Paneer Lababdar

"Because not all the posts need to have stories... So here we go direct to the recipe.."

Ingredients:

Paneer: 250 gm
Butter: 3 tsp.
Bay leaf: 1
Black peppercorns: 1/2 tsp.
Onion (chopped): 1 large
Tomato (chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Cashews: 1 handful
Cumin powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1 tsp.
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Green chillis (slit): 2
Sugar: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Kasoori methi: 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves to garnish

1. Soak the cashews in warm water and keep aside.
2. Heat the butter on medium flame in a deep- bottomed pan and add the bay leaf and peppercorns. 
3. When they crackle a bit, add the onions and fry until they are turning transparent. Don't let the onions brown.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes are completely soft and mushy.
5. Grind the cashews to a coarse paste in a mortal-pestle and add the cashew paste. Mix well.
6. Add the cumin powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder. Add the slit green chillis and mix everything well. Cook for a minute. 
   
7. Add a cup of warm water and mix well. Cover and let cook for about 10 minutes so the whole masala gets incorporated with the curry.
8. Open the lid and add the paneer cubes. Add the sugar and mix well. 
9. Add the garam masala and kasoori methi and turn off the flame. Give everything a good stir and cover. Let sit for about 10 minutes so all the flavor gets incorporated in the paneer cubes. 
10. Open and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot with chappati or rice. 

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Instant Poha Dhokla (3-minute recipe)

More instant dhokla recipes:

Microwave Dhokla (3-minute recipe)
Dhokla in Idli mold (3-minute recipe)
Rawa dhokla  (3-minute recipe)
Instant khatta dhokla (3-minute recipe)

Ingredients:

Poha (flattened rice): 2 cups
Ginger (grated): 1 inch
Yogurt (beaten): 1 cup
Sugar: 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Coriander powder: a pinch
Eno: 2 tsp. (use baking soda + baking powder if Eno not available)
Cooking oil: 3 tsp. + little oil for greasing
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: a pinch
Coriander leaves for garnish

1. Add the poha, beaten yogurt, grated ginger, sugar, coriander powder and salt to a wide bowl. 
2. Mix well and add the water required to make a fine batter. The batter should neither be too thick nor be thin. Leave for 20 minutes and do whatever you like :) 
3. After 20 minutes come back and check the batter consistency. It would be little thick because the poha absorbs water. So add more water so the batter is again at the right consistency. 
4. Now add the eno and mix gently. 
5. Grease a microwave safe bowl with little oil and immediately add the batter to the bowl. Cover and microwave on highest power for 3-minutes. (Power description: If your microwave has 750W maximum power, then microwave for 3 minutes, for 700W, microwave for 4 minutes, for 1000W, microwave for 2 minutes).
6. After 3 minutes, remove cover and let cool for 2 minutes. Then reverse the bowl and remove the dhokla on a dish. 
7. Heat oil in a shallow pan and crackle the mustard seeds on medium flame. Add the asafoetida and turn off the flame. 
8. Pour this mixture over the dhokla. Cut in desired shapes and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve with spicy mint-coriander chutney. Recipe: Mint-coriander chutney recipe.

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Green Dal (No pressure cooking)

Green Dal is a very healthy and delicious dal which is specially easy because no pressure cooking is involved in this recipe. It is made from a combination of various green which can be increased, decreased or even changed according to your own taste. The leafy greens used in this recipe are mint, coriander, parsley, fenugreek leaves and spinach leaves. What's even more special: it's a no onion-garlic recipe so can be consumed even in fast. Now what more could you ask for?

More Dal recipes:

Beetroot Dal
Chana Dal
Dal Makhani
Nepali Dal
Spinach Dal

Ingredients:

Toor Dal (split pigeon peas): 2 cups
Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
Fenugreek seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Dried red chili: 1
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Ginger (grated): i inch
Tomato (chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves: a handful
Mint leaves: a handful
Parsley leaves: a few
Fenugreek leaves: a few
Spinach leaves: a handful
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp.
Kasoori methi: 1 tsp.

1. Soak toor dal in lukewarm water for 2 hours. 
2. Drain the water, wash well and keep aside. 
3. Heat oil in a wide pan (with lid) and crackle the cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the cinnamon, fenugreek seeds and dry red chili. 
4. After 30 seconds, add the ginger and green chilli and mix well. 
5. Add tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Mix well and let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
6. Add the soaked and washed dal to the pan and sprinkle red chilli powder. Mix everything well and add a cup of water. 
7. Cover and let cook on medium flame for 15 minutes.
8. Remove cover and add all the chopped green leaves and give a good stir. Now don't cover, let cook uncovered for 5-7 minutes on medium flame or until it reaches desired consistency. 
   
9. Sprinkle garam masala and kasoori methi and turn off the flame. Without stirring, cover the pan again. 
10. Remove cover after 10 minutes, mix well and sprinkle lemon juice (optional) and serve with chappatis or rice. 

Loved this recipe? Please do leave a comment and/or feedback in the comments below; it really motivates me. Don't forget to join me on my Facebook Page for regular recipe updates. 

Tari Wala Murgh (Chicken Curry Gravy)

Chicken is really the most common dish in our house at weekends, it's either a lunch or a dinner, either Saturday or Sunday; ever since I started cooking chicken in various flavors and so many different recipes. We usually like to eat a chicken fried and pan roasted with spices and masala with chappati (flat bread) but this time I decided to do something different: made this chicken curry with a lovely, flavorful gravy and instead of roasting it in a pan, I made this in a pressure cooker. It's a nice and homely recipe with the basic ingredients used in preparation.

Other chicken recipes:

Chicken Achaari
Chicken keema curry
Green Walnut chicken curry
Kasoori methi chicken
Madras chicken curry
and many more...

So let's come to the delicious recipe of this Tari Wala Murgh a.k.a. Chicken Curry Gravy:

Ingredients:

Chicken: 500 gm

For the marination:

Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp.
Lemon juice: 2 tsp.

For the garam masala:

Dried red chilli: 1
Green cardamom: 2
Black cardamom: 1
Coriander seeds: 1 tsp.
Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
Black peppercorns: 1/2 tsp.
Nutmeg powder: a pinch
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.

For the curry:

Cooking oil: 4 tsp.
Bay leaf: 1
Onion (chopped): 1
Salt to taste
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Tomato (finely chopped): 2
Onion (cubed): 2
Lemon juice: 2 tsp.
Coriander leaves for garnish

1. Wash and clean the chicken, marinate in the marinade ingredients: ginger-garlic paste, salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and lemon juice. Keep aside for about an hour.
2. Prepare the garam masala: dry roast each of the ingredients mentioned under the garam masala (except nutmeg powder). Let cool and grind to a coarse powder. Add in the nutmeg powder, mix and keep aside.
3. Now begin to prepare the curry. Heat oil in a pressure cooker on medium flame and when the oil is slightly warm, add the bay leaf. 
4. After about 30 seconds, add the chopped onions and stir. Fry well until they are transparent and start getting brown. 
5. Add the salt and the prepared garam masala (in step 2) and mix well. Save a little garam masala to be added in the end.
6. Add the ginger-garlic paste. I prefer to add grated ginger and garlic it gives a more rustic flavor. Mix everything well and let cook until the raw smell goes away.
7. Add the tomato and sprinkle salt. Mix well and let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
8. Add the marinated chicken at this stage and the cubed onions. Mix everything well and fry the chicken in the masala for about 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. 
9. Add two cups warm water to the cooker and give it a stir. Put on the lid over the pressure cooker but don't put on the whistle (pressure). 
10. Let it cook on medium flame for about 15 minutes. Remove the cover and add the lemon juice. Give a stir and let cook open for another 5 minutes. 
11. Turn off the flame and add the remaining garam masala. Without stirring, keep the lid above the cooker (don't close) and leave on for 10 minutes.
12. Remove the lid, stir and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve piping hot with chappatis or jeera rice.

Loved this recipe? Please leave a comment/feedback in the comments section as it really motivates me. Don't forget to connect with me on Facebook for regular recipe updates.

Tamarind Fish Cury

I love my fish and I love to prepare it in various styles almost every week. I love to use Salmon fish for my curries because it's so easy and versatile, has no bones and quick to cook; also I can experiment with flavors and almost all of the flavors I have tried have come out extremely well. So here's another of my experiments: Tamarind fish curry.

I marinated the fish in a mix of tamarind and also used tamarind in my curry. That, combined with tomatoes and spices made it bursting with flavors and it was almost finished in no time when I served it with jeera rice. Another special thing with this recipe is that I made it the previous night and served the next evening, it tasted rather amazing as the complete flavors of curry had seeped inside the fish, making it all the more delectable.

Other fish recipes from the blog:

Achaari Fish masala
Green Meen Kuzhambu
Lehsuni Fish curry
Mint Fish Curry
Rustic Salmon Curry


So, here's the recipe:

Fish (I used salmon fish): 350 gm

For the marination:

Ginger-garlic paste: 4 tsp.
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp.
Black pepper: 1/2 tsp.
Tamarind: 2 tsp.

For the curry:

Mustard oil: 3 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Fenugreek seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Dry red chilli: 1
Garlic (crushed or grated): 2 tsp.
Onion (chopped): 2
Tomato (chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Ginger (grated): 1 inch
Tamarind: 3 tsp.

1.  Wash and cut the fish into desired size. Marinate in the ingredients mentioned in the marinating list: Salt, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste (you can also use grated ginger and garlic, it gives a nice texture), black pepper and tamarind. Keep aside for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the mustard oil in a pan and add the marinated fish pieces. Fry from both sides, keep turning sides so it doesn't stick to the pan. It won't take a lot of time, 5-10 minutes each side. 
   
3. Remove from the pan by draining the oil and keep aside.
4. Now we prepare the curry: Heat the same oil and crackle cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Add fenugreek seeds and dried red chilli. 
5. Add the garlic after 30 seconds and fry a bit until the raw smell disappears.
6.  Add the onions and fry until they are transparent. 
   
7. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Mix and let cook until the tomatoes are cooked and are soft and mushy. 
8. Add the red chilli powder and ginger. Mix well and add the tamarind. Mix everything and let cook for about 2 minutes. 
   
9. Add 2 cups of water, give a stir and cover. Let cook on medium flame for about 15 minutes. 
10. Remove cover and turn off the flame. Let the curry cool completely. 
11. When the curry is cooled, gently add the fried fish pieces to the curry and transfer the whole fish curry to a big bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. I refrigerated about 24 hours and it gave the curry an amazing taste, with all the flavors seeped inside the fish. 
12. Take out from the fridge 30 minutes before serving. Warm it gently and serve hot with jeera rice. 

Disclaimer: Please note that this is an original recipe of the author and may not be copied or reproduced in any form without prior permission.

Loved this recipe? Please leave a comment in the comments section below as it really motivates me. Don't forget to join me on my Facebook Page for regular recipe updates.

Instant Khatta Dhokla (3-minute microwave recipe)

Dhokla is one of my favorite snacks because it is so quick and easy to make, light and can be easily had at tea-time. It is also really famous among my readers and the 3-minute microwave dhokla is the most famous recipe on my blog of all time!! I can prepare dhokla even after I come tired in the evening because it takes just 3 minutes to prepare in the microwave. It can also be prepared in the regular steamer on stove top; I will describe both methods in this recipe.

Other dhokla recipes from the blog:

3- minute microwave dhokla
Dhokla in idli stand  (3-minute recipe)
Rawa Dhokla (3-minute recipe)

Ingredients:

Chickpea flour (besan): 1/4 cup
Semolina (sooji/rawa): 1/4 cup
Rice flour: 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Lemon juice: 1 tsp.
Sugar: 1 tsp.
Green chilli (finely chopped): 1
Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Eno fruit salt: 2 tsp. (you can use a 50-50 mix of baking soda and baking powder instead)
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: a pinch
Sesame seeds: 1 tsp.
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves for garnishing

1. Mix the chickpea flour, semolina and rice flour in a wide bowl. 
2. Add salt to taste and add sugar, green chilli, lemon juice and slowly add water to make a uniform batter. The batter should neither be too dry nor too runny, it would be like the consistency of idli batter. Keep aside for 20 minutes and do whatever you like in the meanwhile ;) 
3. After 20 minutes check the batter consistency, it will be thicker because the flours will absorb the water; so add a little more water but make sure the batter is not runny. 
4. Add the eno fruit salt and stir well once and leave.
5. Grease a microwave safe bowl with oil and immidiately transfer the batter to the bowl. Alternatively you can use a normal steaming bowl; grease and add the batter. 
   
6. Cover the bowl and microwave it at highest power for 3 minutes. The highest power in my MW is 750W, if you have less or more, adjust the time accordingly. Do toothpick test after 3 minutes and if the toothpick comes out clean it means the dhokla is done. 
   
7. If making in regular steamer, steam for about 10-12 minutes. Do toothpick test after 10 minutes and stem until done.  
8. Take out the dhokla on a flat plate and let it cool for 10 minutes.
   
9. Cut the dhokla into desired shapes and sprinkle the red chilli powder. 
10. Prepare the tempering: heat oil and crackle the mustard seeds and sesame seeds. Add the asafoetida and turn off the flame. 
11. Pour the tempering over the dhokla and spread evenly. This will be a dry variety of dhokla because we don't add water in the tempering. 
12. Garnish with coriander leaves and refrigerate for an hour. Tastes best when served cold with a spicy Mint-coriander chutney and hot tea !!

Loved this recipe? Please leave a comment/feedback in the comments section, it really inspires me.
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Hyderabadi Kofta Curry

Few weeks ago I had shared a wonderful snack recipe: zucchini balls/lauki kofta recipe which is an easy recipe and can be served with any chutney or sauce as tea-time snack. I usually make a big batch of lauki kofta and freeze them. I make curries whenever required for those koftas and it makes an easy and quick lunch/dinner.

This Hyderabadi curry with lauki koftas is light and easy to digest as well. The use of fragrant spices and the curry masala makes this an awesome dish which can even be served to your guests or in a party.

More curry recipes on the blog:

Black eyed beans curry
Kaju curry korma
Paneer Makhani
Restaurant style tomato gravy
Hyderabadi mirch ka salan

For the kofta:
Zucchini balls/Lauki kofta recipe

For the curry:

Ingredients:

Onion (sliced): 1 big
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Cloves: 2
Black cardamom: 1
Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
Yogurt: 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Dried red chilli: 2
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Lemon juice: 2 tsp.
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Mint leaves: a handful
Tomato (chopped): 2
Saffron strands: a few

1.  Make a paste of the following: ginger.garlic, cumin seeds, green chilli, yogurt, half the mint leaves, salt, red chilli and lemon juice. Keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced onions. Fry until they are crisp and golden brown. Drain from oil and remove, keep aside.
3. Heat the same oil again on medium flame and add the whole spices: cloves, cardamom, cinnamon. 
4. Add the paste prepared in step 1. after half a minute. Mix well and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Chop the remaining mint leaves and add to the paste.
6. Add the chopped tomatoes, sprinkle little salt and mix everything well. Cover and let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
7. Remove cover and turn off the flame. Add the fried onions and mix well. Curry is ready. Sprinkle some garam masala if required and garnish with coriander leaves (optional)
8. For serving: add the koftas in a big bowl and pour the curry over the koftas. Add a few saffron strands over the curry and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Serve hot. 

Loved this recipe? Please leave a comment and/or feedback in the comments section below.

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More Hyderabadi recipes on the blog:

Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani

Qubooli Biryani (Veg)

Tamatar Ka Salan

Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

Hyderabadi Chicken Curry