Methi Tomato Paneer

This Methi-Tomato Paneer curry recipe is from a Telugu cooking show. It is a simple curry with very simple ingredients, methi, tomato and paneer. It is a great side dish for rice or roti.

I planted my little vegetable garden few weeks back and the saplings have slowly started to grow. My methi plants are also slowly grwoing. Hopefully I can get to cook with my own methi leaves soon :-)

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Rasawala Chana (Gujarati Saucy Chickpea Curry)

BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines 

Week 3: Gujarati Cuisine 

Day 18: R for Rasawala Chana with Rotlis

Today's Gujarati dish is a simple, protein packed curry made with black chana or chickpeas. Rasawala means saucy and in this dish black chickpeas are cooked in a tangy and sweet sauce.

The only time taking part of this dish is the soaking and boiling the chana. The actual cooking time takes about 15 minutes. Served with rotis or even rice, this is a delicious and comforting dish. I made rotlis to serve with this chana.

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Enchor Kofta (Bengali Jackfruit Kofta Curry)

BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines 
Week 1: Bengali Cuisine
Day 5: Enchor Kofta (Bengali Jackfruit Kofta Curry)
I should first say a big thanks to Sandeepa of Bongmom Cookbook for all her amazing Bengali recipes. It was a breeze picking my dishes for letters A~H because of her blog. I already made Aam Doi, Charchari and Doi Dharosh from her blog. Today's dish Enchor Kofta or jacfruit kofta curry recipe is also from her blog.

I've had a few mishaps making koftas in the past, so I'm usually wary about trying any new recipe. But Sandeepa's recipe looked doable, I took the plunge and made them following her recipe. The koftas were probably the best I've ever made.

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Doi Dharosh (Bengali Okra in Yogurt gravy)

BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines 
Week 1: Bengali Cuisine 
Day 4: D for Doi Dharosh (Bengali Okra in Yogurt gravy)
D for Dharosh or Dhyarosh in Bengali has 2 meanings, one is our beloved okra/ bhindi/ ladies finger and the other not-so-nice meaning is someone who's lazy and clumsy. But I am only talking about D for Okra/ bhindi today.

Doi in bengali means yogurt and in this dish okra is cooked in a spicy yogurt sauce. I was planning to make it when my husband was traveling, so I don't have to make him eat a yogurt based dish. But alas I had to make it when he was around and I made sure that he had something else to eat. I didn't tell him that this dish had yogurt in it and was surprised that he served himself a second serving. I kept quiet and didn't tell him about the secret ingredient :-)

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Hara Butter Paneer Masala (Spicy Green Curry with Paneer)

Blogging Marathon# 62: Week 4/ Day 1

Theme: No Tomato Gravies

Dish: Hara Butter Masala
For the final day of this week's 'No Tomato Gravies' theme I have an interesting curry made with green pepper and cilantro. Regular butter masala is made with butter, tomatoes puree and cream. This 'green' version is made with butter, green pepper, cilantro and cream.

This recipe is from a Telugu cooking show and it looked too good to pass on. It is very easy to make once you have hara/ green masala prepped. Switch paneer with other protein like tofu, chickpeas or beans and skip the cream and use vegan butter for a vegan version of the curry.

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Mixed Vegetable Curry in Coconut milk gravy

Blogging Marathon# 62: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: No Tomato Gravies
Dish: Mixed Vegetable Curry in Coconut milk gravy

After yesterday's yogurt based curry, today I have a coconut milk based curry that is creamy and delicious. Coconut milk is a great vegan alternate and is much healthier than using heavy cream.

This recipe is from Mallika Bhadrinath's 100 gravy recipes cookbook. Along with coconut milk, a freshly ground spice paste gives this dish creaminess and a nice spicy kick.

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Punjabi Aloo (Spicy Potato curry with Yogurt)

Blogging Marathon# 62: Week 4/ Day 1
Theme: No Tomato Gravies
Dish: Punjabi Aloo
We are starting the final week of this month's marathon and my theme for the week is 'Gravies with No tomatoes'. When I signed up for this theme, I wasn't expecting it to be as difficult as it turned out. I realized that I'm very much dependent on tomatoes for making gravy curries. I have fresh tomatoes, canned tomato paste and puree always in the pantry. Coming up with 3 tomato-free gravy recipes was quite a challenge.

I have tried 3 curry recipes using different ingredients to give the gravy consistency. For the first day, the curry is thickened with yogurt and a little bit of heavy cream. I was skeptical if my yogurt-hating husband would like it or not. But he didn't really notice the yogurt that much, so this curry goes into our recipe rotation.

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Pavakkai Pitlai (Bittergourd Coconut Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 61: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Meal Ideas

Dish: Bittergourd Pitlai

My theme for this week's Blogging marathon is probably one of my favorite. It is 'Meal Ideas', Valli wants us to showcase a complete meal even if that means sharing just one recipe. Coming up with a plan for a meal is quite an exercise for the brain which is why most of us try to delegate the task to the family by asking, 'what do you want to eat today?' I am one of those people who will ask this question and then reject almost everything that is being requested, only on very rare occasions a suggestion is actually cooked. But I don't fail to ask the question ;-)

Coming from south India, most of our meals revolve around rice, so for the next 3 days, I'm going to share some interesting meal ideas with rice as one of the component.

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Pepper Gojju (Mysore style Masala curry)

Blogging Marathon #60: Week 3/ Day 2

Theme: Regional Specials

Dish: Pepper & Onion Gojju (Mysore style Masala curry)

For the second day of this week's BM, I made a lip smacking Mysore curry with peppers and onions. Highlight and the base of the dish is a delicious coconut gravy. 

This recipe is again from Vani's blog, Mysoorean. I made her Kattina dal and this pepper curry for a simple, comforting and delicious meal.

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Bhindi Masala Curry (Spicy Stuffed Okra Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 59: Week 3/ Day 1

Theme: Stuffed Dishes

Dish: Stuffed Bhindi Masala Curry

We are starting a new week of blogging marathon today and my theme for the week is 'Stuffed Dishes'. First up is a delicious stuffed bhindi/ okra in a tomato gravy recipe.

Recipe is from a Telugu cooking show. It looked like a show stopper and I noted it down in my book. As I was looking for dishes to make for this week, this one looked very tempting and luckily I was able to buy some nice looking okra too.

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Shaam Savera (Spinach-Paneer balls in Tomato sauce)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 4/ Day 3

Theme: Side Dishes for Rice/ Roti

Dish: Shaam Savera

I have a rich and decadent restaurant style curry today. It is called 'Shaam-Savera' aka Spinach-paneer koftas in tomato sauce. I ate it once in an Indian restaurant and absolutely loved the dish. I have been looking for the recipe and an opportunity to make it ever since.

We had my mom and sister's family come over for my son's birthday last month and I made this curry along with yesterday's post Aloo-Gobhi, Mughlai parathas and Jeera rice for dinner. It was a restaurant style meal without going to the restaurant :-)

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Muvva Vankaya Kura (Baby Eggplant Curry)

I'm always looking for new eggplant recipes and when I find a new recipe, I try to make as soon as I can :-) This muvva vankaya (muvva=pearl vankaya=eggplant) curry recipe is from a Telugu cooking show that I duly noted down in my recipe diary. Valli already made the same dish few months back.

We rarely get really small baby eggplants here, so it took me a while to get to this recipe. But luckily my mom found some beautiful baby eggplants at the Indian grocery a month back and I made this curry right away (so it has been sitting in the drafts for  while :-)).

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Shahi Mixed Vegetable & Paneer Curry

I made this creamy and colorful mixed vegetable curry to go with the Khamiri rotis. 'Shahi' literally means regal or royal, so any dish with that in the name means it's going to be rich and flavorful.

This shahi vegetable curry is great to make for parties or when you have company. Like most other Indian gravy curries, this curry tastes even better as it sits. So make it ahead of time and warm slightly when ready to serve.

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Kashmiri Dum Aloo

To go with my Kashmiri Rotis and Saffron rice, I made this Kashmiri Dum Aloo. This curry is so delicious with stuffed potatoes that is served with a spicy, creamy gravy.

I already have another Kashmiri Dum Aloo recipe on the blog, but this recipe is quite different from that one because here the potatoes are stuffed with paneer and unsweetened khoya. I replaced khoya with ricotta cheese because I didn't have khoya on hand and strained ricotta worked like a charm.

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Malaysian Curry Sauce

Roti Canai is usually served with a creamy curry sauce. The one served in our nearby Penang restaurant is made with chicken, so I've never tasted it myself. While surfing for Malaysian curry sauces, I found this one with potato and like I said before in my previous post, anything with potato is welcome in my house.

This curry sauce is made with generous quantity of coconut cream. But I subbed it with regular coconut milk and the sauce was still creamy and delicious. It tasted great with roti canai and even with some plain rice. I also added some green peas to add some protein to the dish.

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Roti Canai with Curry Sauce (Vegetarian Recipe)

Buffet on Table: Week 1 -- Combos from Countries

Day 2: Malaysia -- Roti Telur with Curry Sauce

Next we stop in Malaysia for an addictive combo of Roti Canai with Curry sauce. Some influence of Indian cuisine can be seen in Malaysian cuisine and this combo of roti with curry reflects a lot of it.

We have a really good Penang restaurant near us and they serve delicious roti canai. Unfortunately the curry sauce has chicken in it, so we end up eating just the bread. Penang is a state in Malaysia and is touted as the food capital of Malaysia.

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Cherry Tomato Kurma

Blogging Marathon# 55: Week 1/ Day 2

Theme: Healthy Family Dinners

Dish: Cherry Tomato Kurma

For the second day of  'Healthy Family Dinners', I have a creamy and delicious kurma made with cherry tomatoes. This dish can be served with either rotis or simple vegetable pulao.

I have been cooking a lot with cherry tomatoes lately like this cherry tomato pachadi or this cherry tomato & kale pasta. I make sure to keep some handy to make quick pasta sauces or toss into salads for a juicy bite.

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Poori with Besan Aloo Curry

Blogging Marathon# 52: Week 3/ Day 3

Theme: Weekend Special Dinners

Dish: Poori with Aloo Curry
Poori with aloo curry is a classic combination that I crave once in a while but rarely make at home. First thing I'm reluctant to deep fry anything and second I'm scared that my pooris won't puff up and will turn hard. So I decided to give pooris another try one weekend.

I watched Vah Chef making pooris and gained some confidence. My pooris turned pretty good -- they were puffy, soft and didn't absorb too much oil. I made smallish pooris because I only have a small poori press :-) (The green contraption in the pic below).

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Mumbai Style Pav Bhaji

Blogging Marathon# 52: Week 3/ Day 1

Theme: Weekend Special Dishes

Dish: Pav Bhaji
My theme for this week's blogging marathon is 'Weekend Special Dishes'. My husband travels quite a bit during the weekdays and he tries to be home during the weekends. So I try and make sure to cook something special for all of us.

Pav Bhaji was one such special dish that I made for our weekend dinner. To be honest, I probably ate a proper pav bhaji only once or twice in my life that too years ago. I still remember going to a tiny restaurant in India some 20 years ago and tasting my very first pav bhaji. It was quite spicy, but the soft pav and the butter made me fall in love with it. Growing up, we were not allowed to eat outside that much, so I never got a chance to eat it again.

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Methi Matar Masala Curry

Blogging Marathon# 50: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Methi Dishes

Dish: Methi Matar Masala Curry

We are starting our second week of blogging marathon today and my theme for this week is 'Methi dishes'. I like methi quite a bit -- what I don't like about it is that it takes (almost) forever to take the leaves out, especially the store bought bunches which have tougher stems. I grow my own methi in summer and try to pluck them out when they are still young, so the whole plant can be used in cooking.

Other than that the cleaning part I have no issues with methi, I like it's slightly bitter taste while I know some people who stay away from it because it's bitter. So for the next 3 days, I tried to use methi in 3 interesting dishes that are both easy to make and taste delicious too.

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