Paneer Tyres for CCC

Well... I've just been extremely busy with my daily chores to get back to blogging. You know, sometimes the time just flies and you don't know where its gone. That's what's happening with me now.

My second grader is a very poor eater. I wouldn't call him picky as he'll eat anything and everything if he feels like eating. Now the problem is, he doesn't feel like eating most of the time. So his after school snacks were only fruits. 1/2 an apple, 1 orange, 1/2 of a big banana and a mug of milk.

Recently, I started giving him a freshly prepared snack after school. He actually started eating it along with fruits. He's enjoying the snacks as well. Recently, I made these Paneer Tyres from Nita Mehta's "Healthy Snacks for School going children" and he liked them. Its healthy, quick to make and tasty.

Ingredients:
2 Brown Bread Slices
1 tsp melted butter
For Filling:
50gms Paneer - grated
3 tbsp Grated Carrot
Salt, Pepper, Cumin Powder to taste

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients under the heading "For Filling".
2. Roll out the bread slices flat with a rolling pin
3. Place a bit of filling on one side of the bread and carefully roll it.
4. You can cut each bread slice into 2 pieces. That's what I did.
5. Repeat and make the other roll as well.
6. Cover the rolls with a wet cloth for atleast 15 minutes.
7. Preheat the grill for 5 minutes.
8. Brush the melted butter on the rolls and grill them till needed. I didn't let my rolls turn too crispy as my 2 year old doesn't like it.
9. Serve with ketchup.

Note 1: The original recipe had finely chopped capsicum and tomato ketchup also for filling. I avoided these.

Note 2: The fillings can be different as long as they are dry. I am thinking of kheema filling next time.

Note 3: These can be cut into 4 pieces instead of 2 and used as appetizers for parties.

This goes to Week 3 of Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.

Pudhina Paneer Pulao / Mint Cottage Cheese Pulao

Kalyani hosts Magic Mingle every month. The concept seems very simple. She chooses 2 magic ingredients every month and posts them on her blog on the 5^th of every month. We need to prepare a dish using both the ingredients (as main ingredients - not as garnishing or tempering) and post it on our respective blogs by the 15^th of the same month.

Quiet simple you might think; just as I thought when I joined the event. The combinations she has chosen so far are totally new to me. Thinking about the dishes I can make with the combination has been pushing me out of my comfort zone. I am glad I joined this event as all the dishes I have made till date have been appreciated by P.

This month's dish was no exception. Mint and Paneer were the Magic Ingredients. A completely new combination for me. As Paneer was one of the main ingredients, I thought I'll make an Indian dish and settled on pulao. P liked it the moment he took his first bite. I have learnt that the addition of mint to a simple pulao can completely change its taste and give a more biryani like flavour. Well, this is not biryani in the true sense; its still pulao.

Serves: 3 - 4

Ingredients
1.5 cups Basmati Rice - washed thoughly and soaked for atleast 20 minutes
1 cup packed Mint Leaves - washed
200 gms Paneer - chopped into 1 cm cubes
2 Green Chillies
1 Onion - chopped
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Shahjeera / Caraway Seeds
1 Bay Leaf
2 Green Cardamoms
2 Cloves
1 inch piece Cinnamon
2 tbsp Oil
3 cups water + a little bit more to puree if needed
Salt to taste

Method

1. Puree the Mint Leaves and Green Chillies to an almost smooth paste adding little water if necessary.
2. Heat the Oil in a pan. When hot, add the Bay Leaf, Green Cardamoms, Cloves and Cinnamon and fry for about half a minute.
3. Add the Shahjeera and let it sizzle.
4. Now add the Onion and let it turn transparent.
5. Add the Ginger and Garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
6. Add the Mint - Chilli paste and fry for a few minutes till the raw smell goes.
7. Add the Paneer and fry for 3 - 4 minutes.
8. Drain the rice and add it to the pan and fry for 5 minutes.
9. Add 3 cups water and bring to boil.
10. Cover and cook till rice is done.
11. Serve hot with Raita or plain curd / yoghurt.

This goes to Kalyani's Magic Mingle #5 - Mint & Cottage Cheese

Matar Paneer

Another recipe from Sailu's Food. This is probably the most cooked dish in our house from her blog. P is in love with the dish. I made it for one of our friends and she loved it as well. This is another proof that you just can't go wrong with her recipes if you follow them right.

We eat it with rotis and rice.

The very first time I made this dish, I didn't have a few ingredients (Kitchen King Masala, Kasuri Methi and Cream) but it still tasted good. But with all the ingredients, it tasted just perfect.

Since we make this regularly, we avoid the cream. We use cream only when we are expecting some guests.

Without any more blabbering, here’s my version of the recipe:

Ingredients
250 gms Paneer – Cubed
1 cup Frozen Green Peas
1 Large Onion – finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies – finely chopped
3/4 tsp Ginger Paste
3/4 tsp Garlic Paste
1 Tomato – Finely Chopped
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Kasuri Methi (Dry Fenugreek Leaves)
1/4 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala Powder
1 tsp Cream
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to Taste
Chopped Coriander Leaves for Garnish.

Method

1. Heat Oil in a pan. Saute the Onions and Chillies till the Onions turn translucent.
2. Now add the Ginger and Garlic pastes and fry till the raw smell goes.
3. Add the Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Red Chilli Powder and mix well.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes - until the tomatoes are cooked well.
5. Take a hand blender and grind to a coarse paste.
6. Add a cup of water and bring to a boil.
7. Now add the Peas and Paneer and cook till the Peas are done
8. Now add the Kitchen King Masala, Kasuri Methi (crush this between the palms of your hands) and Garam Masala and mix well.
9. Turn off the heat and add Cream and mix.
10. Garnish with Chopped Coriander Leaves and serve with Rice / Roti.

This goes to the following events:

Radhika's Let's Cook - Subzis

Jayashree's Healthy Lunchbox Ideas - Paneer that was started by Kalyani

Priya's Bookmarked Recipes - Every Tuesday - 26th July 2011(Volume 51)