Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is one of the famous curries of north india. I have tasted this and its seen in menus almost in every Indian Restaurants. The rich smooth taste along with the cubes of Paneer makes a rich side dish for the Indian flat breads. We being a South Indian family, have not been exposed to things like Paneer until before the past 10-12 years. Even now my hubby is a picky eater when it comes to North Indian dishes. The very first time when I made a dish with Paneer, he did not like it and it became a waste. Could be I was also at fault, that I did not cook it the right way. So, I was always a little intimidated to cook dishes with Paneer. I was on the constant look out to make the dish right so that it can be a good indulgence.

I came across a book written by "Raghavan Iyer" called "660 Curries". The method seemed real simple, but I had made minor changes to suit our tastes. And voila, Palak Paneer was a big hit! My hubby ate it and said it was real tasty. So here goes my recipe

Ingredients

• Spinach - 1 bunch
• Paneer cubes - 1" cubes, 1 cup
• Onion - 1, chopped finely
• Tomato - 1, chopped finely
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Dry Red Chillies - 2
• Red Chilli pwd - 1/2 tsp
• Dhania pwd - 1 tsp
• Turmeric pwd - 1/4 tsp
• Heavy cream - 1/4 cup or Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
• Oil
• Salt to taste

Method

Clean and chop the Spinach. Steam cook it in hot water. I pressured cooked it for 5 minutes without the whistle weight. Let it cool a little bit. Transfer it to the food processor and make a puree of it.

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the paneer cubes and set them aside. Heat oil in a Kadai and when hot break the dry red chilies and fry them. Take care not to burn them. Then drop the Cumin seeds and the Fennel seeds. When they cracle, add the finely chopped onions. Keep frying till they start to brown at the sides. Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell is gone. By this time, the oil would be floating on top. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook till it is real soft. Press your spatula and it will become a good red gravy. At this point add the pureed Spinach and let it to boil. Add salt and mix it well. Then add the Paneer cubes and allow it to boil till you see some oil floating around the sides.

It is suggested by Raghavan Iyer to add yogurt to this recipe. Remove the pan from heat and add the yogurt. Otherwise the heat will curdle the yogurt. If you do not like yogurt, add heavy cream. Serve hot with Indian breads

This recipe goes to the "Side Dish for Chappathi" event hosted by Viki of Viki's Kitchen.

Awards Time

Priya of Priya's Recipe has gifted me with "Honest Scrap" award. Thank you Priya that was very sweet of you to pass it on to me.

This award comes with the following rules:

1. I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it
2. I must list 10 honest things about myself
3. I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.
4. I must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers & list their links
5. I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

So here goes the toughest part, the second rule

1. I enjoy travelling
2. I love rain and getting wet in the rain (Ofcourse not in IL now, where I would just freeze)
3. I love pizza, esp Pizza with vegetable toppings
4. I try to conserve water and natural resources whenever I can
5. I like shopping. When I am in chennai, India, I would go to T.Nagar and buy a lot of clothes and accessories
6. I like reading novels and short stories. My fav author is Sidney Sheldon
7. I love to sing. I have got a few awards for singing in competitions in college
8. I am not a movie buff, but I would like to watch a good movie (Without tragic endings). My favs are You've got mail, Persuit of Happyness, Taare Zameen Par, Forrest Gump, 27 dresses, many more..
9. I am a coffee addict. My day has to begin with a coffee. Otherwise I dont know.. The day would not be perfect to me
10. I am sorry I am not able to think of another right now..

I would like to nominate these fellow bloggers for the award

1. Padma of Padma's Recipes
2. Viki Xavier of Viki's Kitchen
3. Rajeshwari of Rak's Kitchen
4. Nithya of 4th sense Samayal
5. Shanti of Shanthi Krishnakumar's Cookbook
6. Priya Meena of Cooking Madurai Style
7. Indu Subramanium of Kaipakkuvam
8. Hari Chandana of Indian Cuisine

Please accept your award friends

Announcing Cooking For Kids Event

Cooking For Kids is an event initiated by Sharmi of Neivedyam. When I got my opportunity, I had a tough time deciding the Theme for this month's CFK being hosted by Salt to Taste. After a lot of thought, I came up with the theme as Chocolate. Let alone Kids, even adults become kids when they indulge with Chocolate. This is my first event ever so I wanted it to be a good for kids and for adults. As a myth it is said that Chocolate is not a good thing for health. But find your surprising facts here (You can find the types of chocolates also there. Did you know that Chocolate liquor is also a type of chocolate). Of course too much of anything is bad; but we can constraint ourselves and enjoy the indulgence. So, what are you waiting for bloggers (and non-bloggers). Get going and cook anything with Chocolate.

If you are interested in hosting the future events of CFK, you can leave a comment here or you can mail Sharmi at cookingforkidsevent(at)gmail(dot)com with details.

Every event becomes more interesting with the rules. So here goes:

• Cook anything using the theme and post it in your blog between 1st of September to 30th of September
• Shoot me an email at salt2taste(at)gmail(dot)com with the following details
• Subject: CFK: Chocolate
• Your name
  
• Name of your dish
  
• URL of the post
  
• Picture of the dish (Please rename the photo to the dish name)
  
• Link to this page and Sharmis pages are a must. The use of logo is optional, but welcome though. (The link to Sharmi's page is not working some times. The link is: http://www.neivedyam.com/)
• Old posts are welcome, but be sure that proper links are made.
• Not having a blog is not an excuse for not participating. Please post your recipes with picture of your dish, to the above email
• Round ups will be posted the following week
• If you have any concerns or questions or suggestions, please leave me a comment. I would be glad to look into it

Looking forward to all your participation to make my first event a success

Mangai Sundal

Today is Vinayagar Chaturthi. This is one of the favorites of the Lord I guess. The simple Sundal. It is a very familiar dish that is given in temples (esp. Ganesh Temples) and is sold in Beaches. So here goes the simple recipe

Ingredients

• Whole Channa - 1 cup (soaked overnight)
• Whole Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
• Whole pepper corn - 3 or 4
• Green Chillies - 2, chopped finely
• Raw mango - 1 or 2 tbsp
• Hing - 1/8 tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 3 tbsp

Method

Soak the Channa overnight. Pressure cook it till soft. In a skillet, add oil. When hot add the mustard seeds and wait till it sputters. Then add the whole pepper corns and the Urad Dhal. Cook till the Urad Dhal is slightly roasted. Then add the chopped Green chillies. Then add the raw mango pieces. Needn't cook it well as the tangy taste will add a kick to the channa. Now add salt as required. Add the cooked channa to this and toss such that it coats well with the channa.

Variations:

You could add Curry leaves when adding green chilies. Those will also add a nice touch. Also you can add some grated coconut for richness. Also you can squeeze some lime to add a tangy touch. You can have this as a side dish also or eat it as such for snacks.

Tag Time

Ramya of Simple Vegetarian Recipes and Priya of Priya's Recipes has tagged me

The Rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share the ABCs of you.
4. Tag 4 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let the 4 tagged people know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so that there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag

The Tag:

1. A – Available/Single? No

2. B – Best friend? Ranjani and my hubby

3. C – Cake or Pie? Neither of them

4. D – Drink of choice? Fresh fruit juice, mazza

5. E – Essential item you use every day? Laptop, TV

6. F – Favorite color? White

7. G – Gummy Bears Or Worms? Neither of them

8. H – Hometown? Chennai

9. I – Indulgence? Some thing that is spicy

10. J – January or February? January

11. K – Kids & their names? 1 as of now.. Prajeet

12. L – Life is incomplete without? My family

13. M – Marriage date? 13th Sep 2007

14. N – Number of siblings? 1, a younger brother

15. O – Oranges or Apples? Both

16. P – Phobias/Fears? I dont watch horror movies and I am scared of animals and birds (Scared to death).. I know that sounds funny.. I cannot tolerate any animal near me, leave alone me touching it..

17. Q – Quote for today? Cannot think of one right now..

18. R – Reason to smile? Hugs from my hubby and kisses from my kiddo

19. S – Season? Summer

20. T – Tag 4 People? Will do it at the end of the post

21. U – Unknown fact about me? I enjoy driving my two wheeler back home

22. V – Vegetable you don't like? I eat most of them.. So cannot think of one right now..

23. W – Worst habit? I am short tempered

24. X – X-rays you've had? The last one was for my tooth filling (Dental X-Ray)

25. Y – Your favorite food?Pizza

26. Z – Zodiac sign? Libra

Answer to 20th question:

1. Kalyani of Kalyani's Kitchen
2. Hari Chandana of Indian Cuisine
3. Pavithra of Dishes from my Kitchen
4. Mangala Bhat of Welcome to recipes 24x7

Egg Fried Rice

Well, it was time to get my cooking blues. I was tired of the same recipe over and over again for weeks and wanted to have some thing good for lunch. But the thought of cooking made me feel lazy as I wanted to whip up some thing in a jiffy. So, I asked my hubby if he would eat anything very simple (Actually the podi rice with egg for side dish). He agreed but said he would be home in about half an hour. Now I have to make some thing good and fast. I found this video on Egg fried rice. But I have made variations to the preparations from scratch to suit my way of cooking. But basically the ingredients are the same.

Ingredients

• Rice - 2 cups
• Eggs - 2
• Cabbage or Carrot - 1/4 cup
• Peas - a handful
• Onion - 1, small (Spring Onions would be better)
• Soy sauce - 2 or 3 tsp
• Hot sauce - a dash
• Pepper - 3 tsp (suit your taste)
• Salt to taste
• Seaseme oil - 4 tbsp

Method

Wash and cook the rice seperately. Add salt to the rice when you cook it. You could use Basmathi rice for better texture but I have used Sona masoori. In a wok, add about 2 tbsp of oil. When hot break to eggs to it. Keep stirring to make it a scramble. In another wok, add the remaining oil and add the onions when hot. When they are translucent, add the finely chopped Cabbage and peas. Grate the carrots if you using them. Add salt and allow them to cook. When done, add the soy sauce and the hot sauce. Add the pepper and add the scrambled eggs also. When everything has mixed and absorbed the flavor well, add the cooked rice and toss so that it mixes well. Serve it along with ketchup.

Do try this and tell me. It was a last minute recipe that came out really very well.

Award Time again!!

Today is Varalakshmi Vratham. I was occupied all day till almost 5. I just opened my inbox casually to find a mail from Hari Chandana. I thought it would be an appreciative comment but I was too surprised to find 3 awards and a Meme Tag. Thanks Hari Chandana for thinking about me. I am really honored. First comes the Kreative Blog award

Update 27th Aug 2009: Pria of House of Spice has also passed me these three awards. Thank you Pria, I am honored

Next comes the One Lovely Blog Award

And third is the I Love your blog award

I have done the Meme for the Kreative Blogger award already in my previous post. So, I take the opportunity to pass on the awards and the tag below to 9 other bloggers

1. Padma of Padma's Recipes
2. Pavithra of Dishes from My Kitchen
3. Tina of Kaipunyam
4. Lakshmi Venkatesh of Kitchen Chronicles
5. Priya Meena of Cooking Madurai Style
6. Priti of Indian Khana
7. Lata Raja of Flavors & Taste
8. Mangala Bhat of Welcome to Recipes 24x7
9. Uma of Astral Jewelry Designs

I request all the nominees to accept their awards.

Now coming to the tough part. Hari Chandana has tagged me with the following questions

• What is your current obsession?

To buy a SLR camera.

• What are you wearing today?

Churidar

• What’s for dinner?

Lime rice, Payasam and Carrot Beans stir fry

• What’s the last thing you bought?

Groceries and a Donut

• What are you listening to right now?

M S Subbulakshmi songs

• What do you think about the person who tagged you?

She is has an amazing blog with exotic dishes and she is a heck of an ARTIST. check out her amazing sketches here

• If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

Ofcourse in Chennai

• What are your must-have pieces for summer?

Cotton Sarees, Cotton Churidars and ooooh yeah Hand kerchiefs

• If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

Switzerland or Maldives or Bahamas

• Which language do you want to learn?

Might be Telugu and Malayalam

• What’s your favourite quote?

Try till try tries you

• Who do you want to meet right now?

My parents

• What is your favourite colour?

WHITE, blue (everything pleasant)

• What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet?

My Silk sarees

• What is your dream job?

I am doing it right now (HOUSE WIFE)

• What’s your favourite magazine?

Kumudam, Anantha Vikadan, Kunkumam

• If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?

Buy some good pearls.. I love pearls

• What do you consider a fashion faux pas? (faux pas mean error in ettiquette.. )

Long hair (with tradional look) does not suit modern dress

• Who are your style icons?

Might be the actresses

• Describe your personal style.?

Simple and Traditional

• What are you going to do after this?

Eat my dinner

• What are your favourite movies?

Forrest Gump, You've Got mail, Taare Zameen Par

• What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?

I do not wear cosmetic/makeup/perfume. But I used to wear Spinz deodorant

• What inspires you?

Encouraging words and a little support

• Give us three styling tips that always work for you:

I dress traditional. So, I always wear flowers. And I wear a smile to go along!!

• What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?

Borrow some thing from my mom

• Coffee or tea?

Definitely Coffee

• What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?

I try to concentrate on something else

• What is the meaning of your name?

Hemamalini is one of the thousand names of Goddess Mahalakshmi. Hema means Gold and Malini means prosperity. So it is the name of the Goddess of Prosperity, Mahalakshmi

• Which other blogs you love visiting?

Sailus kitchen. It was an inspiration to cook when I was a beginner

• Favorite Dessert/Sweet?

I like Kaju Kathili

• Favorite Season ?

Spring and Summer

Respond and rework – answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own. Then tag eight or ten other people.

I am replacing the "What are you going to do after this" to "What do you try to cook when you have cooking blues (When you feel real lazy to cook some thing)"?

So Nominees.. expecting interesting answers from all.. Have a good weekend