Paneer

How to make paneer at home?.. Here is the step wise method to make paneer at home. I always find it difficult to bring it in cube form .Mostly, it used to get crumbled and comes out like cheese powder. Thanks to my friend  +Nidhi Aggarwal  , who explained me clearly with pictures and this time I succeeded . Am sharing it for those who are still trying to make paneer as cubes ;) ... Good luck !

INGREDIENTS:

Whole Milk - 1 litre ( Use full fat milk only)( Yields 200 gms of paneer) .
Vinegar or lemon juice - 1 table spoon


METHOD:

1. In a large pan, pour the milk and allow it boil. Keep stirring continuously , so that  the milk doesnt get stick to the pan and get burnt.

2. Once it comes to boil , add 1 tablespoon vinegar or 1 tablespoon lemon juice  and mix well for a minute. You can see, that milk starts to curdle and comes out as in picture below.Switch off the flame. Wait for 5 minutes and let it cool.

3. Take a thin cloth. I used an unused white towel, with little big pores  to filter the water. 

4. Take a sieve and put the cloth over it, with a vessel under neath . pour the contents in pan over the cloth . Leave it like that for another 15 to 20 minutes, until it gets cool down to touch. 

5. Once it cool down , lift the cloth together with paneer and roll it and squeeze the excess water out of it. 

6. Now take a cutting board.Place the rolled cloth over it and press it all sides and form a round shape as in picture below. 

7. Now, the paneer ready. We need to keep more weight over that, so that it wont fall apart or break. I used a filter plate as shown below for placing the paneer. 

8. Now, take a big bowl. Place the filter plate over it. Then put the paneer with cloth over it. Above the paneer, put a plate. Above the plate, keep a pressure cooker or any heavy vessel with water. The point is, if you keep more weight, the paneer gets hardened. Allow it to stay that way for 45 minutes.

9. After 45 minutes, slowly remove weight , and put the paneer with cloth in a vessel and refrigerate it. No need to keep it in freezer. You can just keep in the fridge for around 2 to 3 hours. After that, take out from fridge, and remove the cloth. You can see , the paneer has hardened as in picture below. 

10. Now it is ready to be made to cubes. Cut to your desired shapes and use it for any subzis of  your choice. Please note that, you can cut to cubes only when you wish to make the subzi. Other wise, you can keep in fridge as a whole block and take out and make cubes when necessary. 

NOTE: 

Please also check my paneer butter masala recipe in my blog.  

Sambar Powder

HOME MADE SOUTH INDIAN SAMBAR POWDER:

This is my mother's version of typical Tamil Nadu  sambar powder. It can also be used for poriyals, kootus apart from normal sambar.

INGREDIENTS:
[ For 1/4 kg sambar powder]

Dry Red Chili - 1/4 kg
Coriander seeds - 1/4 kg
Bengal Gram(Kadalai paruppu) - 100 gms
Toor Dal- 100 gms
Whole black pepper - 50 gms
Cumin seeds - 50 gms
Fenugreek seeds(Vendhayam) - 50 gms
poppy seeds(Kasa kasa) - 50 gms
*Dried Whole Turmeric  - 50 gms
Asafoetida - 10 gms

METHOD :

 Heat tawa. Dry roast coriander seeds slightly for 2 minutes. Then add remaining ingredients and dry roast for 1-2 minutes.. Do not over roast and burn it. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool. Grind them to a fine powder.

NOTE : If you dont get Whole turmeric, you can use turmeric powder 50 gms. But , you dont need to dry roast the turmeric powder. Instead, after you grind sambar powder, add turmeric powder to that and mix well.

Brinjal Kootu

Who ever likes brinjal, will definitely love this recipe.. It is very simple and easy to make .

INGREDIENTS:

Brinjal - 3 No.s ( I used  long brinjal  . )

Tomato - 1 no

Onion - 1/2 ( I used Big onion. So, I just put half of it. If you are using Indian onion, you can use 1 no.) 

Green /Red fresh chilli - 1 (You can add more, if you want it spicy.)

Coconut powder - 1 table spoon

Moong Dal(Paasi paruppu) - 2 table spoons.

Sambar powder - 1  table spoon 

Salt - As required.

Water - 1 cup

Oil- 1 teaspoon

FOR SEASONING:

Oil - 1 table spoon

Mustard - 1 teaspoon

Urad dal - 1 tea spoon

Hing(Asafoetida) - As required

METHOD:

1. Soak  Moong dal in water for 10 minutes. In another vessel, add water and 1 table spoon curd and mix well. Cut brinjal into small pieces , and put it in the curd water and leave it for 10 minutes. Soaking brinjal in curd water will remove the bitterness from it and gives a good taste to the dish.

2. Cut onions,Tomtatoes and chillies finely.

3. Put all ingredients in pressure cooker(Brinjal, moong dal,coconut powder,chilli,tomato,onion), add sambar powder ,salt, 1 tea spoon oil, 1 cup water and close the lid. Do not add more water, if you want the kootu to be  thick*. 

4.Keep the cooker in High , and check the time. Total cooking time is 7 minutes. You may get a high whistle in 5 minutes. After that, lower the flame , and wait for 2 minutes and then switch off the gas. Wait until the pressure release.

5. Now the seasoning part. In a small pan, add 1 tablespoon oil, add mustard,urad daal,hing and fry till golden brown and add it to the kootu. 

6. Brinjal kootu is ready ! .It goes well with rotti,rice and even for pongal and dosa.

NOTE: * For pongal,dosa, you can make it little watery by adding more water (1.5 - 2 cups) in pressure cooker. 

                                                                                                                       

Suzhiyan

INGREDIENTS:

For inside puranam:
Bengal gram(kadalai paruppu) - 200 gm
Jaggery - 300 gm
Coconut powder - 3 table spoon
Cardamom - as required
Ghee- 2 table spoon

For outside layer :
Raw rice - 100 gm
Urad dal - 200 gm
salt- as required

METHOD:

   Lightly roast bengal gram (Do not burn or roast it too hard). Then pressure cook it well . Once cooked, add jaggery and grind them using mixer,  in to a smooth paste . When grinding it, do not add water. Then add coconut powder, cardamom powder  to the paste and mix well. In a pan, add 2 table spoon ghee and once heated, add this paste and stir continuously until it gets thickens and comes together .

    Soak rice and urad dal in water separately for  1 hour . Then grind them separately and mix them well  with salt.The batter should be thick in consistency. Do not add more water, as it will drip in oil while making suzhiyan.

       Now, make small balls of the bengal gram paste and dip it in the batter and deep fry in oil.

NOTES:

For outside layer, if  you find difficult to make raw rice and urad dal batter, you can use all purpose flour(maida) instead .

Kuzhi Appam

INGREDIENTS:

Warm milk - 1 cup
Jaggery  - 1 cup
All purpose flour(maida) - 1/4 cup
Rice flour - 3/4 cup
Rava* - 1/4 cup
Coconut powder- 2 tablespoon
Cardamom- as required
Baking soda - a pinch (For appam to come fluffy)

METHOD:

In warm milk, add jaggery and dissolve it. Then add all purpose flour, rice flour, rava , cocnut powder,cardamom powder , 2 teaspoon ghee and mix together well. Then add baking soda, and add some water and make it with the consistency of a dosa batter. Heat Kuzhi paniyaram pan, add little oil in that. Once heated, pour batter in to that and wait for few minutes and turn to other side, till they are cooked to a golden brown colour.

NOTES:
Roast the rava for few minutes before adding to the flour , in order to avoid the raw smell of it.   

Capsicum Rice

This is one of my favorite recipe. You can make the same as carrot rice/Egg plant rice instead of capsicum. I have tried my best to give step by step cooking procedure.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice - 1/2 cup
Capsicum- 2 nos(medium size)
Onion - 1/2
Salt-  As required
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

TO GRIND:
Peanuts - 3 tablespoon
Coriander seeds - 2 tea spoon
Bengal gram(Channa daal) - 1 tablespoon
Urad daal - 1 tablespoon
Dry red chilli- 3 or 4
Cumin seeds - 2 tea spoon

METHOD:
Cook rice in a pressure cooker and allow it to cool. In a pan, dry roast peanuts and set aside. In the same pan, add 2 teaspoon oil, then roast coriander seeds,bengal gram, urad daal,cumin and dry red chillis till they turn to golden brown color.

Now powder them finely.

   

In a pan add 3 teaspoon of oil, then add onion and fry for 2 minutes. Then add capsicum, turmeric powder and salt and stir well. If you want more spicy, you can add 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder. Please dont add water to cook  capsicum . Water will make the rice to turn lumps. Just sprinkle little water and stir well, until the capsicum get cooked well. stir continuously, and dont let the capsicum to get burnt.

Once, the capsicum cooked well and soft, add the peanut powder, which you have prepared..Now , reduce the flame to very well and mix the powder well with capsicum and switch off the flame.If the flame is high, the powder would get burnt. 

Now add the cooked rice and mix well, using a rice cooker spoon .

COOKING TIP:
1. When you cook rice in pressure cooker, add 3 to 4 drops of oil, so that rice dont get sticked to each other. The rice should not be over cooked and should not be too soft.  I used basmati rice. For 1/2 cup rice  , I added 1 cup of water and few drops of oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt( Remaining salt , you can adjust , when you fry capsicum and onion). Keep flame in high for 1 whistle. Then keep it in full sim for 9 minutes and then switch off the flame. Once cooked, transfer the rice to another vessel and keep it open, so that it gets cools down.

2. The rice will be easier to mix, only when it has cool down.

Maida Biscuits(Spicy)

Another favorite snack , that goes well with tea .. Spicy maida biscuits!

Preparation time : Under 10 minutes
Cooking time - Under 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

All purpose flour/maida - 2 cups ( I used a 240 ml cup)
White sesame seeds - 2 tablespoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 3/4 teaspoon
Black pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Butter - 2 tablespoon
Salt- As required (Approx. 1 teaspoon should be fine)
Water - As required
Oil - For deep frying

METHOD:

1. In a vessel, add maida,salt,sesame seeds,cumin seeds,chilli powder,pepper powder, melted butter and knead it in to a smooth dough. 

2. The dough should be at the consistency of a rotti dough. Take a  lemon size ball and make it as a thin rotti. Now use a fork and prickle all over the rotti, so that when you cut and put it in the oil, the biscuits wont bulge and break.

3. Now using a sharp knife, cut the rotti in square shapes.

4.  In a heavy pan, heat sufficient oil for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, add the diamond shapes and fry till they turn to golden brown color. 

5. Maida biscuits are ready !.. Have it with a cup of milk tea !.

7 cup cake

7 cup cake is a simple and delicious sweet made out of besan,coconut,milk and sugar...

INGREDIENTS:
Besan - 2 cups
Sugar - 2.5 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Coconut powder - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 3/4th cup

METHOD:

    In a thick pan, add 1 teaspoon ghee and fry the besan flour. Make sure that you don’t burn the
besan and besan color should not turn dark... Just fry for few minutes, until the raw smell goes. You
should keep stirring it continuously. Then transfer the besan to a bowl. In the same pan, now add
coconut powder and fry for few minutes. Don’t let the coconut powder to get burnt. Then transfer it to another bowl.

    Now, in the pan, add milk and sugar . The sugar should be immersed in the milk. Allow it to boil.
Stir it, and allow the sugar gets completely dissolved in the milk. Then add , Besan and coconut powder and keep stirring it continuously. Keep adding the ghee in between. You should leave the mixture without stirring. You need to keep stirring it continuously and keep adding ghee. After a while, in about 15-20 minutes, the mixture gets thicker and will come together without getting sticked to the pan. Also, the ghee will start leaving the sides.

     In a tray, apply ghee and sprinkle some almond flakes. Switch off the gas stove, and immediately
transfer the mixture on to this tray and spread it. Allow it to cool well, for around 3-4 hours. Then using sharp knife, cut that in to desired shape. 7 cup cake is ready !.

Pottu kadalai Murukku/Chakli

For this Diwali, I decided to try my luck in making some easy murukku as this is my first time in making murukku/chakli. When I browsed over internet, I happen to see  pottu kadalai murukku being pick of the lot... easier,tastier !... Please find the recipe below ..Try and see.You would love it!


INGREDIENTS:

Pottu kadalai Flour (Bhuna Chana) - 1 cup
Rice flour - 5 cup
Butter - 4 Tablespoon
Salt - 2 tsp
Jeera - 4 tsp
Hing - pinch

METHOD:

Powder the Pottu kadalai(Bhuna Chana) finely and then seive it . By seiving, you remove if there is any lumps or ungrinded particles, and the powder looks very fine . Then add salt, jeera and Hing to the powder. Heat butter in a pan and once it melts, add it to the powder and mix well by adding water gradually. Do not add too much water. The dough should be in the consistency of chappathi dough . Murukku maavu is ready.

Now , I used a one eyed  mullu murukku plate for making this, as am not expert in murukku making and I decided to make the murukku like sev type and not as a proper round murkku. Fill 3/4 th of the dough in the machine and press it directly in the oil. Please make sure, the oil is hot enough for this. Let the murukku turns golden brown color. Transfer the murukku on a bowl with tissue paper, to drain the excess oil.

Instant Sambar

This is one kind of quick sambar and you don't need to add any kind of cooked daal to this.

INGREDIENTS:

Tomato - 2
Onion -1
Green Chilli-1
Cinnamon - small piece
Cloves - 1 or 2
Fennel seeds(Sombhu)- 1 teaspoon
Sambar powder - 1 teaspoon
Pottu kadalai(Roasted bengal gram / Bhuna Chana) - 2 tablespoon(powder it and add water and make like a paste)
Corriander leaves - As required
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

METHOD:

Add 2 tablespoon oil in tawa, then add Cinnamon,cloves and fennel seeds and allow them to splutter. Then add onion, green chilli, tomato and cook for few minutes. Then add salt ,sambar powder and turmeric powder. Add one cup of water and allow it boil .Let the tomatoes and onion cooked well. After 5  minutes, add the pottu kadalai  paste and allow it boil for 3 more minutes. Then add corriander leaves and some asafoetida powder. Instant sambar is ready !.. It goes well with dosa, idly.

NOTE:

If you cant get pottu kadalai, you can replace it with 2 tablespoon of besan(Kadalai Maavu) flour.