Category: Entree

Palak Paneer the quick way – ready in under half hour and still retaining its green color along with all its nutrients. With the ease of readily available frozen paneer cubes of Nanak ( my preferred brand) , whisking this very appetizing entree in a jiffy is a breeze. Specially needed when you are  wanting something like a restaurant food but made at home, to cheer up your spirits. You are just too lazy to go out, but still want something tasty without much efforts.

Combination of Palak  and Paneer or Spinach and cottage cheese is a very delectable one,, often found in samosa, pies, calzones, artisan pizzas-to name a few so am not surprised that this is also a very popular dish in the Indian menu and liked by  all including those trying out Indian cuisine for the first time.

Healthy dose of calcium, folate and vitamin c will chase those blues away for sure! And when accompanied by fancy layered paratha, the combination is suddenly more appetizing. If you do not have the time, opt for the Malaysian Parathas or Kawan Parathas and your meal is ready to enjoy! When I was able to get a layered look, closely resembling the Kawan Paratha look, I felt good in being able to “crack the layer”  in the layered paratha and on cooking, the paratha remained soft, even though it was made of whole wheat flour.

Soft Parathas with Palak Paneer or Spinach and Cottage cheese and you evening meal is quick, satisfying . A  feel good meal as you savour the cottage cheese paneer with the slightly leafy grainy texture of Spinach with ginger and  chillies .giving it a fulfilling taste.

Recipe makes 1-2 people

Cooking time 30 min

Prep time 5 min

Ingredients

For Palak Paneer

• 1 bunch of Palak (Spinach)
• 5-6 Paneer Cubers ( Cottage Cheese)- Nanak brand preferred
• 1 inch ginger
• 1-2 green chillies
• pinch of asofoetida
• 1/2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

For layered paratha

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• pinch of salt
• water about cup to cup and a half
• ghee (clarified butter) approx half a cup

Method

• Bring about a liter of water to boil in a deep pan on a medium high flame.
• Medium chop the Spinach and wash in plenty of water and drain.
• As the water boils, add spinach and cook for 5-6 min.
• Using a tea strainer, remove the boiled spinach immediately from the water and let it drain.
• Grind the chillies and ginger in a mortar pestle
• Put the oil to heat in abroad pan.
• Once the oil heats, add the ginger chillies paste and saute for a minute on a medium, stirring and  making sure it does not burn.
• Add the boiled spinach/ palak /tomato paste to the seasoning.
• Cook on medium flame for 6 min.
• Put a bowl of water to heat in a microwave for 2  minute
• Add the frozen paneer cubes or cottage cheese to the boiled water.
• 
• Let the paneer soften for 5 min.
• Remove and make even square pieces, if the cubes are too big. Otherwise, just toss the warm paneer cottage cheese into the palak spinach and cook for 3-4 min on a medium flame.
• 
• Serve hot with  layered Paratha or bread of your choice.

Layered Paratha

• Take a quarter cup size round ball of dough
• On a rolling board, make a flat round about 8 inches wide.
• 
• Grease the top with ghee, spread evenly all around.
• Start rolling inwards from the top of the flat circle .
• 
• Once you finish rolling, make a spiral circle out of the this.
• 
• This spiral circles will make layers when cooked.
• Roll again to an 8  inch wide flat circle.
• Grease a thick tawa or griddle.
• Lay the rolled side down onto the tawa to cook on a medium flame.
• 
• Once golden spots appear, flip it over and grease with some ghee.
• Cook the other side similarly  until you see some layers in the paratha.
• 
• Serve warm with Palak Paneer or Spinach and Cottage Cheese.
• 

Tips

If the dough is too stiff, the paratha will become crispier. A softer dough will help the paratha bread to turn out softer.

To match the taste and texture of restaurant or malaysian parathas, use plain flour instead of wheat flour

Instinct Factor

Layered paratha bread is little tricky to cook, but trust your instinct in knowing it right. Medium flame and soft dough will give you the best results.

Feel Factor

In the Palak Paneer with Layered Paratha, The crispy look with soft taste of the layered paratha bread with the colorful green palak paneer or Spinach and Cottage cheese is a mouth watering combination .This is a visually appealing  and highly appetizing meal that fulfills your appetite and cravings for a tasty yummy meal!  The spice of chilli ginger in Palak Paneer or Spinach Cottage cheese gives it just the right zing to make it an appetizing entree and when you are successful in cooking the layered paratha correctly, you just raised the bar!

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Quesadilla, a Mexican delicacy , with a musical ring to its name,  is made up from two Spanish words Queso for cheese and Tortilla for flat bread. Interesting for sure. And extremely easy to make, specially when you just heat in microwave using a quesadilla maker. I happened  to find this highly dependable microwave quesadilla maker, that makes  this amazing dish in minutes.

Quick, easy to make has been my focus for the last month or so as  some remodeling is being done in my house and hence am out of workable  kitchen space for some time. This is also the primary reason why I have not been able to share more  recipes of late.  But nonetheless will keep the momentum on for writing and sharing, even though renovation is never a time bound or and easy task as many would agree.

Even if you do not find a quesadilla maker, this can be cooked over a flat griddle needing  a couple of more minutes to cook, and will also give a nice crunchy flavor when cooked in a healthy does of oil on a griddle.

This recipe can be easy to make for lunches to go, or a quick TV dinner menu. The inside stuffing can be alternated with rice, only cheese, or even grilled vegetables taste yummy. This can be easily one of Rachel Ray under 5 minute meals!! I am sure many of us make this at home and it is no great technique, but the reason I was compelled to blog about this, was to share the quick microwave quesadilla maker, that I am very happy about!

Recipe Makes 2 Pieces of Quesadilla

Ingredients

• 4  Corn flour Tortilla(El paso Brand)
• 2 cups  Refried Vegetarian Beans ( El paso Brand)
• 3 lettuce leaves chopped
• 1 tomato dice
• 3-4 red/orange sweet peppers diced
• 1 green chlli finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Grated Mexican Three cheese ( Montrey Jack, Cheddar or Colby Jack) or even Plain Old Amul Cheese would work.
• 5-6 tbsp Corn Salsa or Tomato Salsa
• Nacho Cheese Sauce for topping (optional)
• Sour cream for Topping(optional)
• FOR ALTERNATE stuffings:
•   2 cups grilled mix vegetables ( zucchini, bell peppers, sweet peppers, sliced red onions with some sea salt and groud pepper)
•   2 cups cooked rice, blended with lemon, salt, boiled corn and chopped cilantro

Method

• In a pan heat the oil and chilies and refried beans. Heat for about 30 sec.
• Lay a tortilla flat on the flat dish of the quesadilla maker and layer it with  half the quantity of refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, some salsa and cheese.
• 
• Cover it with another tortilla.
• 
• Close the lid
• 
• Microwave for 3-4 min.on high.
• You will know its done when it rises in the center.
• 
• Open the top lid and flip it over .
• 
• Place the sharp edges perfectly in the center and roll up and down on each edge, making clean vertical cuts in order to have triangles.
• 
• Remove carefully.
• Top it with your choice of cheese, salsa, sour cream or even no topping.
• Enjoy warm or even after a few hours.

Tips

You really don’t need tips over here! Its just mix , heat and eat!

Well if you do not have a quesadilla maker, I would grease generous amount of oil on a flat griddle, heat the griddle and cooked the stuffed tortilla to golden brown on both the sides and cheese inside melts. This is my preferred way of relishing quesadilla as I prefer a crunchy texture to a soft texture.

Instinct Factor

How about trusting your microwave!

Feel Factor

When you are feeling lazy, but still want some exciting food, Beans Quesadilla would be my menu. Specially when you have access to ready made cans of Refried Beans, Tortillas, mix of Salsas and Cheese. Everything just melts into your mouth, and also gives a bit of spicy flavor,  making a routine lunch meal entertaining at home, school or office. I prefer the Beans stuffing to rice or Grilled Vegetables in a Quesadilla.

 
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Chhole Bhatura Chick Peas with Puffed Bread is a rural delicacy of North India, with taste of this recipe changing every 100 km or so! It is the most commonly available food on the road side while travelling. In fact some towns specialize in this, with this dish carrying the Prefix of Amritsar Chhole or Rawal pindi Chhole.  The one I am referring here is more like the Amritsar Chhole with Gravy. Rawal Pindi Chhole recipe, which is more dry,  I will share it at a later point. I often alternate this two styles of making chhole. This is also the most commonly found in most Indian Restaurants and highly appreciated by all, including Non-Indians. Every house hold, has their version of making chhole, and I have finally been able to replicate the mouthwatering Chhole Bhature that we had in Edison, NJ.

There are variations of making Bhatura puffed bread, some people use potatoes, as leavening agent, some use baking soda, or yogurt. I have opted for baking soda over here. The litmus test here is,  the softer and fluffier, the better !!

In Chhole Bhatura, the spicy gravy in the chickpeas chhole with the soft bread or bhatura is the quintessential north Indian  delicacy treat right in front of you, that you cannot resist to dig in!! We cannot beat the taste of this awesome food that is available in street Dhabas(roadside restaurants) in Delhi or North India, but hope this  is one more recipe of getting it right and  brings you closer to the dhaba style experience of India.

Recipe Makes for 3 people

Cooking time: 40 min

Preparation time: 15 min

Soaking time 5 hours

Ingredients:

For the Chhole

• 1 1/3 cup  kabuli chana chole (chickpeas/garbanzo beans)
• pinch of baking soda
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp pomegranate powder
• 1 1/2 tsp chana masala powder(MDH brand)
• 1 big bayleaf
• 1 1/3 cup onions diced
• 4 pods of garlic mashed
• 3 green chillies finely chopped
• 1 cubic inch ginger mashed
• 1 tbsp coriander to garnish
• 1/4 tsp asofoetida
• salt to taste
• one diced onion (optional for garnish)
• slices of lemon ( optional for garnish)

For the Bhatura dough

• 1 cup all purpose or maida flour
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp yogurt
• pinch of baking soda
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water

Method

• Wash thrice and rinse out the water each time.
• Soak the chana in about 3 cups of water for 5-6 hours.
• Add salt to taste to the quantity of chana and boil in a pressure cooker for upto 4-5 whistles.
• Let the pressure cooker cool down.
• In a broad pan, heat the oil.
• Add asofoetida, then add the bay leaf.
• As the bayleaf turns brown, add ginger and saute for 2 min.
• Add diced onions and let it simmer on slow flame for 15 min.
• Add green chillies and ginger and saute for 5 min.
• Add 1 1/2 cup water, turmeric, salt, chana masala powder, chilli powder, pomegranate powder and simmer for 10  min on medium flame.
• Blend the ingredients together with a hand blender.
• Add the cooked chana along with its water to the gravy.
• 
• Simmer together for 12 min.
• Garnish with coriander and 10-12 drops of lemon and serve hot. Alternatively you can serve this with a slice of lemon and some chopped onions on the side.

For the Bhatura dough

• In a broad flat pan, mix the dough, salt, baking soda and oil.
• Whisk the dough thoroughly with hand.
• 
• Add 1/3rd of half cup of water and mix into the flour.
• Add additional 1/3rd  of half cup of water and bind the flour together.
• 
• If the water amount is correct, the dough will bind perfectly, leaving no flour residue in your hand and the pan clean of any flour.
• 
• If the heat temperature is high, you may need more water or if your hands are too dry.
• Cover it with a wet paper towel, napkin for 10 min.
• Divide the dough into 7 equal  round balls.
• Roll the dough into a round circle about 3 inches round.
• Roll this round circle into the dusting flour
• Extend the circle to  about 6 inches round.
• Heat about 3 cups of oil in a frying pan.
• Heat to high.
• When the oil starts smoking, insert the flat dough circle into the oil.
• Wait for it to rise like a ball with golden spots, and then flip it over using a large strainer.
• 
• Once you see the brown spots on the back side too, drain the excess oil and serve hot as an accompaniment to Chhole Chick Peas

TIps

Soaking can be done overnight for readily available to cook the next day.

If the chhole or chick peas have become too soft, you can cook only for half the time in the gravy or for 10 min max for it soak in the gravy.

Rolling perfect round circle comes with practice. For people new to rolling, I would use big round cookie cutters, and make circles from a big rectangle flat rolled dough.

Frying is ideally done in an open fryer with a frying slotted spoon with flat base, used to flip and strain

If you do not want to make Bhatura, this is equally enjoyed with ready to eat Kawan Parathas, easily available in Indian Grocery Stores.

Instinct Factor

Frying the Bhature requires some practice in flipping over, but when you see it rising in a big round ball, it makes you happy! The art lies in sliding in the oil.  the side of bhatura  that you worked on, face down, and then putting some pressure on the center, with the frying spatula.  Advised to wear an apron while frying. Gauging if the bhatura is cooked needs you to rely on the instinct. Even if it becomes too brown, it will just become a bit crispier.

Feel Factor 

An all time food that promises to bring sunny smiles every time! Eat it as a brunch, lunch, dinner or even super late night meal. I have fans of this in my family who prefer to eat one day over, as the taste just matures the next day. There is something about a big round ball of golden brown spot bread and  chick peas, that  warms the hearts of everyone  Enjoyed best in the chilly cold weather days.with the spicy chickpeas and soft warm puffed up bread. There are simply so many versions of this, but this is our family favorite, based on the taste inspired from a famous restaurant Khasiyat, in Edison, NJ. And the name says it all, the Khasiyat( speciality) of Chhole Bhatura or Chick Peas with Puffed Bread is unparalleled in taste and texture!

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