Feb 10

Paneer Tikka Masala

paneer tikka masalaWe all have those days where you are bored making the same old food. Kids crib too and imagine my kids who get so much more variety than their peers. I guess I give them too many options. Well lucky them, their mom keeps experimenting. 😛

paneer tikka masala

Had some paneer in the fridge and was wondering what new recipe I can try, then remembered a delicious looking dish made by a fellow foodie Fatema Talwala. When I read the recipe, the process was quite different and the twist to make the gravy richer was super interesting. Thanks Fatema for the generous share. Another recipe that will be treasured

paneer tikka masala

Ingredients

Marination:

500 gms paneer – cubed

3-4 tablespoon hung curd

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

salt

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp Red chilly powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp oil

2 tsp paneer Tikka masala powder

1 diced onion

1 diced capsicum

 

  1. Mix all the ingredients and marinate the paneer, onion and capsicum in it. Keep aside for an hour. Then grill in preheated oven at 180° for 15 minutes…

Gravy:

1 chopped onion

1 tbsp cashew

1 tsp cumin

4-5 chopped garlic

3 dry red chilli

1 tbsp coriander leaves

2 tbsp soaked fox nuts (makhana)

Puree of 4 to 5 blanched tomatoes

1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder

2 tsp paneer tikka masala

1 tbsp crushed kasoori methi (dried fenugreek)

1 tbsp fresh cream

Chopped coriander leaves

 

  1. In a pan, heat a little oil, roast the onion, cashew, cumin seeds, garlic cloves, red chillies.
  2. Once it cools down, grind it to a paste with the coriander leaves and soaked fox nuts.
  3. Now In a heavy bottom pan, take butter/ oil, add the onion paste and sauté on slow flame till it turns light brown
  4. Add the tomato puree, salt, chilli powder, paneer tikka masala and cook on slow flame for 10 to 15 minutes.
  5. Add kasoori methi, paneer and 1 tablespoon beaten fresh cream.
  6. Cover and cook on slow flame for 5 minutes..
  7. Garnish with Corriander leaves and serve hot..!!

Feb 10

Sesame Prawn Toast

prawn toast

When I was little, my Mami who I call Aunty Mummy would especially make this dish for me whenever I visited her house for a meal. I would love it ?

In the recent years I haven’t had prawn toast and was missing it. Read up on a few recipes and made it today. When my daughter took a bite, her expression took me back to the days when I would hog at my aunts house.

Presenting crispy Sesame Prawn toast. Dunk it with a dip of your choice and ur in heaven.

prawn toast

Ingredients

6 slices of bread

1 cup chopped raw prawns

1 egg white

1 finely chopped spring onion greens

1 tsp grated ginger

2 minced garlic

2 tsp dark soya sauce

2 minced green chilli

1 tbsp cornflour

1/2 cup roasted white and little black sesame seed mixed in

oil

salt

 

  1. Place the prawn, egg, spring onion, ginger, garlic, soya sauce, chilli in a mixer and make a chunky paste.
  2. Mix in cornflour to this paste and keep in the fridge for a couple of hours.
  3. Lightly toast the bread without letting it change colour. Use slightly old bread if available.
  4. Cut of the crusts and slice the bread into triangles
  5. Apply the prawn paste on one side of the triangle leaving a slightly higher mound in the centre.
  6. Sprinkle the sesame seed mix on the side with the prawn mix. Press a little so that they stick.
  7. Heat oil and deep fry the slices, 2 at a time ensuring that the side with the prawn mix is put face down in teh hot oil first.
  8. Fry for 1-2 minutes and turn over. Ensure a golden colour on both sides. Keep on low to medium flame.
  9. Drain on tissue and serve with a choice of sauce.

Feb 10

Chicken Pad Thai

pad thai

Pad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food and at casual local eateries in Thailand. It is made with soaked dried rice noodles. The key to perfect Pad Thai is in the cooking (or “not” cooking) of the noodles

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Ingredients

Flat rice noodles (boiled but little al dente)
1 pkt button mushrooms (slit to 4pcs)
5 baby corn (cut long)
1 broccoli (cut into florets)
3-4 Bok choy leaves
15 garlic flakes (minced)
2″ ginger (minced)
2 spring onions (sliced – white and green separate)
2-3 tbspn crushed roasted peanuts
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

300 gms boneless chicken

 

Sauce
4-5 dry red Kashmiri chillies (soaked and ground to a paste)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour soaked in water
1/2 lime juice

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  1. Soak the noodles in water for half an hour and separate it with ur fingers. Then boil in fresh water with salt for a few minutes. Be careful to keep it slightly undercooked as it will further cook in the sauce
  2. Heat a wok, add oil. Fry ginger and garlic. Add the chicken and little salt. Sauté and cover it. Cook till 80% done.
  3. Add baby corn, spring onion whites, mushroom, broccoli and bok choy one at a time letting each ingredient cook a little before adding the next. Add salt
  4. Mix all the ingredients listed under sauce and adjust as per taste preference. Be careful with the salt as all the sauces already have salt. I didn’t add any
  5. When the veggies are ready, add the sauce, mix once. Check seasoning
  6. Add the noodles, spring onion green, crushed peanuts and roasted sesame seeds. Mix well

Feb 04

Coconut and Almond Macaroon

Macaroon

Super sinful right? I died and went to heaven. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and with a drizzle of melted chocolate to this coconut and almond macaroon is the perfect lift me up.

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Its a recipe I had saved over 9 months ago, that I kept thinking back to but never really landed making it. Finally today I needed a project to keep me busy so decided to tackle these macaroons finally and it sure was a mood changer. Did make some modifications to the saved recipe.

Macaroon

Ingredients

 

200 grams dessicated coconut powder
100 gms almond meal
160 ml water
80 grams + 170 grams white granulated sugar
4 large egg whites only at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50 grams all purpose flour
10 grams corn flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

100 gms Melted dark chocolate
  1. Put 160 ml water and 80 grams of sugar in a large vessel and bring it to boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Stir in the coconut powder until the syrup water is totally absorbed into the coconut. Take it off the heat and spread the coconut on a silicon mat to dry for 30 mins. The mixture will be slightly damp and doesn’t need to dry out completely, Just air a bit and become fluffy.
  3. Sieve Flour and corn flour.
  4. Now using the double boiler method, place one bowl below with boiling water, (gas should be off) Place another bowl on top and whisk together eggs whites, sugar and salt until they are velvety creamy in texture and warm to touch.
  5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and then add the flour mix till it forms a paste.
  6. Stir in coconut mix and the almond meal slowly till it is coated with egg flour mixture.
  7. Refrigerate the mixture for 2 -3 hours
  8. preheat the oven to 170 C
  9. Place a dollop of the mix on a silicon sheet each spacing 1.5 inches apart
  10. Bake for 20 mins or till the outsides get a nice golden colour.
  11. Let them cool on wire rack for 10- 15 mins or untill crunchy to touch.
  12. Dip macaroons or drizzle them with melted chocolate.

Adapted from – The Lazy baker

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Jan 27

Kheema Chawal

Kheema Chawal

Another recipe that I make pretty often is Kheema Chawal. Looks like some effort went into it but its actually such a quick easy recipe. Perfect to impress guests who turn up on short notice.

IMG_0521

Ingredients

1 big cup basmati rice
400 gms kheema
4 baby potatoes peeled and halved
3 laung
6 peppercorns
1″ dalchini
1 tej patta
2 big sliced onions
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
Salt
2 tsp red chilli powder
3/4 tsp haldi
1 tsp garam masala
4 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
10-12 pudina leaves

 

  1. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker
  2. Add laung, peppercorn, dal chini and tej patta. Fry
  3. Add sliced onion and fry till light brown
  4. Add ginger garlic paste. Fry for 1 min
  5. Add kheema, potatoes and all the masala. Fry well till it leaves oil
  6. Add washed rice, dhania and mint. Fry some more
  7. Add 2 cups water and salt
  8. Close cooker and give 2 whistles. Remove from fire and fluff rice when pressure drops.

Jan 22

Al’s Meat Chilli Fry

meat chilli fry

I met Alicia when I lived in Goa. She was my bestie for the 2 years i lived there. At that time I didn’t know to cook much and would love when she would feed me all her specialities. One of my favourites was her Beef chilli fry and would crave to eat it. She is a Tamilian Christian and had such wonderful different recipes.

mutton

Our husbands got transferred and we moved to different cities but remained besties forever. Everytime someone visited her city, she would ask Vish, what should I send u and i would say beef chilli fry. And soon a dabba would be at my place.

mutton

I dont cook beef at home but have been craving this dish, so i thought why not make it with mutton instead. Got the recipe from her and realised that it’s such an easy dish packed with wonderful flavours. Dedicating this one to Alicia. Cheers to our Goa days

Ingredients

600 gms mutton pieces

10 slit dried red chillies

5 cardamom slit

5 cloves

10 peppercorns

cinnamon stick

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp soya sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

salt

oil

1 tbsp maida

 

  1. Marinate the mutton for an hour with all the ingredients mentioned
  2. Put in cooker with a cup of water and pressure cook to 6-8 whistles
  3. Check if cooked, else give more whistles
  4. Dry out the excess water
  5. Add a tbsp of maida to thicken it.
  6. Serve hot

Jan 22

Sabudana and chana dal Payasam

payasam

Yaay. Vishual Foodie completes a year today. Time to celebrate

So after quite a bit of nagging from my friends, a year ago I started this blog. Many helped me with all the technical know how and edged me on to expand my food horizons

 

Some recipes are from my family pitaara and some from various blogs. Some I have developed myself and the discovery process has always been exciting.

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I was confused as to what to make to commemorate by blog’s anniversary and my mind would just draw a blank. I finally thought, let me go to my roots and make a dessert as any celebration needs a Meetha. Asked mom for the sabudana and kadelesalay payasam (sago and chana dal kheer) that everyone seems to love.

I made it as per her recipe but somewhere deep down I was not excited. Then I remember a conversation I had with a friend Vivean about recreating this dish. So went ahead and turned the payasam into a panacotta. Still something was missing, so made a blackberry reduction to go with it. Now for the crunch and that was the almond and rose praline. And voila an exotic dish is ready.

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PAYASAM

Ingredients

1 cup sabudana

1 cup chana dal

1 big coconut

3/4 cup brown jaggery ( or as per sweetness required)

5-6 crushed cardamom

15 raisins

10 cashews

  1. Boil the chanadal in a pressure cooker, 1 whistle and 3-4 mins on slow gas. When cool, drain water and sprinkle little salt.
  2. Grate the coconut and get the extract milk by blending in the mixer. Squeeze out the first batch of milk and keep aside, do this 3 times, keeping all 3 milk extracts in different bowls.
  3. Soak the sabudana in the 3rd batch of coconut milk which is the thinnest for 20 minutes,
  4. Boil this milk and sabudana on a low gas, remembering to stir as the bottom can burn easily.
  5. When the sabudana turns translucent add the chana dal and jaggery. Remember to not let it get too thick
  6. Add the 2nd coconut milk extract and cardamom and keep stirring.
  7. At the end add the dry fruits and the first batch of extract.
  8. Shut the gas and mix well.

The panacotta and blackberry reduction is my special twist which will be my little secret 🙂

Jan 12

The prettiest cake I have made

This cake needed to feature on my blog. So here it is. A chocolate cake filled with fresh strawberry mousse and decorated with hand piped coloured ganache roses.

 

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Jan 12

Creamy Lemon Butter Chicken

creamy lemon chicken

I am getting hooked to the food videos that come on FB. They look so easy and droolicious. Had saved this a while back with the thought that I would make it sometime.

creamy lemon chicken

My family and friends know that I love cooking and 2-3 of them sent me the link to check out. Which meant that this dish was never far away from my mind.

creamy lemon chicken

Few friends came over today, and it was a good occasion to experiment on them. Love my Guinea pigs. It’s a really interesting and yum dish though quite rich. I did have to modify for lack of ingredients but it still was finger licking.

Ingredeints

750 gms chicken legs/thighs
1 tbsp paprika
Salt to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp. Amul butter
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1.5 pkt Amul cream (300ml)

1 tbsp red chilli flakes
1/4 cup Amul cheese spread
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 bunch spinach

 

  1. Season chicken thighs with salt and paprika. Keep aside for 2 hours.
  2. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and sear both sides until golden brown. Drain excess fat and set aside.
  3. Mix the cheese spread, cream and half cup water till blended well.
  4. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in the pan. Add garlic, stir until fragrant, then add the cream & cheese mix, thyme, chilli flakes and stir. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.
  5. Stir in spinach, simmer until spinach has wilted and the sauce has thickened. Add lime juice. Adjust seasoning. 
  6. Add the chicken and this sauce in an oven proof dish. Cover with foil.
  7. Bake at 200˚C for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes
  8. Serve immediately with some bread on the side
Rcp courtesy – Tasty.com (with modifications)

Dec 27

Butter Cookies

butter cookies

I like making something elaborate, something that requires planning and a meticulous prep. The pleasure that the final product gives me is utter bliss.

butter cookies

And then sometimes I like to keep it simple. What can I say I am a bundle of contradictions. This recipe is from Pooja Dhingra’s Big book of treats. I like the book for its easy to do recipes and simplicity.

butter cookies

These cookies are so crisp and buttery, they just melt in your mouth. Its without eggs too making it more universal. U can dress it up as per your pretence. I have just dipped them in chocolate and smothered with thousands and ones.

butter cookies

Ingredients

200 gms Amul butter

125gms castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

250gms maida

100gms Morde dark compound

sprinkles of your choice

 

  1. Whisk together butter, sugar and vanilla essence till its soft and fluffy.
  2. Sift the flour separately and fold it in. Use a spatula and not a whisk.
  3. Cling wrap the dough and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  4. Preheat the oven to 165C and place silicon mats on the grill.
  5. Make small balls and place them at a distance from each other on the mat.
  6. Bake for 13-14 mins or till edge starts browning.
  7. Leave in the oven for 5 minuters then take them out on a rack to cool.
  8. Heat chocolate for about 1 and half minute in microwave or till melted.
  9. Dip the cooled cookies in the chocolate and cover with sprinkles of your choice.
  10. Place them on baking paper to set.