Chanar Dalna | Chhanar Dalna - Bengali Style Paneer Curry

Chanar Dalna - Bengali Style homemade paneer curry

Chanar Dalna | Chhanar Dalna 

Chanar Dalna is a typical niramish (vegetarian) Bengali dish where homemade paneer balls or koftas are fried and cooked in a lightly spiced, subtly sweet gravy with potatoes. I have shared my Mother's recipe of Chanar Dalna in this post which is cooked with a fresh ground paste of cumin and ginger.

Every Friday, as far along as I can remember, my Mother kept a fast and therefore did not cook any meat or fish on that day. She herself ate a single one-pot meal of rice and vegetables cooked together with some ghee and salt. But for some reason unknown to me, she felt that one day of not having any protein would render us weak and feeble. Trust me, there was not a sign in my health to make her believe such. But she steadfastly did. And according to Bengalis that protein can never ever come from a "dal" or lentils. It has to be meat, eggs or if those failed then dairy!

Fresh chana simmering in gravy

So, my Mother made Chana or as we say Chhana aka cottage cheese. Diligently. Week after week. She boiled whole milk and squeezed lime juice in it until the milk had a rent and tore apart to form blobs of white cotton like milk solids suspended in a greenish whey. She then drained the whey out on a piece of starched white cloth, usually cut from one of one of her old saris and washed and dried to act as a cheesecloth. That paneer or chhana then rested under the weight of our black stone nora until all the water was squeezed out. She sometimes tried to feed me that raw chana with sugar sprinkled on it, saying it was good for me, but I hated it so very much that she soon gave up that idea.

Instead, she made flat disc shapes from that chhana, shallow fried them golden brown in oil and dunked them in a lightly spices sweetish gravy with potatoes and spice blend.The gravy would always be a thin one, spiced with freshly made paste of cumin and ginger. That niramish chanar dalna with those pillowy soft balls of cottage cheese was a much loved dish from my childhood. If that was how I was supposed to get my protein fix, I was all for it!

Niramish Chanar Dalna - Bengali Style homemade paneer curry

And so Chanar Dalna stayed on as a staple in our home on most Fridays. It would also pop up twice or sometimes thrice in the course of the week but if it was Friday then it was almost sure that Chanar Dalna was on the menu.

I usually make a chanar dalna with store bought paneer as that is easier and quicker. Also, my kids like that paneer a lot, we get really a very good Nanak paneer which is soft and delicious. However I have to agree that they are not the same thing. The Chanar Dalna that my Mother made, with homemade chana or homemade cottage cheese is definitely a dish that Bengalis will find more superiors.

Cumin-Ginger-Green Chilli paste

Today, I re-created the same dish with chana or paneer made at home. I wanted to get the exact flavor of my childhood dish and so instead of using cumin powder, I made a fresh ground paste of cumin and ginger  in my mortar, the quintessential jeere-ada baata, and used that paste as the masala for this dish. I must say that the fresh ground paste played an important role to enhance the flavor of this light curry. I thoroughly enjoyed the subtly sweet Chanar Dalna with rice for dinner today.

The kids thought that there was no need to go the extra mile of making chhana at home!! But sometimes you do things, for your own happiness, and that's fine.

It wasn't a difficult dish to cook, maybe takes bit more time to make. If you are running short of time, you can make the chhana a day ahead and then do the gravy the next, that might make the process easier. Also for an easier version of the dish with store bough Paneer follow my other Chhanar Dalna Recipe.

Quick Chili Paneer - by Big Sis

Quick Chilli Paneer

Day before yesterday, the weather being very nice, I was out in the backyard in the evening, close to the flowering trees. And then I don't know what happened. Boom! my eyes started swelling up and before I could say, "Hold on", the skin around my eyes got all puffed up, making my eyes squished inwards and tiny!!  I could not recognize myself even if I knew I was the same person. Had I committed a murder, this would be the perfect alibi. But too late. I hadn't.
.
I was not bitten by an insect. Not even unknowingly. There was no pain. Just the swelling. I figured it was an allergic reaction and I do have pollen allergies which usually manifests itself in sneezing and sinus, but this eye thing was new. The husband-man and friends suggested I see a doctor but in these times, going out to a doctor's office is as much as an risky adventure as swimming across the Atlantic ocean. So I did neither.

Well, I could have opted for a televisit but then I really don't think the doc could do anything except suggest cold compress for my eyes and allergy medication, sitting remotely in the comfort of her own couch.

 So with my almost shut eyes, I looked up my symptoms on the internet and found that it could be something that could make me "DIE" in the next thirty years or it could be allergies. I went with the latter.

I have been on Zyrtec, a little of Children's Benadryl since then and putting ice on my eyes like a maniac. Yesterday I looked very Asian, not South-east Asian. My daughters said I was being racist but I am just trying to describe how I looked. I was also wearing sunglasses all the time and listening to NPR's moth hour instead of watching TV or reading books.

Today I look a cross between South-east Asian and Asian. So my eyes are coming back to normal, albeit slowly.

Since I was all  drowsy and almost blind, Big Sis made dinner yesterday. LS helped her with chopping. They both together made a Chilli Paneer and a Fried Rice which was so delicious that I wish they made dinner more often.

This is a Chili Paneer recipe we use often in our house. It's very quick and simple. I am not sure if BigSis followed it fully. Like any good cook she deviates from recipes and I am proud of that. Please take your liberty and do as you like. The result will be delicious.

What You Need

Onion - 1 medium chopped in thick slices
Green Pepper - 1 chopped in thick slices
Garlic - 4/5 minced
Green Chili - 2 chopped

Paneer - chopped into cubes

Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar -- 1/2 tsp
Corn Flour -- 1-2 tsp

Vegetable Oil (or Sesame Oil) -- 3 Tbsp for cooking

To make the Sauce

Soy Sauce -- 2 Tbsp
Hot Sauce (Sriracha or any other Red Chili Sauce) -- 1 Tbsp
Maggi Hot & Sweet - 1 Tbsp
Green Chilli Sauce -- 1 tsp
White Vinegar -- 2 Tbsp
Mix all of the above to make this sauce. Taste and adjust for anything you feel is missing.

Here's how we Do It

Warm Vegetable Oil in a frying pan/saucier/Kadhai

Add the paneer pieces so that they are in one single layer. Sprinkle a little red chili powder, salt and sugar. Fry the paneer pieces so that one side is golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

To the same oil add the minced garlic.

Once you get the aroma of garlic add the onion and saute for a minute. Add the green pepper. Increase the heat to high and saute onion and green pepper until they are little soft.

Next add the sauce and mix. Reduce heat to medium.

Add the paneer pieces and toss with the sauce

In the bowl that you mixed the sauce add 1/4th Cup of water and 1-2 tsp of corn flour. Mix well. Add this to the frying pan and let it come to a simmer.

Adjust for any seasonings needed.

Serve with fried rice.

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Chhanar Dalna | Chanar Dalna -- Bengali Cottage cheese cubes in gravy

Chhanar Dalna | Chanar Dalna -- Bengali Cottage cheese cubes in gravy

Chanar Dalna a Bengali delicacy | Chhanar Dalna

Chanar Dalna or Bengali Paneer Curry is usually made with homemade chhana/paneer in a light sweetish curry with potatoes and spiced lightly with garam masala.

Summer vacation starts today in my part of the world. More than two months of long, languorous, warm days stretch ahead. Last week Big Sis's school had a small ceremony marking their moving up to sixth grade which is middle school. She and her friends were pretty upset to bid good bye to their teacher and there were much tears and hugging. Come September we will be adjusting to a whole different school routine, attitude and hormones. Little Sis also moves to first grade and there will be another school and routine for her too. Hopefully no hormones there. But we will think of all that later. For now, we will only think of long lazy days.

I love summer vacations, even when they are not mine and my daughters'.

Now, as I have said many times, BigSis loves Paneer. This is probably the one thing in food, toward which her loyalty has not wavered over the years. Paneer in Chanar/Chhanar Dalna , Butter Paneer or Palak Paneer. She loves them all.

Bengali Chhanar Dalna

In most other case, her food choices have changed, taking its own shape, gently molding the menu I try to set. While as a child she used to love her "Chicken Jholu Bhatu" these days she does her best to avoid all kinds of meat. She is no longer fond of fish and eats egg just to get by. I have no idea where she gets here vegetarian traits from but her love for aloo posto, tauk er dal and kadhi sure comes from me. And yes, her love for Paneer is an almost exact replica of my love for Chhanar Dalna.

Chhanar Dalna and Posto would be a staple in our home on Fridays. It would also pop up twice or sometimes thrice in the course of the week but if it was Friday then it was almost sure that Chhanar Dalna was on the menu. There was a reason behind this. On Fridays, my Mother kept a fast and therefore did not cook any meat or fish on that day. For some reason unknown to me, she felt that one day of not having any protein would render us weak and feeble. Trust me, there was not a sign in my health to make her believe such. But she steadfastly did. And according to Bengalis that protein can never ever come from a "dal" or lentils.

So, my Mother made Chhana. Dilligently. Week after week. She boiled whole milk and squeezed lime juice in it until the milk had a rent and tore apart to form blobs of white cotton like milk solids suspended in a greenish whey. She then drained the whey out on a piece of starched white cloth, usually cut from one of one of her old saris and washed and dried to act as a cheesecloth. That paneer or chhana then rested under the weight of our black stone nora until all the water was squeezed out.

A Very Quick Butter Paneer and Rainbow Loom homemade

Paneer Butter Masala -- How to make Butter Paneer

Okay, who ever discovered Butter Paneer is a genius. "Sirji, tussi great ho". I had never ever thought I would utter these words and always dissed butter paneer aka paneer makhani as a misconstrued representation of the rich Indian cuisine. I am sure I have said things to that effect in my earlier posts too.

But that was when I had not foreseen a future where hoardes of bengali kids(including mine), age ranging from 5 to 15, who might have otherwise complained about  dal-bhaat-mangshor jhol, would eat butter paneer with rice in rapt silence. That was when I had no idea that the biggest fan of this dish, is being nurtured in my own home, until now fed on a  careful and involved diet of chhanar dalna, charchari and murgir jhol . Yes, that is my nine year old, more frequently referred to as BigSis. She has always liked orange glo paneer makhni with naan at Indian restuarants, her favorite thing to order. I had thought she would get over it. Apparently she didn't and the fondness just grew stronger.

So, I took matters in my own hand and started making a Paneer Butter Masala at home. It was much appreciated and I started making it more frequently.

The more, I made it, the more I streamlined.

I cut corners and butter and heavy cream. I pared down the recipe to bare basics, something that could be done in 15-20 minutes flat whether you were cooking for 2 or 20. Yes, 5 main ingredients, few spices, 15 minutes and you have the easiest, quickest dish which is guaranteed to please loads of kids if not their finicky parents. I started adding vegetables along with paneer to the gravy and calling it my version of Navratan Korma. Instead of paneer, I added Eggs and called it Egg Masala. The horizon holds many possibilities with this dish but before I share the recipe, I have to tell you about another genius.

The discoverer of Rainbow Loom, a contraption which lets you make you bracelets with rubber bands. "Whaat??", you might ask. But I think, you won't. Almost everyone with school going kids have experienced the Loom fever.

Way back in Spring when my 9 yr. old oldest, BigSis came back from school and showed me a bracelet made of rubber band, I honestly did not understand what was so special about it. She and her friends are always making pretty bracelets or necklace out of beads and the rubber band ones seemed pretty flimsy in their comparison. Soon, however every other kid I came upon was making rubber brand bracelets and every other kid seemed to possess a "Rainbow Loom".

"Can I get a Rainbow loom?", BigSis asked in June. Now, I am not the kind of Mother who right away buys anything that the kids will ask for unless it is a book, again in which case I will first check the library. A kit that makes rubber brand bracelets and sells for $25 seemed a bit too much to me and I said, I will consider it only later.

Soon however BS learned to make a basic pattern with her two fingers and started making bracelets by the dozens on her fingers. Around end of summer she took one of her Taekwondo wood boards(the ones she breaks in class), pushed 3 thumbtacks in it and started using that to make more patterns. Some of her friends who did not have the loom yet did the same. Her neighborhood friends who had the store bought loom would pop in every other day and she used theirs to make the more difficult patterns that she and her friends learned from YouTube. Now, BigSis has a very rare quality where she doesn't really ask for toys or clothes or anything much. It is also a drawback in the sense that rarely there are incentives that excite her. So, in this case though most of her friends possessed the Rainbow Loom, she didn't feel deprived and did not ask me for one again. Almost all of August, she and her friends made bracelets of rubber band like crazy. The husband-man referred to it as "Kutir Shilpo" -- a burgeoning cottage industry.

Until that is a few weeks back. "I cannot make the complicated patterns using my 3-pin board," she grumbled. "I want to make more designs as they show on YouTube". Now, in our home, I am the more indulgent parent in such commercial product matters and so this time I was just this two clicks away from ordering on Amazon. The Dad is the one who thinks that kids these days anyway get too much and will learn to improvise only when they don't get desired stuff easily. So I held off buying the loom, mentally making a note to put it in as a December gift.

Finally tired of not having the complete loom, last week on her 4 day holiday, BigSis sat down to make a complete template board. She painted and glittered the wooden board. Then went on to replicate the full template with thumbtacks. There were a few trials with the pin placements as there needs to be a certain pattern and distance for optimal bracelet making. The hook posed a problem and so I bought a crochet hook which served the purpose. Finally the Rainbow Loom worth twenty-five dollar was made at home at almost no cost. It was cheap, sustainable and looked far better than the plastic ones made in China.

BigSis was also very proud of her home made loom as her friends and teachers praised her effort. Some of her friends wanted to make their own hand painted loom too.

As I read the story of Rainbow Loom's success and how its inventor had initially done the design using push pins on a wooden board, it seems the loom has come a full circle. As I see it, kids are immensely resourceful and if they want something, they will put in all their efforts to do it. How to excite them is the question and I am really amazed that these rubber brand bracelets were motivation enough.

Disclaimer: Now that BigSis is older, she does not want me to write much about her. However she particularly wanted me to take pics of her loom and share her hand made loom with you all.

Very Quick Butter Paneer

Prep

Buy a block of Nanak Paneer if in US and Canada. In other countries buy the best brand of paneer. With Nanak, the paneer is really soft and no soaking in hot water is necessary.

Cut up the paneer block in cubes.

Puree fresh juicy tomato to make about 2 cups of pureed tomato. OR use canned tomatoes and make two cups of pureed tomato.

Start Cooking

Heat 1/2 tbsp Vegetable Oil in a deep bottomed pan or kadhai. Add 1/2 tbsp of butter.
On occasions that call for rich gravies, I increase butter to 1tbsp. For only family meals I often skip the butter totally.

Temper the warm oil+butter with
2 Tej Patta
2 Black Cardamom lightly bruised in the mortar
1/4 tsp of methi seeds

Once the methi seeds start sputtering, switch off the heat for a minute and let the oil soak in the flavor of methi seeds. I don't think switching off is necessary but I like to give the oil a little time to absorb flavor of methi seeds and cardamom while I make tomato puree.

Now put the pan back on heat again and add
1.5 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste

Fry for a few secs and then add
1 tbsp of tomato paste
If you don't have tomato paste, it is okay to skip

Next goes in
2 Cups of pureed tomato

Mix well with a spatula and add
1 tsp Kashmiri mirch powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/4 tsp of homemade Garam masala

Now stir and mix and let the tomato puree cook for about 7-8 mins at medium heat until the raw smell is gone. Keep stirring in between else it will char.

Add salt to taste and about 1/2tsp sugar and mix. As a reader Hasina Ahmed said, the sugar prevents the milk from breaking up later so make sure you add it.

Once the tomato is cooked and you see the oil seeping around the edges, lower the heat and add
2 Cups of Evaporated Milk(from can)
+ 1 cup of warm water
If you don't have Evaporated Milk, substitute with Whole Milk.
Remember to simmer at low heat as milk will break if you cook the gravy at high heat

Mix well and let the gravy simmer at low medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Adjust for taste and fine tune salt/sugar. You can add little more Garam masala and kashmiri mirch at this point if you think the dish needs more

Now add the paneer cubes and about 2 tsp of Kasoori methi crushed between your palm. Ahhh...the fragrance

Let it simmer for 3-4 more minutes at medium heat.  Check that paneer is cooked and does not taste raw. Switch off heat. Cover and serve after 15 minutes.

Paneer Korma -- in a spiced yogurt sauce

Yesterday Little A chopped off her hair. Not all of it. Few strands. She took the pair of scissors from the kitchen drawer which she uses to cut paper. She said she wants to cut paper. But did she cut paper ? No. Instead she cut off some of her own hair.

I told her never to repeat the act again and at that she cried so much that Big Sis had to volunteer two dolls from her collection to get hair chopped off by Little A.

D, the Dad, says I am too lenient with the little one. Believe me I am not. I mean yes I have changed as a Mother since I have had Big Sis and I try to pick my battles or maybe I just give up on certain areas that can involve a lot of bawling from a 3 yr old but lenient I am not. It is the kid who is different. And she is not even that naughty. It is just that she is different from Big Sis who was more obedient and conforming. And I think in some areas I have changed for the better. Better for rowdy mankind.

Before I was this woman hyper about everything being in place, the cushion just so, the walls pristine and I wouldn't let friends put up their feet on my cream sofa even if the said feet was beautifully pedicured. Now, honestly, I do not care. My painted walls have scribbles in unseen corners and I just avert my eyes, the sofa is jumped on, the cushions never in place. The friends are surprised. The husband repeats the "lenient dialog" and then he says I have become the "Bhalo Kakima", the "good aunt" (or so they decided) in their neighborhood who would let them ransack the house. The "Baje Kakima" (bad aunt) no doubt had a prettier home, disciplined kids and an orderly life.

I shudder.

And then I make Paneer Korma. In blog language it was "a beautiful dish with soft pieces of paneer nestled in creamy yogurt sauce perfumed with mint and coriander and then garnished with purple hued fried onions". In my everyday language it was a darn simple dish to cook and really good to eat which Big Sis loved like she loves Paneer.

The dish was inspired by this dish by Sanjeev Kappor and my Madhur Jaffrey Chicken Korma. The fried onion was a nice touch. Do add them.


Read more...

Paneer Korma 

Chop about 200gm of Paneer in small cubes. I buy Nanak brand which is really soft. If yours is not like that try lightly frying and dunking in warm salted water.

Soak 2 tbsp of cashew or blanched almond in water to soften.

In a blender add
1/3 Cup of thick yogurt 
2 tbsp cashew 
3 hot green chili 
Make a smooth paste adding water if necessary.
To this add 1 tsp of flour and mix well. The flour will prevent the yogurt from curdling if you live in that fear.

Heat Oil for cooking.

Fry 1 small onion chopped in thin slices with a sprinkle of sugar. The onion should turn a pretty purple-pink and become soft and translucent. Remove and keep aside.

Now temper the oil with the following whole garam masala
2 small green elaichi slightly bruised 
4 clove 
a 2" thin stick of cinnamon 
10 whole black peppercorns

When the spices pop add 1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste. 

Saute for a minute and add the paneer pieces. Sprinkle some turmeric powder. Lightly saute till the paneer cubes turn light golden.

Next reduce the heat to low and add the yogurt mix that you had made earlier. At low heat cook for couple of minutes stirring in between.

Add about 1 cup of lukewarm water and mix well. Raise the heat.

Sprinkle around 1/4 tsp of dried mint, and 1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves. Add salt and some sugar to taste.

Let the gravy come to a boil and then simmer till the gravy becomes thick. Now add the fried onions and cook for a minute.

Serve with Roti, Naan or a Pulao.

Paneer Butter Masala -- Paneer Makhani

Paneer Butter Masala -- Paneer in a rich creamy gravy

I really really love December. Though the month brings lots of housework, cooking, cleaning, re-cleaning, making umpteen trips to the grocery store on cold cold days, I still love it. I don't do too many Christmas presents so am saved running around in the madding crowd of department stores.

Though BS & LS don't really have a wish list for Santa, I still have to buy something for them, to keep with the spirits and put stuff under the tree.

LS said all she wanted from Santa was "Geefs" and Santa was going to give "geefs" to her and Didi only.
"Tomay Santa geef debe na. Ami debo, bujhecho?(Santa won't give you geefs. I will, understand ?)", she told me.
And then the not yet two-and-half got me an empty yellow polka dotted gift bag (from my stash), and said "Tomake lellow geef debo ar Baba ke red"(I will give you an yellow gift and Baba a red one);

BS initially wanted a pair of light up shoes, a simple pair which looks horrible and does nothing but light up. Her Dad had denied her that and got a pair of sensible sneakers instead so she said though Santa wasn't really real but only some saint, she wanted the light up pair from him. Last Friday though she said if she had a wish list she would put on it a Polly Pocket doll that changes hair color on getting wet.

Neither has been acquired.

For all I know she might forget about both by Christmas Day. December being her birthday month, she gets enough gifts to keep her happy anyway.

Now to the Paneer Butter Masala/Paneer Makhani which I made for a party this weekend.It was genuinely loved.

Honestly I am not a Butter Paneer kind of gal. Though you might not know it. You might see me and think, "Oh she sure eats Butter Paneer for all three meals a day". But that is not really true.

I hardly make butter paneer or butter chicken and don't crave for them even at the grand Indian buffet. Now buttered toast with some sprinkled sugar or salt & pepper is something I crave but we shall not digress.

The smooth, uniform taste of the makhani gravy does not excite me.But I have learned that people love Butter paneer or Butter Chicken or Butter Mutter or at least they think they love it. They will cross continents and open a shop and sell an orange gravy called Utter Butter and next day there will be a queue outside asking for more. It doesn't hurt that it is god dang easy to make. Much easier than shukto or bandhakopi ghonto or such stuff. Even if something goes wrong all you have to do is add more butter and cream and voila, there is praise all around.

I used to make a low fat version of Butter Chicken earlier and still do but when I have lots of people over I go overboard and do the whole butter, cream thing. People apparently love butter. So be it.

Read more...

Paneer Butter Masala/Paneer Makhani

Make your own Garam Masala

Dry roast

10 Cardamom
15 Clove
2"thin Cinnamon stick
3 Dry Red chili
two or three 1" bark of javetri/mace
in a skillet till fragrant. Alternately pop in toaster oven for 5 mins at 250F. Cool and grind to a fine powder. Store in a small air-tight jar. Use 1-2 tsp of this Garam masala in the gravy.

Make the Gravy

Heat 1 tbsp Oil + 1 tbsp Ghee/Butter in a deep heavy bottomed pan


Temper the Oil with 1/4 tsp of Fenugreek Seeds/Methi and 2 big black cardamom


To the oil add approx. 2 cups of red onion finely chopped and fry till onion starts browning. If you like your gravy very smooth with no onion pieces to bite into, you can do a paste of the onions or fry the onions and then make a paste too.Note: I have made this with just about 1 cup of chopped onion and that works very well too.


Add 3tsp of Ginger paste and 2 tsp of Garlic Paste. Fry for next 3-4 minutes at medium heat


Puree fresh or canned tomatoes to make about 2 cups of tomato puree. Add the Tomato Puree to above and fry for 8-10 minutes till water almost evaporates.


Make a paste of 2tbsp Cashew+ 3/4 tsp Poppy seeds(optional) with little water. Add this paste to above. Also add
1 tbsp of Kasoori methi crushed between your palms,
1 tsp of Kashmiri Mirch,
1/2 tsp of Red Chili Powder(adjust to taste, I skip for the kids) and
1 tsp of Garam Masala Powder.


Fry till the raw smell of tomato is gone and you see oil separating from the Masala. This will take some time but it is important that you achieve this step.

Add 1 cup can(14 oz) of Evaporated Milk and 1/2 cup of water. Add salt to taste. I will also add a little sugar at this point.Let the gravy come to a boil and then let it simmer at low heat till it thickens a little. You can cool and refrigerate this gravy and use it in a couple of days.
Note: Cham in one of her comments had suggested that if I am weary of cream I could use Evaporated Milk for the gravy. That is what I do and only add a little cream at the end.It tastes perfect.

Assemble Paneer in the Gravy

Cut a 14oz/400gm block of Paneer in small cubes. I use the Nanak Brand we get here which arguably is the best. If the Paneer is of the tough kind you need to soak in warm salted water after frying. I do not do that with nanak brand.Edited to Add: I do not use all the paneers from the block in this gravy, maybe 3/4th of the cubes is used. The other paneer cubes are refrigerated for future use.

When you are ready to make the paneer fry the paneer cubes to light golden. While frying, I sprinkle a little salt, sugar and kasoori methi on the cubes.Add the paneer pieces to the gravy. Add a little more water or milk to make the gravy right consistency.

Adjust for seasonings and add a little more Garam Masala if needed. Add 2-3tbsp of cream and let the gravy simmer for 10-15 minutes till done. It tastes good even without the cream but what is butter paneer without some heavy cream anyway.

Kadhai Paneer

So these were my Mothers Day Gifts. Mission accomplished. But the "cheapo" that I am, I plan to trade half of the Pier 1 gift card for a HomeGoods one, that will get me a lot more with the same amount.

A sweet pea plant, hand made cards, hand made frames and...

I know, I know its the sentiment that counts and not the gift and I do apply that principle for all others except the parent and D. You see if someone close like my family is giving me an expensive present, I would rather see the money well spent. With others I am polite.

But sometimes the gift giving especially for Kid's birthdays goes a bit out of hand, both ways when you are the giver or the receiver. While giving the budget seems to constantly increase with the years and with Big Sis S's class of 15 kids, having a birthday party almost every month sure puts a strain on the purse strings. The receiving scene is not too happy either with lots of gifts which the kiddo exactly doesn't need, given that she is not the kind who plays extensively with toys.

Really what do you do with a gift especially kid's toys(which just grows and grows) that you don't think your kid will play with at all ?

I could be like my Mom who wrapped up the nth La Opala coffee mugs that I got for my wedding and gifted it to neighbor 2's niece's sister-in-law on her marriage. The relations were far flung and the gift was sure to submerge in a deluge of more such coffee cups.

Or I could be like this friend who presented us with a pretty gift with words as to why she thought this would be perfect for us. Later when we took out the gift from the box, tucked in its warmth was a card blessing a certain bride and groom on their marriage.Given that neither us nor the friend were recent new brides, I can only say the gift had a long lineage.

Truth be told I have done that at times but with a close network of friends it is a dangerous thing to do and so the gifts keep piling up in the basement. With the kid's toys I don't want to do it because I feel people do spend time and money and some thought buying them so you can't just give them away.
Seriously tell me what do you do ? Do you donate, recycle gifts, do what ?

Since S has declared her love for paneer, we get a block for her almost every other week. We ate paneer in moderation before, maybe once in two weeks and that was it. Now with the deluge of paneer I thought of trying a Kadhai Paneer. I am not too fond of bell pepper with chicken or fish and Kadhai paneer is not exactly my favorite item on the menu. But this might be a good way to get those anti-oxidant loaded bell peppers into Big Sis S I thought.

So Kadhai Paneer it was and I followed the recipe from Fun'n'Food this time with certain changes to my taste. It is a very simple recipe with little time needed and simple ingredients. It tasted pretty good and looked pretty too.


Read more...

Kadhai Paneer

Prep: Cut almost 12 oz of Paneer in small cubes. There were about 2 cups of paneer cubes.

The Nanak brand of Paneer I usually buy is pretty soft by my standard and I don't fry them. If your paneer is hard sitting in the refrigerator microwave for a few seconds to make it soft or if your paneer is the tough variety, fry lightly and dunk in salted warm water

Chop 1 medium red onion in big chunks and also de-seed & chop 1 medium Bell pepper in big chunks

Start Cooking

In a Kadhai or Frying Pan heat Oil

Flavor the oil with 1 clove of garlic minced

When you get the flavor of garlic add the onion and saute till translucent. While frying the onion add little sugar about 1/4 tsp

Add the bell pepper and saute. Cover and saute till capsicum is soft

Add 1 tsp of ginger paste and then 2 tsp of garlic paste. With a sprinkle of water saute for a minute or half

Add little turmeric, 1/2 tsp of Cumin powder, 1 tsp of Red Chilli powder and 1/4-1/2 tsp of Garam masala powder

Fry the masala again with sprinkle of water for 2-3 minute or till the masala has coated the onions and pepper nicely

Add 1 cup of tomato puree and 1 & 1/2 tsp of Kasoori methi. Add salt to taste. You may need to add little water(I added 1/2 cup) depending on if you want gravy or not. Note: I made the puree with canned tomatoes and so mine wasn't super thick kind, you can use canned or fresh tomato puree

Add the paneer cubes and simmer at medium heat till the gravy thickens and the paneer and bell pepper is cooked. Check to see if the seasonings are correct and adjust accordingly

To enhance the taste add 1/2 tsp of ghee and mix well before taking of the heat

Trivia: Green capsicum is the least mature type and has a fresh ‘raw’ flavour. Red capsicum is basically a matured or ripened green capsicum and is distinctively sweeter. Yellow and orange capsicums are similar in taste to red capsicum, although not quite as sweet. All of them are excellent sources of vitamin C and vitamin A

Palak Paneer -- Paneer in a Spinach gravy

Palak Paneer

My elder daughter is a recent convert. I mean she is almost a convert from a non-vegetarian to a vegetarian. She refuses to eat most fish except salmon. She doesn't want to eat meat on two consecutive days.She eats her eggs with no enthusiasm.

In a family like ours, this creates a difficult scenario. All the more because she has gone from a "no-fuss" eater to a somewhat "finicky" eater these days. She doesn't like to have just Dal & Rice or just veggies and rice either. In our family "finicky" eaters are assuaged with an omlette on the side and will eat anything with that option. This doesn't work with S though. She eats her broccoli and carrots with a dip but when served with rice all she wants is Paneer.

Her Didun(my Mom) is party responsible for this. When she was visiting last year and Big Sis S refused to eat fish or meat, my Mom in a mode of panic that the child is not getting any protein took to feeding her Paneer. And not any store bought Paneer either. Every other day my Ma would make a little chhana or chhena(home made paneer) just for her and then she would shape them in small flat discs, fry them to a golden brown and make delicious gravy with them. This is a Bengali favorite and is called "Chhanar Dalna".The homemade paneer is super soft and soaks up the delicious slightly sweet gravy in which it sits, making it anyone's delight.

With Didun back in India, such delicacies are a luxury and though my Ma insists that I could take time out and make some "home made chhana" and chhana'r dalna for Big Sis S, I pretend not to listen and go buy Paneer instead.

Big Sis S has complied and eats this store bought paneer. She has Paneer on most week days and then she takes a Paneer Pualo for lunch almost one day every week. At school when her teacher asked her what she was having for lunch, she figured she didn't know English of Panner and so said it was chicken instead. With Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) and a bowl of plain yogurt as the incentive, she pretty much eats all other veggies on her plate.

Everyone has a Palak Paneer recipe and I myself have tried and tweaked several. This tweaked version of the old favorite is the the one I love most. It is nice and creamy and comes with all the goodness of green spinach and white paneer. S too eats it up without a murmur about the greenery.

Palak Paneer

Prep: Cut almost 12 oz of Paneer in small cubes. There were about 28-30 paneer cubes.

The Nanak brand of Paneer I usually buy is pretty soft by my standard and I don't fry them. If your paneer is hard sitting in the refrigerator microwave for a few seconds to make it soft or if your paneer is the tough variety, fry lightly and dunk in salted warm water

Start Cooking:

In a deep bottomed frying pan heat Oil

Add 1 clove of garlic chopped, 4 slit green chillies, 1/2 cup chopped red onion and saute

When the onion is translucent add 1 tomato coarsely chopped

Fry for a couple of minutes till tomato softens

Add 4 cups of blanched baby spinach(I used baby spinach you can also use regular spinach)

Add salt and saute til the spinach wilts and softens

Cool the above mix and make a paste in the blender. Do not add water while doing this. This is referred to as the spinach puree and used in a later step

Heat a little Oil in the pan

Add 1 tsp of Whole Cumin Seeds/Jeera

When the spice pops add 1/4 cup of chopped red onion

Fry with 1/4 tsp of sugar. Sugar helps to caramelize and the onions turn a reddish brown in color

Add the spinach puree that you made

Saute for a couple of minutes

Add 1 tsp of Ginger paste, 1 tsp of Cumin Powder/Jeera Powder, 2 tsp of Corriander Powder/Dhania Powder, 1/4 tsp of Red Chilli Powder and salt

Mix the masala and saute for some more minutes (about 3-4 minutes)

Add 1-2 tsp of Kasoori Methi and mix well

Add 1/2 cup of 2% Milk + 1 cup of water, mix well with all the masala and let it simmer

When the gravy comes to a boil add the Paneer pieces and let the gravy simmer at low heat for 10-15 minutes (approx. timing). By this time the gravy should be thick and creamy and there should not be any raw smell

I sometimes add very little sugar at this point as it suits my taste. You can also add 1/2 - 1 tbsp cream to this dish at this point which I don't

Just before taking it off the heat sprinkle 1/4 tsp of Garam masala powder and add 1/4 tsp of Ghee. Mix well and delicious creamy palak paneer is ready to serve

This goes very well with Roti or Naan and even with a Rice dish


Trivia:The ruling aristocracy in India from 1500 until the mid 19th Century was of Turkic, (Central Asian), and Persian origin, and it was they who introduced paneer to India.

In Bangladesh and eastern India, two kinds of cheese are commonly found: ponir (a hard paneer) and chhana or chhena (a soft paneer). Ponir is a salty semi-hard cheese made in villages across Bangladesh, and Orissa and West Bengal in India. Its sharp flavor and high salt content contrasts with the softer, milder chhana/chhena. (And I always thought Bong way of saying Paneer was Ponir !!!)

Paneer Khichuri

Well it has been almost ten days into the New Year and I have no plans or Resolutions. I have stopped making plans, because it seems my life has a definite mind of its own and leads its own oblivious of the plan I have laid out for it. There are lucky people who make plans and their life stick to it, but alas my life is a free spirit. So I have decided to gather all my faith from every crevice of my being and just put the burden on the All Mighty, let him/her lead me through the path that has been already set out for me.

But however much I don’t plan at the macro level, when it comes to the micro level as in “what to eat for lunch, dinner etc. etc. this week” I need to have some kind of a plan thing in place. More of a TBD I would say, than a plan. This has been the first week after the parents left, after both me & D got back to work, after Big Sis S went back to school and the Nanny is at home taking care of Baby A. I was pretty tense about this week as you might well imagine. Other than major guilt pangs of “Ohhh, I am leaving the little baby girl in mercy of a ruthless nanny, I am a bad bad Mom” there was also the fact that I needed to cook ahead to tide us through most of the week.

So I made a plan, ahem…but a “micro” plan.

This was what I cooked last weekend for this week:

1. Masoor Dal with Brussel Sprouts -- almost the same way I did this except here I used chopped brusel sprouts
2. Baingan Bharta
3. A Mixed Veggie Dish that had carrots, celery, broccoli, brussel sprouts and potatoes – pretty scary all that veggies with the “healthy” label
4. A Thai Veggie Soup – this was delicious and am going to post sometime
5. A simple paneer dish for Big Sis S alone who following on her dad’s credentials refuses to eat fish since the last few months, and following her own pretty much everything else. Kids turn weird as they grow older until they become Moms like me.
6. Fish Curry for Monday

I would make a quick Non-Veg something on Wednesday to survive Wed & Thur I thought.

Come Tuesday evening and I knew my plan was failing. There was very little of what I cooked left. Between us 3 adults (me, D and the Nanny) we had managed to finish major portion of what I had cooked. This weekend I am thinking up better plans, only on the “micro” level of being though !!!

While I was cooking last weekend for the week, I couldn’t possibly let anyone in the family eat that food over the weekend and make my life more miserable. Eating out on cold weekends with the baby is difficult and takeouts is not an option for every meal on weekends. I wanted to make something quick, simple, one pot and I came across Paneer Khichuri in my growing collection of that Bong Mag Sananda.

We liked it served with my Ma's delicious Tamarind Achaar/Chutney, I of course because it was simple and made my life easy, D because he didn’t want to ruffle my already ruffled feathers. Big Sis S proclaimed she didn’t like it that much. She is in a stage or phase where she likes home cooked food only if the home is NOT her own.
But really it was pretty decent if you like Khichuri or Khichdi


This quick Medley of rice and lentils aka Khichuri takes on a new dimension with the Paneer and Raisins.It made the mundane Khchuri special and we liked it, try it out for a quick simple meal

Paneer Khichuri

How I Did It

Prep: Lightly fry till golden about 1/2 cup of Paneer cut in small cubes. If your paneer tends to get tough on frying dunk the lightly fried pieces in salted warm water.
Wash 1 cup of Rice and 1/3cup Yellow Moong Dal (Yellow Lentils), 1/3 cup Red Masoor Dal (Red lentils), 1/3 cup of whole Black Urad (or any other dal of your choice) . To learn more about Lentils or Dals go here.

Strat Cook:

Heat Oil in a Frying Pan.

Temper with 2 Bay Leaves/TejPata, 1/2" of Cinnamon stick and 1 tsp of Cumin Seeds/Jeera.

Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped onions (not in original recipe). Saute till the onions are soft and translucent.

Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped tomatoes(not in original recipe and can be skipped) and fry till the tomatoes are well done.

Add 1 cup of rice, and the Dals, 1/3 cup each.

Add salt, little sugar, 3-4 chopped green chillies, 2 tsp of fresh ginger paste and saute the rice and dal. Add water in proportion, I added about 4-5 cups of water. Depending on how you like your khchuri to be in respect to the consistency adjust water.

Mix well and let cook. When the rice and dal are cooked, add raisins and the paneer cubes. Stir and cook for couple more minutes.

Add 1 tsp of Ghee if you wish

Sprinkle Garam masala and grated paneer and serve.

Tips: Substitute paneer with Tofu for a healthier version. Instead of grated paneer you can add scrambled eggs before serving