Methi Palak Paneer

While watching the Discovery Travel & Living channel, I got to know that Palak Paneer is a royal dish. I was wondering how some green leaves paste would be called so. The explaination however went on to about the combination of cottage cheese and cream in a mildly spiced palak puree. I then realized that it is indeed royal. To be specific Palak Paneer is a Mughalai cuisine. As usual, I wanted give a twist to it by adding some Kasuri Methi or dried fenugreek leaves and I found that the recipe already exists and therefore the Methi Palak Paneer.

the recipe

Palak / Spinach leaves – 1 bunch (30 – 40 leaves)

Cottage Cheese / Paneer – 200 gms

Kasuri Methi / Dried Fenugreek leaves – 1 1/4 tsp

Tomato – 1 or 2

Onion – 1 big

Ginger paste – 1 tbsp

Garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Cream or milk – ¼ cup

Chilly powder – 1 tsp

Pepper powder – ¼ - ½ tsp

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Green chilly – 1

Salt - to taste

the method

Blanch the palak leaves – Boil adequate salted water to immerse the leaves. Place the leaves in the water until it is wilted (about 2 minutes). Drain the water. Take out the leaves, cut in into 2 or 3 pieces and grind it to a fine paste.

Soak the kasuri methi for 2-3 minutes. Wash twice and keep it aside.

Cut the paneer into small cubes. Heat oil in a pan and lightly fry the paneer in low -medium heat. Drain the paneer and place it in the milk or water. This prevents the paneer from turning rubbery. To the remaining oil, add the onion and sauté till translucent. Add the green chilly, ginger and garlic paste. Saute  for a minute and add the chilly, garam masala and pepper powder. Add ¼ tsp pepper powder and if need be add the remaining ¼ tsp at the end, while checking for seasoning. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and sauté till it turns soft. Add salt. Pour the palak paste, kasuri methi and ¼ cup water and bring it to a boil. Stir in the fried paneer pieces. Turn to low heat and add the milk or cream. Check seasoning and simmer for 5 – 7 minutes. Tastes good with any kind of roti or naan and also with rice and dal.



Aloo, Palak & Garlic Batura

Off late I have been preparing fatty preparations like butter chicken and this deep fried batura. Batura is usually prepared with maida and potatoes. Since it is still very cold in Kerala, I added palak to induce some heat into the body.  I have heard that palak is widely used in parathas during winter season. The garlic is to season the batura and the two veggies that has gone into the making. Further, this is a wheat + maida batura instead of a maida only one. You can also prepare this using wheat alone though you may have to compromise on the color with no compromise to the taste.

the recipe

maida / flour – ¾ cup

wheat – ¼ cup

salt to taste

palak (spinach), finely chopped – 20 leaves

potato – 1 big (boiled & mashed)

garlic – 8 small cloves or 6 medium cloves (this gives moderate garlic taste)

baking soda- ¼ tsp

water – a little less than ½ cup

oil to deep fry

the method

Place the maida, wheat flour and baking soda in a bowl and mix well.  Stir in the chopped palak, mashed potato and finely chopped garlic. Crumble all the ingredients together with your fingers. Sprinkle salted water little by little until the flour mix is kneaded into dough. Divide it into 8 balls and roll into into slightly thick baturas and deep fry it. Serve it with a curry of your choice.

Repost for an Event - Baby Corn Salsa

the original recipe can be read here

Soya Cutlets ( baked or fried )

Until recently, I have been preparing only soya chunk curries. Once I tried to prepare recipes with soya mince, it seems to be very interesting. Therefore, the soya mince curry came up and then I tried to prepare cutlets using soya mince. On the first bite it is very difficult to distinguish whether this is a meat cutlet. However on the second bite you will definitely know that this is soya, because you can taste its flavor.

About Soya Mince, you can either prepare it at home or just use store bought ones. In the soya mince curry I had used a different method to prepare the mince and for this cutlet I followed a different method. The latter is a better process.

I prepared a baked cutlet to reduce the oil intake as well as to save time. You can just bake everything in one go.

the recipe

soya chunks – 20 -25 nos

potato – 2 medium or 3

the quantity of potatoes must be equal to or more than the soya mince bcoz soya has a very strong flavor

onion, finely chopped – 1

garlic, finely chopped – 2 cloves

ginger,  finely chopped – ¼ inch piece

garam masala – ½ tsp

coriander leaves, chopped – 2 – 3 table spoon

lime juice – 1 tsp

turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp

chilly powder – ½ tsp

pepper powder – ¼ tsp

salt to taste

oil – 1 tbsp

to coat the cutlets

milk – ¼ cup

pepper powder – a pinch

bread crumbs – from two slices

the method

Boil adequate water to immerse the soya chunks. Turn off heat. Add ½ tsp salt into the water and stir in the soya chunks. Cover and let it soak for 20 minutes. Drain off and squeeze water from soya chunks. Wash it with fresh water. Cut it into two. Place the chunks in a blender and blend for 2 seconds. It would have become strands. Keep it aside.

Boil, peel and mash the potatoes.

Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions. When translucent add the chopped ginger & garlic (ginger garlic paste is also okay). Add turmeric, chilly, garam masala and pepper powder.  Stir in the soya mince and salt. Sauté until it is coated well with the spices (add few drops of water if need be). Add the lime juice and coriander leaves. Turn off heat. Let it cool.

Add the mashed potatoes to the sautéed mince. Knead it to a dough. Keep it aside for 10 minutes. Shape it into patties of desired shapes.

Take the milk in a slightly wide bowl and add the pepper powder.

Keep the bread crumbs in a flat plate.

Take each cutlet, immerse it in the milk mix and then put it in the bread crumbs and coat it well.

Preheat over at 200 C for 5 minutes. Bake the prepared cutlets at 200 C for ten minutes. Serve with tomato ketchup or as you please.

* this cutlet can be either baked or fried

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken is a mild and slightly creamy chicken preparation that can be had with any kind of Indian flat bread like chapati, naan or batura. The addition of butter may not sound healthy, but i feel it is okay to have a little bit of sinful indulgence once in a while.

the recipe



ingredients for the marinade

Chicken - 500 gms

Lemon juice (optional) - 1 tbsp

Salt - 3/4 tsp

Ginger Garlic  paste - 1 tbsp

Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

other ingredients

Butter - 1 + 1 + 1 tbsp

Onion - 1 (ground to paste)

Tomato puree - from 2 tomatoes

Kashmiri Chilie powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves & stem, chopped - 1/4 cup

Cream - 1/4 cup

salt to taste

the method

Cut the chicken into small pieces. Marinate it with the ingredients for the marinade for 30 minutes.

Heat one tbsp butter in a heavy bottom pan / pressure cooked in low heat. Add the marinated chicken and saute for about ten minutes.

In another pan add one tbsp butter and pour the onion paste. Add some salt so that the water from the onion will evaporate quickly. Saute for a minute or until the raw smell has gone. Pour the tomato puree and add turmeric, coriander, chilly and cumin powder. Let it boil for a while. Add the sauted chicken and mix well. Bring it to a boil. When the chicken is almost done add the garam masala. Reduce to low heat and add the lightly beaten cream. Stir briskly so that the cream will completely blend with the gravy and will not curdle. Check salt and stir in the coriander leaves. As per butter chicken recipes a final dollop of butter is essential. I have also added the same but it melted and came on top of the curry as you can see in the picture. So it is thoroughly optional whether to add another tablespoon of butter before turning off heat. This is a very tasty preaparation. Enjoy as you please.

the same recipe can be followed to prepare Butter Paneer or even a Butter Potato ;-)