Paneer Pakoda

I was at Prospect Hotel Panchgani over the weekend and in one of the elaborate meals served by them was a yummy and melt-in-the-mouth starter ... Paneer Pakoda. It was so light and delicious that I took the liberty of asking the owner of Prospect to share their special recipe with me and I am going to share it with you...
Ingredients
250 gms fresh Paneer
1 inch piece ginger
1 green chilli finely chopped
1 to 2 spring onions finely chopped
A few coriander leaves finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 to 2 tbsp wheat flour
3 to 4 tbsps of cornflour
Oil for frying
Procedure:
Mash paneer with a potato masher. Add all the fresh spices and salt and mix well into a dough. Make small portions of the dough and shape into small balls (3/4 inch diameter). Put the wheatflour on a paper / plate and lightly roll each ball in the wheatflour. Keep the paneer balls in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Prepare a thin batter with cornflour, salt and water (consistency of pancake batter) Heat oil in a thick-bottomed kadai, take out paneer balls from the freezer. Dip each ball in the cornflour batter and deep fry on medium flame till golden brown. Serve pakodas on a bed of cabbage leaves and green chutney.

Doodhi Kofta Curry

Most people consider doodhi / white pumpkin to be a very tasteless and not very exotic vegetable like peas, cauliflower etc. However, since childhood a particular doodhi dish prepared by our cook at home was a favourite with all of us. His doodhi kofta curry was absolutely melt-in-the-mouth delicious. Because the cooks name was Martin, all of us named the dish Martin's curry. I would like to share this old family recipe with you. Maybe you will be inspired to try it out sometime.

Ingredients
250 gms Doodhi / Pumpkin (peeled and grated)
3 tbsps gram flour / besan
3 - 4 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
2 medium sized onions finely chopped
3tsps finely chopped ginger
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp jeera/ cumminseed
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
Few coriander leaves finely chopped
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Procedure

In a bowl mix grated pumpkin, gram flour, 1 tsp chopped ginger, 1/2 tsp jeera seeds, 1/2 tsp coriander powder, 1 chopped green chilli, some coriander leaves and salt and mix together. Heat oil in a kadai and take one tbsp of the Doodhi mixture on your palm, flatten like a cutlet and drop slowly into the hot oil. Fry on medium heat. Gently turn over till both sides are golden brown. Remove on white tissue. Fry all koftas like this and keep aside. Heat 2 - 3 tbsps oil in a pressure cooker. Add the remaining 1/2 tsps jeera seeds, 2 tsps grated ginger and 1 chopped green chilli. Lower flame and add chopped onions. Cook on low flame till onions are golden brown. Now add chopped tomatoes, coriander powder, jeera powder, turmeric and cook till tomoatoes are well blended. Add 3 cups of hot water and salt to taste and cook for 10 minutes on low flame after the cooker whistle blows. When cool open the cooker and blend the curry to a smooth paste either with a hand blender or wooden mixer. Add the fried koftas to this gravy and cook for 2 - 3 minutes before serving. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve in a glass dish.

This dish goes well with roti, naan or bread.

Bhindi Aloo stuffed with Green Masala

Ingredients
250 gms Lady finger / Bhindi / Okra
2 medium sized potatoes
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 small onion
2 green chillies
1 inch piece ginger
8 flakes fresh or dried garlic
1 medium sized tomato
3 tbsp oil
¼ tsp turmeric (optional)
Salt to taste

Procedure
Grind coriander leaves, onion, green chilli, ginger garlic and a little salt into a smooth paste. Cut off the head and tip of each lady finger and slit in the middle vertically. Peel each potato and slit into thick round slices (four to six). Stuff each Bhindi through the slit with a little green Masala. Also, make pairs of potato slices and fill green Masala in-between. Heat oil in a thick-bottomed kadai and put in the potato slice pairs and sauté for a couple of minutes on low flame. Now add the stuffed bhindis and turn around gently. Add turmeric, salt to taste and tomato halved and cut into vertical slices. Cover and cook on very low flame till potatoes and bhindis are cooked. Serve hot with hot roti, dahi and papad. This preparation of bhindis also goes well with dal & rice or dahi kadhi and rice.

Snacking Delights with Britannia Multigrain Thins

On my weekly visit to the neighbourhood food store, I recently picked up a pack each of the three flavours of NutriChoice Multigrain thins, a baked, healthy snack from Britannia. I found all the flavours – Classic Indian Spice, Herb & Tomato and Lime & Mint delicious, very distinctive and absolutely addictive. While Thins taste yummy by themselves with tea or any beverage, last weekend, when I invited a few friends over for tea, I decided to get creative and serve NutriChoice Thins in my own way and here’s what I did.

Classic Indian Thins Chaat: Arrange Thins on a platter. Make a mix of boiled potato, peeled and cut into fine pieces, chopped onion, green chilli and coriander leaves, salt and pepper. Place small portions of the mix on each Thins piece. Put tamarind chutney on each, next put beaten yoghurt/dahi on each piece and finally sprinkle fine Bhel sev generously. Garnish with coriander and serve.

Herb and Tomato : Make a dip by mixing well half cup mayonnaise, a tablespoon grated cheese, one finely chopped spring onion, 2 flakes garlic ground and some chopped parsley. Serve thins with this dip.

Lime and Mint: Arrange Thins on a platter. Make a mix of American Corn and finely chopped capsicum in a cheesy white sauce. Place a spoonful of this on each Thins piece and garnish with crushed cornflakes. (optional)