No Onion No Garlic Paneer Butter Masala..!!!

Cooking meals on Fridays seems to be a tough task for me as it is considered to be complete vegetarian day at my home. The other two members of my tiny family can’t even imagine a single day without some non-veg stuff. To us, the Bengali people vegetarian day means absence of onion and garlic even as we consider them as non-veg item. So it turns out to be really a great deal for me to cook some veg dish which will be tasty so that my husband and the little one don’t have to negotiate with the taste.

For cooking any veg dish,paneer (Indian cottage cheese) is the best choice. So, today I am going to share my version of “Paneer Butter Masala” recipe which I prepare mostly without onion and garlic. The whole recipe entails of very few simple steps but the taste is no less than the paneer cooked with onion and garlic.

So , here comes the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Fresh Paneer: 250 gm
• Tomato: 2 (chopped) (large and juicy, make a smooth paste of the chopped tomato with little water)
• Ginger Paste :11/2 tsp.
• Turmeric Powder :1 tsp.
• Cumin Powder :1 tsp.
• Coriander Powder:1 tsp.
• Salt: to taste
• Sugar: 1 tsp.
• Asafoetida (hing) : a pinch
• Cumin Seeds (Whole) : 1 tsp.
• Red Chili Powder : 1tsp.
• Garam Masala Powder : 1/4 tsp.
• Cashews : a handful (Soaked in warm milk)
• Milk:1 Cup
• Fresh Cream : 2 tbsp
• Butter :2 tbsp.
• White Oil :1 tbsp.
• Water: 1/2 Cup (if required)

Process:

• Cut the fresh paneer in your desired shapes and soak these in warm water with pinch of salt for sometime.
• Make a smooth paste of the milk soaked cashews and keep it aside. 
• Make a smooth paste of the chopped tomato.
• Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel and temper with whole cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds starts to crackle add the butter. Then add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, asafoetida, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder,salt, sugar and mix thoroughly.
• Pour the cashew paste into the vessel and cook until the oil start releasing from the sides of the vessel.
• Once oil starts releasing from the sides of the vessel pour the milk into it and let it boil for 2 minutes.
• Now add the paneer and the fresh cream and mix well. At this time if required you may add little water. Cover the vessel and cook for 5-6 minutes. Don't over cook it unless the paneer will be hard.
• Uncover the vessel and sprinkle the garam masala powder and cover the vessel again for 1 minute only so that the aroma could be absorbed by the curry.
• Turn off the flame. Paneer butter masala is ready to serve. Serve it with roti, paratha or polao.

                           

                                                                         Enjoy Your Food!!

Summer Special Vegetable Curry With Watery Gravy...!!!!

“SUMMER” – the word itself brings a lot of heat in INDIA. But heat itself is not the core thing which brings worry to this side of the world. Heat brings many sidekicks which are even bigger reason to raise your heart beats. Dehydration, indigestion, stomach upset, infections are few to name. Spices are something which highly need to be avoided as they create the above mentioned issues if not used appropriately. So the question comes what to eat?? Without spices the food seems blunt and no one wants to eat a healthy food which is not tasty. Then the bigger question comes to find exactly what spices to eat and exactly how much amount so that a food can be healthy enough to beat the heat and tasty enough to beat the tongue.

As I mentioned in my earlier posts that the Mother Nature provides a huge set of fruits and vegetables during this summer season to cope with the extreme heat. So here comes the recipe of a mix vegetable gravy which is not only tasty but also extremely healthy and can be eaten daily without harming either the health or tongue.

So, here comes the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Potato: 2 (Peeled & Cut into wedges)
• Raw Banana: 2 (Peeled & Cut in small Pieces)
• Pointed Gourd: 4 (Peeled and cut in small pieces)
• Ridge Gourd: 2 (Peeled & Cut in small Pieces)
• Cauliflower: 1 Cup florets
• Tomato :1 large and juicy ( cut in cubes)
• Ginger Paste: 2 tsp.
• Coriander Seeds Paste : 2 tsp.
• Cumin Seeds Paste:2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder :1 tsp.
• Salt: to taste
• Sugar : 1/2 tsp.
• Cumin Seeds (Whole) : 1 tsp.
• Green Chili :3-4 nos.
• Coriander Leaves
• Oil: White or Mustard (3-4 tbsp)
• Water: 3-4 Cups

Process:

• Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel andd temper with cumin seeds and green chili. Once the cumin seeds start to crackle add the tomato pieces and stir well. Cook until the tomato becomes little mushy.
• Now add all the vegetables and fry them in medium flame with salt and turmeric powder for few minutes.
• Add the ginger paste, cumin-coriander seeds paste, sugar, coriander leaves and mix thoroughly with all the vegetables.
• Cook until oil starts releasing from the sides of the vessel.
• Pour the water now, increase the flame and cover the vessel with a lead and cook until the vegetables are done properly.
• Uncover the vessel and taste the seasoning. Add salt or sugar if required.
• As it is a watery gravy add some more water if required and cook for some more time.
• Turn off the flame. Summer special vegetable curry with watery gravy is ready . Serve it with steaming hot rice and enjoy with a slice of lemon and a wedge of onion.

                                               

                                                        Enjoy Your Food..!!!