Paneer Bhurji

Paneer bhurji is a dry or a semi dry recipe prepared by sautéing onion and tomatoes. To this is added crumbled paneer and basic dry Indian spices. It is a popular north Indian breakfast recipe, which is quick and easy to prepare. It is best when served with bread, rolls, rotis or parathas and a cup of hot tea. Paneer bhurji can also be served as a side dish.

PANEER BHURJI

INGREDIENTS :

(1) 200 gms of Paneer / Cottage Cheese, crumbled

(2) 2 medium sized Onion, finely chopped

(3) 2 medium sized Tomatoes, finely chopped

(4) 1 or 2 green Chillies, finely chopped.

(5) 5-8 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

(6) 1/4 tea spoon of Turmeric / Haldi powder

(7) 1/2 tea spoon of Kashmiri Red Chilli powder

(9) (8) 1/2 tea spoon of Garam Masala powder

(10) 1/2 tea spoon of Cumin seeds / Jeera

(11) Asafoetida / Hing powder

(12) 3 table spoon of Vegetable / Cooking oil / Ghee / butter

(13) Salt as required

(14) Coriander leaves for garnishing

Cuisine : North Indian
Serves : 3-4 persons
Time required : 10 minutes for preparation and 15 minutes for cooking.

METHOD :

(1) Crumble the Paneer and keep aside. Also, finely chop the Onions, Tomatoes and the green chillies and keep them aside.

Crumbled PANEER / COTTAGE CHEESE

Onion, Tomatoes and Green Chillies

Chopped Onions

Chopped Tomatoes

Ingredients for preparing Paneer bhurji (From left to right, top to bottom row are : Garlic, Chopped green chillies, Coriander leaves,  Turmeric powder / Haldi, Kashmiri lal mirch powder,  Cumin seeds / Jeera, Hing / Asafoetida powder, Garam masala powder and Vegetable / Cooking oil

(2) Heat 3 table spoon of cooking oil in a Kadhai / Wok.

(3) Add Cumin seeds / Jeera to this warm oil and allow it to splutter. Then, add 2 pinch of Hing / Asafoetida powder.

(4) Add finely chopped garlic and sauté for few minutes till they turn golden brown. Then add chopped Onions and sauté till they turn light golden in colour. Along with Onions, also add chopped chillies.

(5) Add the chopped tomatoes and mix well. Saute till the tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

(5) Now add all the dry spice powders. Turmeric / Haldi powder, Garam masala powder, Kashmiri lal mirch powder and salt to taste.

Mix well.

(6) Add one cup of water / 100 ml quantity of water. Mix well.

Onion and Tomato gravy

(7) To this thick gravy, add the crumbled paneer and mix gently.

Cook for 3 minutes. Stir at regular intervals. You may also cover the lid till the Paneer cooks.

(8) Don’t cook the Paneer for long time as they harden and loose the softness.

(9) Our Paneer bhurji is ready.

(10) Transfer it to a serving plate. Garnish the Paneer bhurji with Coriander leaves.

It can be served with chapatis as shown in the image.

Bhindi Masala Gravy

Bhindi / Okra / Lady’s finger is my family’s favourite, so I have posted many recipes with Bhindi in my blog.

Today I am going to show how to make a curry with Bhindi.
I have kept the recipe simple and healthy. I have not added cashew nuts, milk cream, melon seeds etc. to thicken the gravy.

So just by having Bhindi and basic Indian spices, anyone can cook this curry at home.

Bhindi masala gravy goes well with steamed rice, phulkas, chapatis or parathas.

Bhindi masala gravy is prepared by sautéing Bhindi in a tangy tomato onion gravy.

INGREDIENTS :

(1) 250 grams of Bhindi / Okra / Lady’s finger
(2) 1 large sized Tomato, coarsely chopped
(3) 1 large sized Onion finely chopped
(4) 2 whole green Chillies
(5) 1 - 3 pieces of  Bay leaves / Tej patta
(6) 4 tea spoon of Vegetable oil
(7) 2 pinch of Asafoetida / Hing powder
(8) Half tea spoon of Cumin / Jeera seeds
(9) Half tea spoon of Kasuri methi / Dry fenugreek leaves, crushed
(10) Half tea spoon of Cumin / Jeera powder
(11) 1 tea spoon of Coriander / Dhaniya powder
(12) Half tea spoon of Garam Masala powder
(13) Half tea spoon of Turmeric / Haldi powder
(14) 3/4 tea spoon of Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
(15) Coriander / Dhaniya leaves, finely chopped
(16) 1 tea spoon of Ginger Garlic paste
(17) Salt to taste

Cuisine : INDIAN
Serves : 4
Time required : 25 mins for preparation and 20 mins to cook = 45 mins


PREPARATION :

(1) Wash 250 grams of Bhindi thoroughly in a running water a few times and drain them completely in a strainer. Allow them to air dry naturally by spreading them on a large plate.

BHINDI / OKRA / LADY's FINGER

(2) Chop the Bhindi into 1 inch sized pieces. Keep aside.
(3) Take 2 table spoon of oil in a kadhai / wok and add the Bhindi to it. Saute them on a low flame.
(4) Stir and sauté them till they are almost cooked, shrinked and slightly browned from the sides.
(5) When done, remove the fried Bhindi onto a plate and keep aside.

(6) Coarsely chop a large sized Tomato and finely chop a large sized onion. Take 2 whole green Chillies.

A large sized tomato coarsely chopped. A large sized onion finely chopped. 2 whole green chillies also taken.

From left to right, top to bottom row the ingredients are : Bay leaf / Tej patta, Asafoetida / Hing powder, Kasuri methi / Dry fenugreek leaves, Vegetable oil, Cumin / Jeera seeds, Salt, Garam masala powder, Cumin / Jeera powder, Coriander / Dhania powder.

Kashmiri red chilli powder and Turmeric / Haldi powder

Ginger Garlic paste and Coriander leaves chopped

(7) All ingredients set together.

METHOD :

(1) Take 2 table spoon of vegetable oil in a kadhai / wok. Add half tea spoon of Cumin / Jeera seeds and allow it to splutter. Meanwhile also add Tej patta and fry for about 5 - 7 seconds. Also add 2 pinch of Asafoetida / Hing powder.

(2) Add finely chopped Onion and fry till it turns light golden. While the Onion is getting fried, add 1 tea spoon of ginger garlic paste too and let it fry along with the Onion.

(3) Add coarsely chopped Tomato and mix well. Allow it to cook 2 minutes till it becomes mushy. When it turns mushy, you can easily mash it with the ladle such that the Tomato is made into a paste. Mix well.

(4) Now add all the dry spice powders like Turmeric powder, Red chilli powder, Cumin / Jeera powder, Coriander / Dhaniya powder, Garam Masala powder in measures as given in the ingredient list.

(5) Add 2 whole green chillies cut into half. Add 2 glasses of water and salt to taste, stir well. Allow the gravy to simmer for 5 minutes.

(6) Add the sautéed Bhindi and bring to simmer on a medium flame for 5 minutes till the gravy gets the aroma and flavour of the Bhindi. Don’t cook the Bhindi in the gravy for longer time as then they will become mushy.

(7) During these 5 minutes, add crushed Kasuri Methi. You may also add 1-2 table spoon of low fat milk cream at this step to thicken the gravy. Mix well. I have skipped adding milk cream in my recipe.

(8) Add finely chopped Coriander leaves and stir well. Turn off the gas flame after this. Our Bhindi masala gravy is ready.

(9) Transfer the Bhindi masala gravy into a serving bowl and it can be had with phulkas, chapatis or steamed rice.

Traditional Chole Masala

Chole Masala is a traditional dish of India and is prepared by cooking White Chickpeas / Kabuli Chana in a tomato onion gravy spiced with basic Indian dry spices.

My style of this recipe is very simple and can be cooked quickly and easily. I will show how to prepare this dish in other ways in future.

INGREDIENTS :



(1) 200 gms of White Chickpeas (Called Kabuli Chana in Hindi)

(2)Water for soaking white chickpeas and while cooking

(3) 3 Medium sized Onions

(4) 2 Tomatoes

(5) 15 cloves of Garlic

(6) 1 inch sized Ginger piece

(7) 1 tea spoon of Coriander seeds

(8) Half tea spoon of Cumin / Jeera seeds

(9) Half teaspoon of Turmeric powder / Haldi

(10) 1 teaspoon of Kashmiri Red Chilli powder

(11) 3/4 tea spoon of Cumin / Jeera powder

(12) 1 tea spoon of Coriander / Dhaniya powder

(13) 1 teaspoon of Kitchen King garam masala

(14) 1 teaspoon of Chole masala

(15) Half tea spoon of Black Pepper powder.

(16) 2 pinch of Asafoetida / Hing

(17) 4 table spoon of Vegetable / Cooking oil

(18) 3 Tej Patta / Bay leaves

(19) 1 inch sized Cinnamon Stick

(20) Salt to taste

(21) Coriander leaves for garnish


Cuisine : Indian

Serves : 6 - 10 persons

Time required : 12 hours for soaking the White chickpeas / Kabuli chana, 20 mins for boiling White chick peas and cooking it while other ingredients are being made ready at the same time. 40 mins for preparing the Chole gravy and cooking the chickpeas in it.

Total time : 12 hours/ Over night for soaking White Chickpeas and 1 hour for cooking.

PREPARATION :

(1) Soak 200 Grams of white Chickpeas (Kabuli Chana) in water for 8-12 hours or Over night. I soaked it for exactly 12 hours. 

White Chickpeas (Called Kabuli Chana in Hindi)

(2) After soaking 12 hours. Drain away the water and keep the soaked chana aside.

Soaked Chickpeas

(3) Take the soaked Kabuli Chana in a pressure cooker. Add 2 cups of water for one cup of Kabuli Chana and in this proportion add water to the soaked chana. Add 1 tea spoon of salt and half tea spoon of Turmeric powder / Haldi. Cook this in a pressure cooker until it gives 7 whistles on a full gas flame. After 7 whistles, turn off the gas flame and let the pressure of the cooker come down naturally. After which open the lid of the pressure cooker. If the Chickpeas / Kabuli chana is not cooked as required ..... cook until it gives 2-3 or more whistles.
If a pressure cooker is not available and one is trying to cook in a deep pan or any other utensil, one can cook, but it will take more time.
Note : It took me 20 mins to finish the boiling of chick peas and the pressure of the cooker to come down naturally.

(4) Break the boiled kabuli chana with finger tips and check if they are properly cooked. If they break and form a smooth piece...then they are cooked. If they are hard to break...then you will have to boil it more and cook till required point is reached. In my case.....it took me 7 whistles to cook Chickpeas / chana and they were soft while breaking using finger tips as shown.

(5) While the Kabuli Chana is being boiled in the previous step that required 25 minutes, we can get ready rest of the ingredients to prepare the gravy. Chop 3 medium sized Onions into thin long slices as shown.

Chopped Onions

Chopped Onions, 15 cloves of chopped Garlic, 1 inch sized Ginger finely chopped and
1 tea spoon of Coriander seeds.

(6) Take Chopped Onions, Coriander seeds, Ginger and Garlic in a grinding jar and add 1 cup of water. Then grind the mixture into a smooth paste.

(7) Chop two Tomatoes into cubes and put them in the grinding jar and grind into a smooth puree as shown. No need to add water while grinding Tomatoes.

Onion ginger garlic coriander seeds paste, Tomato puree, Coriander leaves chopped, Bay leaves (called Tej patta in Hindi) and Cinnamon stick (called Dalchini in Hindi).

From left to right, from top to third row..... the ingredients are Cumin / Jeera powder, Coriander / Dhania powder, Garam masala (I use Kitchen King Garam Masala),
Chole masala, Black Pepper powder, Asafoetida / Hing powder, Turmeric / Haldi powder, Kashmiri lal mirch powder / Red chilli powder and Cumin / Jeera seeds.

Vegetable / cooking oil and salt.

All ingredients set together to prepare Chole masala

Note : By the time the Kabuli chana is boiled and kept aside, all our ingredients are ready.

METHOD :

(1) With this size of table spoon..take four tablespoons of cooking oil in a kadhai/wok.

(2) Add half tea spoon of Cumin seeds / Jeera to the oil and allow it to splutter. Add 2 pinch of Asafoetida /  Hing. Add Tej patta and dalchini. Add Onion Ginger Garlic paste now. Mix well.

(3) Sauté / stir fry the Onion Ginger Garlic paste till they turn golden brown. This took me 12 mins on a low flame.

(4) Add Tomato puree, mix well. Add 1 cup of water. Mix well. Stir fry for 4 mins.

(5) Add all the dry spice powders now.

I added half teaspoon of Haldi, 1 teaspoon of Kashmiri Red Chilli powder, 3/4 tea spoon of Cumin / Jeera powder, 1 tea spoon of Coriander / Dhaniya powder, 1 teaspoon of Kitchen King Garam masala, 1 teaspoon of Chole masala, and half tea spoon of Black Pepper powder.

After that, cook for 2 mins till the spice powders mix well with the onion tomato paste, get cooked and release aroma and flavour.

(6) After stir frying the gravy for 2 mins after adding masala, add 1 glass of water and let it simmer.

(7) Take 1 cup of boiled Kabuli Chana and mash them with finger tips. Add the mashed chana to the boiled gravy. Mashed chana when added to the gravy....it makes the gravy thick.

Add rest of the whole boiled Kabuli Chana to the dense gravy.

(8) Add 3 glasses of hot/warm water to the gravy after adding boiled Kabuli Chana. Add salt to taste. Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Cook for 15 minutes on a medium flame.

By now the chana would have absorbed the masalas / spices.

And blended in the gravy.

(9) Our Chole Masala is ready.

(10) Transfer the Chole masala into a serving bowl.

(11) Garnish the traditional Chole Masala with Coriander leaves.

(12) CHOLE MASALA can be served with Pooris, Chapatis, Phulkas, Rotis or with Rice.