Methi Malai Paneer

This one is for mom. While growing up paneer based dishes used to be a staple in our house and I cannot even remember how many different kinds my mom, grandmother and my aunts could make! (I grew up in a large family and shared about 12-13 wonderful years under one roof with my parents, brother, grandparents, aunts and uncles, great grandmother and most adorable cousins.

Few weeks ago we had planned a dinner with our friends and I don’t know from where I started thinking about this indulgent paneer dish my mom used to make. I thought of giving it a try, trying to remember the flavors and ingredients.

The paneer came out very flavorful and fragrant (thanks to Kasoori methi) and I think was very close to what my mom used to make. Next day I called my mom to confirm the recipe and to my surprise I was pretty close- only my version had a little extra step – she never used any onions and I did. I liked the flavor of lightly browned onions. Last week I made it again and wrote down the recipe (I did use onions again!)

You need:

3 tbsp oil (I used Canola)
1 1/2 medium/1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup Kasoori Methi (dried Fenugreek leaves, I used MDH brand Kasoori Methi)
3/4 + 1/4 cup whipping cream
1 lb paneer (Indian cottage cheese), cubed – for this dish I bought the paneer form an Indian store but you can make the cottage cheese at home as well
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp MDH Kitchen King Masala
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 Water
2 tbsp Maggie Hot n Sweet Chili Sauce (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
A pinch of Asafoetida powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a wide wok or Karahi
2. Add Asafoetida, followed by garlic and onions
3. Cook on medium heat until onions are slightly brown, stirring every couple of minutes
4. Add tomatoes, and continue cooking on medium heat until tomatoes are soft and onions and tomatoes mixture start leaving the sides of the wok/karahi leaving oil on the sides.
5. Add salt, turmeric, MDH Kitchen King Masala, Kasoori Methi and saute for couple of seconds.
6. Add 3/4 cup cream and cook for 2-3 minutes.
7. Add water and milk and bring it to boil. Simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.
8. Till this point the sauce is almost cooked and is very mild. At this point I took out some for my son and added few cubes of Paneer for him separately. Since he liked his version, I amalso tagging this post as ‘Toddler Friendly’
9. Take out few table spoons of sauce in a cup, Add Maggie Hot n Sweet Chili sauce and mix well. Put it back in the Karahi and mix well. This is optional – only if you like mild hot and sweet flavor. If you don’t have this chili sauce on hand you can also try regular ketchup with 1 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp red chilies.
10. Add paneer cubes, stir in 1/4 cup cream and simmer on low heat for about 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook the paneer as the cubes will start breaking
11. Sprinkle the garam masala and chopped cilantro

Serve hot with Naans or Roti (Indian Flatbreads)

Note: You can adjust water / milk quantities as per your liking. This recipe makes a medium consistency curry –not too dry and not too watery either

Total Preparation Time : Approximately 30 minutes

Methi Malai Paneer is a post from: Chef

Creamy Pesto Macaroni

I wanted to try making it ever since I noticed my son liked a ‘Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta’ from a local Italian restaurant. That inspired me try making Basil Pesto Sauce and this is what I made first using the Pesto sauce. This is not a perfectly low calorie dish. I can say it might be lighter than what I have looked online for an easy Alfredo or white sauce. It makes a creamy, indulgent and very flavorful pasta (thanks to the Basil Pesto) that I think everyone should enjoy once in a while. I used elbow macaroni as my son prefers it over Penne and other bigger pasta. You can use any pasta shape of your choice.

You need:

1/2 cup elbow macaroni
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tbsp Butter
1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cube (about 1 tbsp) Basil Pesto (I froze the Pesto I made in an ice cube tray!)
1/4 cup cream
1 cup milk
1 cup water (reserved after boiling pasta)
3-4 florets broccoli (optional)
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Boil pasta as per package instructions. Drain and reserve about 1 cup water. (I added the broccoli florets along with pasta so they get really tender by the time the pasta gets cooked. This is a good trick when you want to sneak in some vegetables)
2. Heat butter in a medium sauce pan, add flour and stir briskly using a wire whisk.
3. Add garlic and saute for few seconds.
4. Add cream and Parmesan cheese and blend well until creamy.
5. Add milk, water and salt and bring it to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in Pesto Sauce, and then macaroni and cook for another couple of minutes. (Before adding in pasta, I mashed the broccoli with a fork and as you can see in the picture it blended nicely with the slightly green sauce)
7. Cook few more minutes if you want to thicken the sauce more, however it does thicken a bit as it cools down anyways.
8. Serve hot and garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan Cheese. Sprinkle some black pepper to add a little kick.
Black pepper can be mixed in when cooking the sauce as well but to keep the recipe ‘toddler friendly’ I preferred adding it while serving it for adults!

Enjoy! And yes, my son did enjoy his dinner very much so I am happily tagging this recipe is ‘Toddler Friendly’.

Creamy Pesto Macaroni

Tip: Stir in grilled chicken towards the end of the cooking to make it ‘Creamy Pesto Chicken pasta!’. Serve as is to the little ones and with a side of garden salad and sour dough bread for yourself.

Creamy Pesto Macaroni is a post from: Chef

Basil Pesto

Pesto, an aromatic herb sauce or paste, originated in Northern Italy and is used very commonly in Italian cooking. Traditionally it is made with toasted pine nuts but there are nut free variations as well. Every now and then I have tried different pesto based dishes and always amazed how this fragrant and flavorful perks up otherwise plain pasta or chicken recipes. However, it wasn’t until I noticed that my son liked a Pesto Chicken Fettuccine dish from a local Italian restaurant that I decided to give it a try in my every day cooking.

I read this recipe in Woman’s day magazine and immediately wanted to try it. However, my busy schedule did not really permit me until last weekend. Ironically, it takes less than 5 minutes to make it. The only thing you need to plan for his having fresh basil leaves on hand that was the hard part for me. If you are growing them in your backyard or in a container on your windowsill you are in luck and you don’t need to wait like me to buy couple of ‘live plants’ from the grocery store and make it as soon as I bought it to preserver freshness!

You need:

Basil Pesto-Basil,Garlic and Cheese

2 cups fresh basil leaves (firmly packed)
6 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
3-4 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (for making it my ‘toddler friendly’ I did not add any)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
dash of lemon juice (optional)

1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients except the oil. Pulse until a thick paste is formed.

Basil, Garlic and Cheese- in Magic Bullet

2. Add oil slowly and blend until well combined. I just used my Magic Bullet to blend the ingredients.

3. Transfer to an airtight container and press plastic wrap directly onto Pesto to prevent browning. Cover with lid.
Mine came out little runny as you can see in the picture. I had little less than 2 cups of Basil leaves, After refrigerating, I removed the extra oil later. Next time I just have to make sure I have ‘firmly packed’ two cups as the recipe calls for.
You can refrigerate up to 4 days and freeze up to 3 months.

I absolutely loved this tip in Woman’s Day magazine: divide the leftovers into an ice cube tray, seal it tightly with plastic wrap and freeze. Since Pesto has a very concentrated flavor, you will not use more than a cube or two at any time (unless coating large quantities of meat!). Later pop out a cube, defrost in microwave and use it in:

1. Soups: Minestrone, Lentil, vegetable or chicken soup
2. Add to pasta sauces – Marinara, Alfredo
3. Coat fish/chicken, grill
4. Spread on sandwiches
5. Mix with cream cheese and serve as a spread for crackers

Basil Pesto-Freeze

I would say sky is the limit…and this is the just the beginning of my adventures with Pesto! Obediently, I saved one serving and froze the rest for later. I also found out that there are variations with Spinach, mint, cilantro, almonds and so on – so I guess there is more experimenting to do as well.

Presto Basil Pesto (Nut Free) is a post from: Chef

Brown Lentils and Collard Greens Soup

This post is long overdue. Last few days it was little hard to keep up with things. Even though it is getting late at night, I decided today I will make an effort to get back on track .

I made this soup few weeks ago as I experimented with these two ingredients: Brown Lentils and Collard Greens. I had tried both of them in separate recipes and my son enjoyed them all. This time I wanted to make something with both greens and lentils with a mild flavor that my son will enjoy as well. It made a great nutritious low calorie soup for us and since my son enjoyed it couple of days in a row (with rice and butter), I am happily tagging this recipe as ‘Toddler Friendly’.

You need:
1 red onion, onions
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 bay leaf
3 large cloves garlic
1 carrot, chopped
1 small zucchini , chopped
1 cup brown lentils
1.5 cups collard greens, chopped

1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp salt / or to taste
A pinch of nutmeg powder
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp clove powder

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot or a pressure cooker
2. Add bay leaf and garlic and fry for few seconds.
3. Add onions, fry on low for about 5 minutes.
4. Add carrots and zucchini and cook for few minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, cumin powder, salt, nutmeg, clove powder and turmeric powder and cook for couple of minutes.
6. Add brown lentils, collard greens and about 6 cups water and pressure cook for about 15 minutes.
7. If not using pressure cooker then cook for about 40-50 minutes on low-medium heat until brown lentils are cooked and vegetables are tender.
8. Adjust water and seasonings as per taste
9. Add lemon juice and oregano.

Brown Lentils and Collard Greens Soup

Serve hot! Its tastes great with toasted sourdough bread and makes a wholesome quick lunch – add some rice to the soup, lunch packed in less than 5 minutes

Brown Lentils and Collard Greens Soup is a post from: Chef

Curried Eggs

Today I really did not feel like just a sandwich for a quick lunch. It’s raining, and cold, and I wanted to warm up from the inside. Curry is always just the thing for me. This one is quick and easy.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 chicken breast
1 small onion
½ – 1 cup boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon strong curry powder (or to taste)
1 tablespoon cornflour

1. Bring the eggs to the boil in boiling water. Boil till they are a softish hard boiled egg (approximately 7 minutes, depending on your altitude).

2. In the meantime, fry the chopped onion and the diced chicken in a little oil. Add the salt, pepper and curry powder. Fry for about 6 minutes. Add the water, and bring to the boil. Add the cornflour, and thicken the gravy.

3. Once the eggs are boiled, cool them under running water for a minute. Peel them carefully, and cut in half lengthwise.

4. Add them to the curry, and serve hot with rice or flat bread.

Curried Eggs is a post from: Chef

Strawberry Milk Cake Pudding

It all started with trying to make a Tres Leches Cake. When I looked up the recipes, all of them called for eggs. Since I wanted to make an eggless dessert, I thought maybe this time I should just make a milk cake pudding. The pudding is not ‘Tres Leches’ as Tres Leches would mean ’3 types of milks’ but it certainly uses 2 types of milks: Condensed milk for the base cake and Evaporated Milk for soaking the cake slices in. Not quite ‘Tres Leches’ but came out very delicious. Bonus: it is an eggless dessert, so suitable for vegetarians and people with egg allergies.

You need:

1 Strawberry Cake (Eggless)
2 cans Evaporated Milk
1 banana
10-12 fresh Strawberries
1/2 cup whipped cream topping (or more as desired)
4-5 tbsp Nesquik Strawberry Milk Flavor/Strawberry flavor Carnation Instant breakfast
1 package instant Vanilla pudding (I used Jello)

Directions:
1. Prepare Cake as per directions. Let it cool (Or use a store bought cake, try to get one with little less sugar)
2. Prepare Vanilla pudding as per directions
3. Slice the cake and set first layer in a large white dish.

Strawberry Milk Cake Pudding-Cake Layer

4. Mix the strawberry flavor powder in Evaporated Milk. Adjust flavor quantity as per your taste. I prefer it not to be overly sweet.

Strawberry Milk Cake Pudding-Evaporated milk

5. Drench the first layer with Evaporated Milk (Number of layers depend on the dish size. I used 15 x 10 and prepared the pudding in 2 layers). For about two layers, the first layer should be soaked in half the milk.
6. Spread a layer of sliced banana and strawberries.
7. Spread the Vanilla pudding on the fruit layer.

Strawberry Milk Cake Pudding-Add fresh strawberries and banana

8. Repeat- Add another layer of cake, drench in Evaporated milk.
9. Top it with whipped cream topping and sliced fresh strawberries.

I did not want to use too much whipped cream topping. So I just added few small dollops. This way I could cut extra calories as well. Although I do think, it would have been great if I had spread one full layer of the whipped cream topping. May be next time!

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.

Strawberry Milk Cake Pudding

Strawberry Milk Cake Pudding (Eggless) is a post from: Chef

Savoury Hurry Up Muffins

By Heidemarie Swanepoel

These are quick and easy muffins, with a delicious filling in the centre. I find that these muffins are also a good way of using up those little bits of left-overs that are too little to use for another meal, but too much to just throw away. I like using these little bits in crafty ways – even my boys enjoy their veggie muffins.

Ingredients
1 cup milk
2 eggs
½ cup oil
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon BBQ salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Filling:1 onion
3 rashers bacon
½ – 1 sweet pepper

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400’F.

Filling:
Chop the bacon, onion and sweet pepper. Fry in a little oil till golden brown. Drain well.

1. Beat the egg and milk well, and add the other ingredients, and mix well. The dough has a very runny consistency.
Fill the bottom third of the well greased muffin pan with the dough.

Add filling

2. Spoon in a small amount of your filling.

3. Cover with the remaining dough.

Bake in your hot oven for 10 – 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Carefully remove from the pan once slightly cooled. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm, or once cooled down.

Ideas for fillings:

For 12 muffins you will need ½ – 1 cup filling. Here are a couple more ideas for variations.

Savoury Hurry-up Muffins is a post from: Chef

Toddler Approved Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Broccoli

So what do you do if your skinny little one gets most of his carbohydrates from pasta? Well try to invent recipes that makes the same old pasta taste different with some added nutrition. Sometimes I use traditional Ragu pasta sauce with some meat or make white sauce with some cheese and Spinach. So different variations for same old pasta! This time I had little bit time on hand, so I tried to make pasta with a homemade onions, tomatoes, and vegetables sauce. This also gave me some satisfaction of putting together a meal for him with minimum possible processed ingredients.

You need:

1 cup boiled thin Spaghetti, I cut the Spaghetti into smaller pieces before boiling
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1-1/2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Collard greens, chopped (or any other leafy vegetable like Spinach or Mustard)
3-4 Broccoli florets, chopped
salt to taste
pinch of turmeric to make it look yellow!

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and onions and saute for few minutes until onions are tender.
2. Add tomatoes, turmeric and salt and cook on high for another 5 minutes.
3. Add Collard greens and Broccoli florets and cook for couple of minutes.
4. Add about three fourth cup water and bring it to boil. Simmer until vegetables are tender and a medium thick sauce is made. Adjust water if needed. Add the boiled Spaghetti and mix well.

Serve warm to the little one! My son enjoyed the colorful pasta with a very mild taste so I am happily tagging it as ‘Toddler Friendly’.

Toddler Approved Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Broccoli is a post from: Chef

Eggless Strawberry Cake

Strawberries are in season and I usually have some on hand at all times. It is almost impossible not to think about including this brightly colored and refreshing fruit in your everyday cooking. They are packed with lot more Vitamin C than some other popular citrus fruits and are a also great source of antioxidants, folate, potassium and fiber. So throw them in salads, smoothies, cakes and muffins and enjoy the health benefits along with keeping your taste buds happy!

Here is a very simple and light cake I baked for the Father’s day using fresh Strawberry puree. The cake was not overly sweet (I try not to use cake mixes whenever possible as I find them very sweet for my liking) and was bursting with Strawberry flavor. I also added some red food color to the batter to make the cake look pale pink. Serve it hot as is or cool it and frost it with frosting of your choice. I served with whipped cream topping and fresh Strawberries on top.

You need:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup melted butter (unsalted)
1 cup fresh Strawberries puree

Strawberries Puree

1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
couple of drops of red food color (optional)
2 tbsp Nesquik Strawberry Powder Drink Mix (or any other little sweetened Strawberry flavor of your choice)
Whipped cream and fresh Strawberries for topping, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan or bundt pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, Nesquik Strawberry . Make a well in the center and pour in the sweetened condensed milk, orange juice, Strawberries puree, vanilla, food color and melted butter.

Strawberry Cake-Pour Batter

4. Mix well and pour into prepared pan (I usually slightly grease the pan) .
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Eggless Strawberry Cake with Whipped Cream and Fresh Strawberries

Strawberry Cake (Eggless) is a post from: Chef

Curry Leaves- Kadhi Patta

Keeping up with the theme of my blog, I am starting a new category – ‘I found this helpful’ to share anything new I learn as I continue on this journey of ‘Chef in Making’. So small or big, a tip or a trick, a different technique, cost cutting, time saving, kids friendly – here it comes.

Curry Leaves or popularly known as ‘Kadhi Patta’ in India are used in South, West-coastal and even in some North Indian dishes. They are very aromatic and are best when used fresh. Back in India, it is very common to grow this plant in your own backyard or even a in a large pot and use fresh leaves as you pluck them just before cooking. Living in California, I do not have this luxury and I always buy from a local Indian store (I could buy a plant and grow it in my own backyard, but my busy schedule does not even let me take care of what I have already planted!). When you buy them they are still pretty fresh but as you open the sealed packet, the leaves start to dry up and I always ended up throwing most of them.

Last month a coworker told me he always freezes the curry leaves as soon as he buys them. That was a light bulb moment – how come I never thought of it! So last time I bought these, I immediately froze the almost full packet in a ziplock bag. And every time I conveniently used the frozen leaves last couple of times, I silently thanked my coworker for sharing this tip with this ‘chef in making’

P.S. you do not need to thaw them, take few leaves out from the ziplock and throw them in the heated oil. Fresh aroma intact!

Freezing Curry Leaves (Kadhi Patta) is a post from: Chef