, 'if she says that, then that's correct'.
Then last year during the Thanksgiving sales, I got a cuisinart food processor as gift from my hubby and this spiralizing  attachment came along with that. Cuisinart's sprilaizing attachment is more user friendly (but expensive). I got it along with  13 cup food processor for $99 + free shipping from costco,  while the original price on other days is over $149.
When it comes to zoodles, I would say that it is as much satisfying as a flour based noodle. Pasta is not my childhood food, so my taste buds agree more with this plant based pasta. Hubby and myself like this very much. Whenever I prepare this, I would prepare some chicken kebab too and that's our favorite.
Hope you all like it too !

Ingredients:
Zucchini - 2
garlic - 3 cloves
Extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
crushed red chili pepper - 1/2 tsp
Ragu sauce (old world style) or any pasta sauce - 1/4 cup

Method:
Spiralize the zucchini into spaghetti shape noodles. I used Cuisinart food processor's spiralizing attachment. (If the zucchini is longer, cut it into two pieces and it would be easier to spiralize in cuisinart).
Heat olive oil in a wok.
Add crushed garlic, saut'e for few seconds to remove raw smell.
Then add the zucchini noodles.
Sautee it till it is semi cooked. Add required salt, crushed chili, tomato sauce / Ragu sauce.
Mix well.
Zucchini noodles / pasta is ready !

Serving suggestions:
Serve as dinner or lunch with side dish.
I made baked chicken kofta kebab along with this.

Kitchenaid hand blender and Keerai masiyal

"And sometimes we all say a million reasons why we cook an elegant meal....for the love of someone, for the kid, for charity, for a party , for testing a new gadget etc, but the real reason is we all  love cooking , cooking excites us, it cools the hunger and, in simple words....cooking makes us feel like an artist"

This is another comfort food from the basic Indian cooking. The greens are indispensable in a well balanced Indian menu and much praised for the health benefits.
Generally the arai keerai and siru keerai (smaller leaved amaranth) are good for this blending recipe. I have used spinach here.  

In this recipe I have used the kitchenaid hand blender to mash the 'hot spinach'. In Chennai I used to blend the keerai, using a small rough clay vessel and a wooden pestle ( In Tamil - keerai kadaiyum mann pathiramum , mathum). That traditional clay vessel imparts an earthen flavor to the simple keerai masiyal.
Nowadays Indian mixie is used to prepare this masiyal , palak paneer, pavbhaji masala, soups, dals and all those dishes that needed a good mashing. But the drawback is, everything we put in mixie should be cooled to room temperature to avoid them gushing out while grinding. So we have to wait till its cool. Then we have to heat it once again before serving. This multi heating and long hours of wait can be thwarted by using a hand blender.

A hand blender is handier than an ordinary mixie, as we can blend the hot contents right out of the stove and we can serve immediately without reheating. That's the best feature I like about hand blenders. 
I prepare keerai masiyal on almost all weekends along with fish curry or sambar rice and I palak panneer once a week. So this is one of my favorite gadgets.

I bought this some 2 years back from Kohl's in the Kitchenaid section. Since then I have been using it almost twice or thrice a week. I would say this is sturdy, pretty and useful.

 I am an avid fan of Kitchenaid equipments. Just like the old fashioned stand mixer (which I absolutely love), this blender is gorgeous and an useful tool for all who love to cook. 
Kitchenaid hand blender has been an all time  favorite among chefs and homecooks. Mostly it is used to prepare soups, mashed potatoes, mixing hot stuffs in the western world. Just like that the Indian kitchens also need a hand blender nowadays for those busy hands.

Hope you all fall in love with this pretty hand blender !

Vanjiram meen kulambu (king fish curry),  fish fry , rice, mango, spinach 

Keerai masiyal with rice, fish curry and fish fry

Using Kitchenaid hand blender for mashing pav bhaji masala.

Controlled mashing is a good feature of hand blenders.

Ingredients:
Spinach- 1 bunch (300 gm approx)
water - 1/4 cup
shallot - 2
green chilly - 2
garlic - 4 pearls
cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
salt - to taste (very little only)
Lime (sunnambu) - a very small pinch (optional)

Method:
While as a bunch, trim off the hard stem side and take the spinach leaves. Rinse thrice or more times and clean the leaves well.
Take a narrow wok and bring to boil 1/4 cup water. Remove the skin of shallot and garlic. Add them to the boiling water along with the chillies, cook till they get soft. Add the spinach and cook them without closing the lid. 
After a few minutes, gently turn the whole lot and cook the other side too.
Check the stems if they are cooked. Wait till all the moisture is gone and put off fire.
Add cumin, salt and blend in a mixer to a coarse paste using a hand blender.
(Just two or three pulse is enough).

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with rice or as a curry over rice.
We generally prepare this masiyal along with fish curry and rice.

Note:
In my native place , they add a pinch of lime (calcium oxide , that we use along with pan leaves)while blending to get more nutrition. Its purely optional here.
No tadka / tempering is necessary.

Some folklore from my native place (arai keerai / small amaranth):
This masiyal can be prepared with black pepper instead of green chillies and consumed daily to reduce the obesity. 

Example of recipes that can be prepared quickly using a hand blender  in Indian cuisine:

Mashed dal, Soups, Pavbhaji masala, Kheers, Palak paneer, mashed spinach, mixing hot stuffs for samosa,  baby foods, pureeing etc.

Happy Pongal

Wishing all a very happy and prosperous Pongal,

Pongal recipes:
Rich Sarkarai pongal
Sarkarai pongal
Pongal avial
Pongal puLi curry
Venn pongal 
Ketti paruppu 
Easy cooker Pongal



May this Pongal festival brings peace, good health, success, cheer, prosperity and every happiness
Happy Pongal! 
Love, 
Viki Xavier 

Mango custard fruit salad

Here is a very easy recipe to start the new year ....a new dessert !

Mango custard fruit salad is my newest innovation and I love it as a substitute for the original fruit custard salad.

Mango custard fruit salad

Ingredients:  (makes 8 - 10 servings)
Mango puree - 1 cup
Custard powder - 2 tbsp
milk - 1 cup
condensed milk - 2 tbsp (optional)
powdered sugar  or sugar - 4 tbsp (to taste)
mixed fruits - 2 cup 
(apple - 1/2 , pear - 1/2, banana - 1, seedless grapes - 10, pomegranate - 1/2 cup, dates - few)
cardamom powder - 3/4 tsp

Method:
Peel the apple, pears, pomegranate. Chop the apple, banana and pear into bite size cubes and keep aside. chop dates, grapes and keep aside.  Keep aside in fridge.
Bring milk  to boil  
Dissolve the custard powder in few tbsp of cold milk and add to the boiled milk. Start heating and cook for 2-3 minutes or till the custard gets thickened. Now add mango puree.
Add required sugar, condensed milk , cardamom powder.
Let cool completely.
Add chopped fruits and pomegranate arils. 
Keep refrigerated for 2-3 hours or till chilled.
Mango Fruit custard is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve chilled as dessert.

Note:
I am suggesting condensed milk, as we generally have fat-free milk only at home,  and adding condensed milk makes it rich.
Instead of fresh fruits, we can use canned fruits too, to save time.
Using a vegetable chopper to chop fruits will minimize the prep time.
This salad can stay  fresh for 3 days inside fridge.

Happy New year 2018

Wishing all a beautiful, happy , healthy, wealthy , Prosperous and peaceful , blessed New Year , May  God bless and protect us all.  
May goodness prevail all over.


Love,
Viki Xavier.

Christmas recipes

Hi friends,
I am sure everyone has great plans for Christmas. Along with the Christmas decorations, Church schedules,  and shopping comes the cooking plan. We all wonder and think of many many recipes, but still the family's vote goes for our usual successful recipes ☺ That too native recipes stay in our menu forever. As we both are from Tirunelveli, our town's recipes comes to our minds first. Every year Xavier gives me a long wish list ☺ Here is that list ! Enjoy !

Merry Christmas !

Christmas plum cake (Indian style)

Plain vanilla cake

 Butter biscuit (Sooji berry biscuit / benne biscuit) :

Gingerbread cookies:

Orange butter cookies:

Susiyam:

Athirasam:

 Munthiri kothu

Porikadalai laddu:

Pineapple Kesari

Spicy snacks:
Butter Murukku

Coconut milk murukku

Thattai

Oma podi (sev)

Kara sev:

Ulunthu vadai

Paruppu vadai

Breakfast:
Aappam (rice pancake)

Lunch:
Turkey biriyani

whole fried chicken

Dindigul chicken biriyani (in cooker)

Tirunelveli mutton varuval

Egg kuruma (Tirunelveli style)

Stuffed egg (keeru muttai)

Dessert : (Paruppu Payasam)

Merry Christmas !