Dum paneer kali mirch

Raise your hand if you are a cottage cheese lover, I can have it almost everyday and I try to make different variations every time. Dum paneer kali mirch is one such paneer preparation which is most loved by my family. In this preparation cottage cheese is slow cooked in dum to infuse the flavours and aroma  of black pepper and other condiments in its rich creamy gravy.
For more cottage cheese recipes click the links below.
Sesame Paneer
Sunehra Paneer
Dhabe wala kadhai paneer
Ingredients:

• 200 gms cottage cheese (cubed)
• 2 medium sized onions (paste)
• 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2-3 green chillies
• 7-8 whole black pepper
• 1/2 inch piece cinnamon stick
• 3-4 green cardamom
• 4-5 cloves 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp degi mirch/red chilli powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp beaten curd
• 3-4 tbsp fresh cream
• 1 cup of water
• Oil: 2 tbsp 

For garnishing:
Some chopped coriander leaves

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4 

Directions :

• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add cloves, bay leaf, cardamon, cinnamon stick and whole black pepper, when they become fragrant add onion paste and cook till it browns, next add ginger garlic and green chilli paste and cook for a minute.
• Now simmer the flame, add beaten curd to it, mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes
• Add all the dry spice powders and cook for a minute.
• Now add fresh cream, cottage cheese cubes along with water, simmer the flame and seal the pan with aluminium foil and top it with a lid.
• Let it cook for 12-15 minutes. 
• Switch off the flame, adjust the seasonings and garnish with some fresh coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with chapati, paratha, tandoori roti or rice.
  

Monsoon Magic (Ramadan special drink)

Ramazan is the ninth month of the Islamic calender and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillers of Islam (source : Wikipedia)
So when I saw my fellow blogger friend Shaheen Ali from Spoonforkandfood Ramzan special post I fell in love with the rituals performed during this holy month.....fasting from dawn until sunset, performing prayers together, discipline, self control, charity and everything that makes you a better human being :)
And that inspired me to do a Ramazan special post ( heartfelt thanks to Muzammil Shaikh for answering all my queries patiently:) )
So these long fasting hours especially during Indian Summers dehydrates your body, and the need of having plenty of liquids, drinks and juices at the time of Sehri and Iftari becomes all the more important.
Here's my Monsoon Magic.....when the tanginess of mangoes blend with the sweetness of litchi, it certainly creates a magic :) A perfect thirst quencher and ideal during fasting days.

Special thanks to my friends Manot Kaur and Sumeet Verma for the beautiful images :)
Ingredients:

• 3-4 Raw mangoes
• 2-3 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 2 tsp black salt
• Back pepper powder to taste
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup Sugar or to taste
• 15-20 crushed mint leaves
• 2 cups water

Other ingredients:

• 3 packs of litchi juice
• 2-3 Tbsp soaked basil seeds
• Few mint leaves
• Lemon slices

Preparation time: 15-20 mins
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Kitchen equipments required: Pressure cooker, sauce pan, mixing spoons
Yields: 5 servings.

Directions:

• Wash mangoes and pressure cook till 2-3 whistles.
• Remove the peel and take out the pulp
• In a saucepan add water, mango pulp and cook along with sugar and spices for 5-6 minutes.
• Add mint leaves and switch off the flame.
• Let the mixture cool.( This is a basic Aam panna recipe, if you want to be more experimental with flavours do check my Aam panna and Kala khatta granita recipe here)

Assembling:
Add 2-3 tbsp of panna concentrate in a glass, next add a tbsp of soaked basil seeds and fill the glass with some litchi juice,stir well and add some ice cubes.
Garnish with mint leaves and a lemon slice.
Serve chilled.

Oreo & Nutella Cakepops

Making cake pops is such a fun.....crumbling, kneading, rolling,dipping and setting I just enjoyed every bit of the process....more so because I used all my favourite ingredients to make these adorable looking bite sized cakes dipped in silky smooth chocolate. If you have a sweet tooth you will enjoy these cakesicles as much as I did.

Ingredients:

• 150 gms Oreo sandwich cookies (minus 2 cookies, because I ate those :p )
• 130 gms pack Britania chocolate cake ( if you are making your own cake follow my eggless chocolate cake recipe
• 100 gms Nutella (for more recipes from Nutella click on these links Nutella Fantasy No bake cookies, Gary-the snail)
• Few drops of vanilla extract
• 50 gms melted white/dark chocolate (approx)
• Candy Sticks
• Sugar Sprinkles
  

Directions

• Break the cookies into two pieces ( And trust me, It is not at all a crime if you accidentally lick the cream from one or two cookies)
• Add the cookies into a food processor and pulse until there are no large chunks of cookies left.
• Pour the crumbs into a big mixing bowl.
• Next crumble your cake using your hands.
• Now add crumbled cake, nutella and vanilla extract and mix it all together using your hands until fully incorporated.
• Add a spoon of milk if required, basically you should be able to roll the dough into a ball easily.
• Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal parts and roll into smooth crack free balls.
• Cover a baking tray with a parchment paper/ baking sheet and place the cake balls on it.
• Wrap
•  the tray with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.( it should be enough so you can submerge the cake balls easily into the melted chocolate)
• Dip one end of the candy stick into the melted chocolate and insert carefully into the cake balls.
• Put the cake balls in refrigerator for 15- 20 minutes to set.
• Dip cake balls carefully into the chocolate until covered.
• Swirl and gently tap the balls so the excess chocolate drip off. 
• Decorate the pops with sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet. It will harden quickly.
• Put the pops back into refrigerator to set.
• You can further decorate your cake pops with ribbons and some other fancy stuff or just enjoy them like this only. :)
  

Sesame Paneer

Who does not like cottage cheese and when it is cooked in rich and creamy sesame seeds based gravy, it just tentalizes your taste buds...more taste, more health and more fun :)

For more cottage cheese recipes click on the following links:
Sunehra Paneer
Dhabbe wala kadhai paneer
Instant Paneer Peda
Malai Kofta

Ingredients:

• 200 gms paneer/ cottage cheese 
• 2 medium sized onions (chopped) 
• 3 tomatoes (chopped) 
• 7-8 garlic cloves 
• 1/4 inch piece ginger
• 2 green chillies 

Dry spices:

• Salt to taste 
• Red chilly powder to taste 
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 
• 1/4 tsp Coriander powder 
• 2 tsp kasuri methi 
• 1/4 tsp Kashmiri wadi masala/ garam masala 

Whole spices:

• 1 tsp cumin seeds 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 2 black cardamom. 
• 4-5 green cardamom 
• 2 cloves 
• 1/4 cinnamon stick 
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds 

Other ingredients

• 15-20 cashews 
• 3 tbsp roasted sesame seeds 
• Pinch of orange colour( optional ) 
• Skimmed milk 1/2 cup 
• Water 1/2 cup 
• Oil 2 tbsp

 Directions

• In a non stick pan heat oil, add cumin seeds, when they start to splutter add rest of the whole spices. 
• Next add ginger, garlic and green chillies, and sauté for few minutes. 
• Now add chopped onions and cook for 5-7 minutes, next add chopped tomatoes and cook till they are soft and mushy, switch off the flame and let the masala come to a room temperature. 
• Soak cashews in water for 10-15 minutes 
• Now add the cooked masala in a blender, add soaked cashews, sesame seeds and grind it to a fine paste using little water. 
• Strain the paste using a steel strainer for a smooth lump free gravy. 
• Add the gravy to a non stick pan, now add all the dry spices except the garam masala, cook for 2 minutes, add water and milk and a pinch of orange colour and let it come to a boil. Add cubes of paneer, and crushed kasuri methi, simmer the flame and cook for 2-3 minutes. Switch off the flame add Kashmiri wadi masala/ garam masala. 
• Garnish with sesame seeds and fresh coriander leaves. 
• Serve hot with naan, parantha, or roti.
  

Assorted Chocolate spoons

Try this easy and fun filled recipe and be the hero of your party

Ingredients :

• 250 gms White cooking chocolate
• Disposable spoons 

Fillings:
I have used here Nutella, peanut butter, sticky toffee sauce and basic chocolate ganache for filling.
You can use other fillings too

For Nutella ganache:

• 1/2 cup Nutella 
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips/ chopped cooking chocolate
• 1/2 cup cream 
• Few chopped cashews (optional)

Directions:

• In a heavy bottomed pan add cream until bubbles start to form, switch off the flame, next add Nutella and chocolate chips and stir gently till completely incorporated, add chopped cashews and stir till you get nice smooth and shiny ganache. 
• Refrigerate for 15 mins before you use it.
• Meanwhile melt white chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave.
• Now pipe Nutella ganache in the centre of the disposable spoon, refrigerate for 5-7 minutes. 
• Coat with melted chocolate, decorate it with confetti and allow it to set in fridge for 5-7 mins. 

For basic chocolate ganache: Use the same directions as written above, only skip Nutella and double the quantity of chocolate

For peanut butter filling:

• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp honey 
• 2 tbsp confectioners sugar.

Directions: 

• Heat everything together on a low flame for 2-3 mins. Allow it to cool before using. 
• Rest of the procedure is same as mentioned for Nutella ganache 

For sticky toffee sauce :

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp water 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbsp butter unsalted 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Directions:

• In a heavy bottomed pan combine sugar and water, cook on medium heat till the mixture comes to a boil, continue to cook for 7-10 minutes till you get a dark Amber colour. 
• Tilt your pan occasionally to get even colour. 
• Switch off the flame, add in cream, butter, salt and vanilla extract, whisk together everything with a wired whisk. 
• Allow it to cool completely before using. 
• Place the caramel sauce in the centre of the spoon and dip it in a bowl filled with melted chocolate, and keep it in refrigerator for 5-7 minutes, decorate it with sugar sprinkles.