Kofta-e-Lazeez

Koftas are my all time favorite and a delicacy in my house since they are so rich in flavor. In my below recipe I have added a couple of other ingredients to make the koftas extra soft & smooth so that they melt in your mouth.. It's an all time hit!

Ingredients:

For the Koftas

• Lauki( Bottle gourd) - 1 medium Grated (makes around 10 koftas)
• Green chillies - chopped ( deseeded if you want less spicy)
• Ginger Grated - 1 teaspoon
• Besan ( chick pea flour) - 3-4 tablespoons
• Paneer grated - I small cup
• Boiled and mashed potato - 1 small
• Ajwain ( carom seeds) - 1 teaspoon
• Sauf (Fennel seeds) - 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste

Add the below ingredients to give it a Shahi Touch - These are optional but go a long way in  increasing the richness of koftas.

• Cashews halves and pieces - around 8
• Raisins - about 6

How to prepare the koftas:

First wash and peel the lauki, then using a grater, grate the lauki drain excess water ( store this water to be used later for gravy)

 Mix all the kofta ingredients in abowl and mix them well using your hands , make small balls of around 3 inches diameter. If you feel that the mixture is runny with water then add a little more besan/corn starch to it. Do not leave it aside, immediately deep fry it so that the lauki does not leave more water and makes it soggy.

For the gravy

• Onion - 2 medium (Pureed )
• Tomato - 2 medium ( pureed)
• Ginger garlic Paste - 2 tablespoons
• Cream  / Thick milk Half and Half - Half cup
• Garam Masala - 2 tablespoons
• Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Poeser - 1 table spoon
• Hing - 1 pinch
• Sugar - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste
• Black cardamom powder - 1 pinch
• Crushed Black pepper powder - 1 pinch
• Crushed Red pepper powder - 1 pinch
• Lal mirch -1-2
• Bay leaves - 1 -2 small
• Vegetable oil - 4-5 tablespoons
• Butter - 1 tablespoon

Heat oil in a pan and add butter when hot, Add the bay leaves, cumin seeds and hing. When the seeds crackle add onion and sauté till the paste starts leaving oil on the sides. Now add the tomato puree and ginger garlic paste and suate till the oil starts to leave on the sides after 4-5 minutes.

                           

Take the pureed onion and add it to the pan, after sauté for around 5 min when the oil starts leaving the edges of the pan, add the tomatoes and sauté them together for another 4-5 minutes.

Now add the Garam masala, coriander and cumin, black cardamom, black pepper, Kashmiri mirch  powder and mix them all well. 

After 4-5 minutes of cooking add the cream/milk and 1 cup of water. Let it come to a simmer, keep stirring so that the milk does not disintegrate.

After 3-4 minutes of simmer should be good to go!

 Now add the koftas and put the lid on and switch it off, Let the koftas absorb the richness of the gravy and server hot. If the koftas are too soft they tend to break in the hot gravy, so sometimes it's better to add the koftas directly while serving, use your cooking judgment for this :-)

To add more richness to the gravy you can also add about 10-15 pureed  cashews to the gravy.

 Garnish with coriander leaves and grated paneer and cashews.

Paneer Hariyali

 

Paneer Hariyali : This is a super healthy entree, full of greens and loved by kids and grown-ups.
This is one of my personal favorites since it adds so much color to the dinner/lunch table. Its also interesting how you can experiment with the variations of the green color of the curry by putting in a variety of greens.
 




Ingredients:

From The Green World:

1. Fresh Dhania (Coriander ) leaves cut in small pieces - 1 bunch
2. Methi ( Fenugreek ) leaves - washed and cut 1 bunch
3. Palak ( Spinach ) leaves -washed and cut 1/2 bunch
4. Pudina ( Mint ) leaves - 6-7
5. Green peppers - 1 medium  diced very fine
6. Green Peas - 1 cup
7. 2 green chillies - diced

The regulars:

1. Onion - 2 medium diced
2. Tomato Cut in small cubes - 2 medium
3. Paneer ( Indian Cheese ) - 500 gms

Dry Masala:

1. Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
2. Cummin Powder - 2 teaspoons
3. Chili Powder - 1.5 teaspoon ( to taste)
4. Chat Masala - 1 teaspoon
5. Garam Masala - 1 teaspoon
6. Ginger Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
7. Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon ( ground )
8. Salt - to taste

Tadka:

1.  Oil - 3-4 tablespoons
2. Cummin seeds
3. Hing - a pich (astafotedia powder)

Optional ( if gravy is needed)

1. Cream - 1 cup
2. Milk - 1/2 cup

Wash and get the green leaves and the other ingredients ready as shown below.

 

 

 

 

Heat Oil in a skillet and put in the hing & cummin seeds till the seeds crackle. Now  saute the Onions and till they turn translucent and brown..

 

 

 

 

Then add the remaining greens.. you can add / modify this recipe to ad the greens of your choice and Paneer.Put the dry masala and stir well.  Now put the Ginger garlic paste and salt. Stir well. Cook on medium flame and keep stirring every 2 min so it does not stick in the base. Do this for 4-5 min till the curry paste mixes well with the paneer.

 

 

 

 

 
Cover it with a lid and on low flame cook for 2-3 min.

 

Server it hot with Chapati / Tandoori Rooti / Pooris.

 

For a gravy version, put 1 cup of cream and 1/2 cup of Milk(2%) and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes on medium flame.

 

 

 

Enjoy the awesome green delicacy.
Note : Sometimes you can also add grated celery with the greens to trick your children into eating a healthy dish.. I do that!! Just make sure that the quantity is not overpowering i.e. 1/4 cup or less.

To get a greener version : you can make a paste of the green leaves and use it.

Out of this world Paneer Makhani

My love for paneer has inspired me to make many recipes of paneer at home.This is my all time favourite which I had to share with you all. The preparation is really simple and is yum to eat with naan / kulcha or Roti (Indian Bread).

Ingredients

1. 500 gms of Paneer cut into small cubes 
2. 2 medim size Onions thinly sliced
3. 1/3 cup Tomato Puree
4. 5 tablespoons of whipped Cream
5. 1 cup Milk - Half and Half ( thickened non sweet milk)
6. 3 tablespoons of subnflower oil
7. 1/2 stick of salted butter

Dry Indian masala

1. 2 teaspoons Garam Masala
2. 2 teaspoons Paneer tikka masala
3. 2 teaspoons Salt 
4. 1 teaspoons kashmiri red chilly powder

Cut Paneer in bite sizes, chop the onions, green pepper and tomoatoes and put it aside. In a non stick pan pour the butter and let it just melt down. Add the sunflower oil and saute the onions till light brown. Add finely chopped tomato cubes and green pepper. Add the paneer cubes and saute all of them for 5minutes.Add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree and  dry masala in the skillet and fry for 2-3 minutes.
(Note : you can also first shallow fry the Paneer till a golden brown crust forms and then use in the above)
Pour the milk and 2 tablespoons of cream. Check the consistency and add water if needed to get the desired consistency. (Note : After cooking it will get a little thick) When done, take it out in a serving bowl and grate paneer on top and garnish with coriander leaves. It is indeed a veggie delight!

From my kitchen to yours....
-Pallavi