BATTER FRIED FRESH CHEESE (PANEER)

Posted on June 20, 2011 by nituchugani

BATTER FRIED PANEER
this is a delightful snack…as you can see from the pic its not even oily..thats coz of the light batter. its easy to make
PANEER
marinate the paneer with salt, pepper , grated ginger, garlic powder, a pinch of “NITU DIDI” cumin powder
heat the oil for deep frying..to see the youtube video of how to make paneer


BATTER TO BE MADE
equal amounts of white flour and cornflour
pinch of salt
carbonated water (soda water/sparkling water) as needed
mix the flours , add the salt… make the batter with the carbonated water. dont make a verry thick batter. add the marinated paneer to it. and coat each piece with the batter and deep fry till golden brown
serve with sauce of your choice

Posted in Paneer, Veg Starters | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

MOJITO

Posted on June 18, 2011 by nituchugani
DELCIOUS COOL WET LEMONY MINTY MOJITO
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
Juice from 1 lime (2 ounces)
4 mint leaves1 sprig of mint
Havana Club white Rum (2 ounces)
2 ounces club soda
METHOD
Place the mint leaves into a long mojito glass (often called a “collins” glass) and squeeze the juice from a cut lime over it. You’ll want about two ounces of lime juice, so it may not require all of the juice from a single lime. Add the powdered sugar, then gently smash the mint into the lime juice and sugar with a muddler (a long wooden device pictured below, though you can also use the back of a fork or spoon if one isn’t available). Add ice (preferably crushed) then add the rum and stir, and top off with the club soda (you can also stir the club soda in as per your taste). Garnish with a mint sprig.

 

Posted in Cocktails | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

CHILLI PANEER

Posted on June 18, 2011 by nituchugani

CHILLI PANEER

this is such a popular snack in India.. the vegetarian alternative to CHILLI CHICKEN and a must for all PANEER LOVERS!! Makes a great snack for parties or a great main course dish….
for the sauce.
for 1 paneer made of 1 litre . milk
u need 3 flakes of grated garlic
a small piece of ginger
tomato paste
2-3 types of chilli sauce ( pls use chinese or indian chilli sauces…not tabasco)
tomato ketuchup
dark soy sauce
a splash of white vinegar or lemon juice
in a pan saute the garlic and when it turns color add the ginger,. take care not to burn, add the tomato paste and ketchup and the chilli sauces…. taste…it should be spicy sweet and sour…add the  lemon juice or vinegar. then add some sping onions and green chillies ( optional). this is your sauce which can be made and kept.
paneer
make the paneer as i taught u and cube it.
BATTER FOR THE PANEER

2 tablespoons of white flour

2 tablespoons of cornflour

sparkling water to make the batter and salt to taste

mix the flours and heat the oil. add the sparkling water and make a batter of dropping consistency. deep the paneer pieces in this batter and deep fry till  golden. dont darken them while frying…it spoils the appearance of the dish
to serve.
heat the sauce verry well and then stir in the batter fried paneertill well heated.
TIPS
for a party the sauce can be made in advance and so can the paneer be fried, when you want to serve all u do is heat the sauce thoroughly and add teh paneer to it.
can also be made with tofu…. if buying fresh tofu… it contains a lot of water…pls remove tofu and wrap in a kitchen cloth and keep in the fridge for a few hrs. then proceed as for paneer.
can be made with whole fresh mushrooms,,, do the same as for paneer..keep the mushro0ms whole so they look pretty
for chilli gobi…. par boil the gobi florets and then fry..
for chilli fish…. cut boneless fish into small cubes…marinate in ginger garlic, chilli sauce, soy sauce… and proceed to fry…same goes with chicken or prawns!!!!
happy experimenting!!!!!!

Posted in Paneer | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

PANEER (HOME MADE FRESH CHEESE)

Posted on June 18, 2011 by nituchugani

PANEER (INDIAN HOME MADE FRESH CHEESE)
how to make home made paneer. well its simple, u take 1 litre of fresh whole fat milk and put it to boil, when it comes to a boil you lower the fire, and to it u add a small bowl of beaten yoghurt in which u have added juice of half a lime. when u add this to the milk it will split. when you see the cheese is on top and the whey thats beneath it is clear you shut the fire.
you take a muslin cloth and put it over a colander, you strain the cheese into the cloth and let the whey run out. the cheese will remain in the cloth, you can save the whey for curries or use it to knead dough as its verry nutritious. u now squeeze all the water frm the cheese. if u want it into cubes u put it in a plate with the cloth and put a heavy vessle filled with water on top of it so all the water drains out. leave it like this for at least an hour or two. when u open the cloth u will have a nice round cheese which u can use the way u want.

PLEASE NOTE: video tutorial shows adding some cream into the milk..thats for a richer cheese 🙂 it can be made without the cream also …can be also made with goats milk…and also with soya milk (then omit the yogurt and the cream and you have a lactose free cheese)

Video tutorial on how to make paneer

Here is Elodia Lopez pic of paneer with fresh herbs made by my recipe..Thank you soo much Elodia!!

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Indian Restaurant Dishes, NO OIL RECIPES, Paneer, Recipes with videos, Veg Starters, Vegan | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

HONEY COMB CHEESE FILLED BREAD WITH SAFFRON GLAZE

Posted on June 17, 2011 by nituchugani

HONEY COMB CHEESE FILLED BREAD WITH HONEY N SAFFRON GLAZE
this is a recipe i took from FAUZIAS KITCHEN FUN.
i wanted to halve the recipe but half way forgot to do so…SO THIS IS MY VERSION
FOR THE GLAZE
1/2 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of water
few strands of NITU DIDI PURE SPANISH SAFFRON
2 teaspoons of honey, optional ( i did not put in the video)
but the water sugar and saffron to boil for 10 mins till colored and a bit thick. add the honey and keep aside at room temp
FOR THE DOUGH
500 grs white flour

1 small bowl of warm water for the yeast to rise
4 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
warm milk as needed
1 envelope of dry yeast (2 teaspoons, 7 grams)
5 tablespoons of sugar
a big pinch of salt
FOR THE FILLING:
small pieces of triangular cheese like the brand LAUGHING COW… i used a normal brand which i get and that too LOW CAL, milk chocolate and white chocolate
METHOD:
in a small bowl ad the sugar and the yeast and mix. add the water let it froth.
once its frothy add to it the white flour, and make a nice pliable dough using the milk, cover it with a plastic bag and leave it to rise in a warm place
when its risen double , reknead it and then make small balls.and then flatten each ball with your palms.
place a piece of cheese or chocolate  and shape it back into a ball. seal well… as you can see from the pic one of the balls opened out slightly.
place each ball close to each ohter like the pic… brush with either milk or oil .i used oil and bake in a preheated oven at 180 till done.
once its done remove and immediately pour the syrup over it while its hot!!!!
IT TASTES SOO AMAZING U CANT IMAGINE

and here is the video on how to make it!!

Posted in Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Fusion, Recipes with videos, Salads | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

CHEESEY CREPES

Posted on June 17, 2011 by nituchugani

CHEESEY CREPES
eggless crepes filled with yummy cheese filling
for the crepes
eggless crepes
8 heaped tablespoons of either white flour ( maida) or whole wheat flour (aata)
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
salt and pepper
half a teaspoon of baking soda
mix all these ingredients and make a batter with either water or milk or even half water and half milk ( i used just water ). it shd be a runny batter but not too thin. keep the batter for 2 hours at least.
heat a non stick pan of if u have a crepe pan nothing like it till its nice n hot. add a drop of oil and spread it. take a big ladle of batter and pour it in your hot pan and spread it. allow for it to cook for about 30 seconds n then flip them.
ur crepe is ready and can be filled with any filling of your choice

for the filling:
grated cheese, chopped tomatoes, onions, coriander leaves and green chillies…
i made all the crepes and then filled them with cheese and heated them in the pan for the cheese to melt a bit
yummy!!

Posted in Crepes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

SPICED PASTA SALAD

Posted on June 17, 2011 by nituchugani

SPICED PASTA SALAD
a verry different salad… excellent for a summery meal, for a tupper ware… u can play around with the ingredients
2 cups of elbow macaroni, cooked al diente
all the following vegetables chopped…
red bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, cherry tomatoes all chopped into bite sized
parsley or coriander and mint leaves chopped fine
olives, pickled onions, capers and gherkins
salt and pepper
FOR THE DRESSING
extra virgen olive oil
lemon juice
salt, pepper,
a pinch each of:

NITU DIDIS cumin powder

NITU DIDIS red chilli flakes

NITU DIDIS turmeric powder
mix all the ingredients for the salad
make the dressing and leave dressing to sit for an hour till all the flavors INFUSE…
pour over salad…toss well
SERVE!!

Posted in Salads | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

SPANISH CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE PAELLA

Posted on June 17, 2011 by nituchugani

AUTHENTIC SPANISH PAELLA MADE IN THE AUTHENTIC PAELLA PAN… A CLEARER PIC SO U CAN SEE HOW ITS SERVED HERE
RECIPE:
chicken and vegetable paela
2 chicken legs n thighs, skinned and cut into small pieces
1 cup of green beans, chopped roughly
1 cup of frozen artichokes
2 tomatoes grated
good pinch each of dried rosemary and paprika
few strand of NITU DIDI  pure spanish saffron
yellow food coloring ( not turmeric), optional which i do not use..i prefer not to use any artificial coloring in my cooking

OPTIONAL:

you an use a bit of NITU DIDIS paella spice…
in a large flat pan ( see pic) add enough olive oil to coat the whole pan abt half an inch. heat and then add your washed chicken pieces and fry them with some salt. when pale brown add abt 8-10 flakes of garlic. fry till golden and then add the green beans and sautee and then add the grated tomato and abt 2-3 tbls of tomato paste. fry this all and if u want u can add some fresh mushrooms. then u add abt 4-5 cups of water, salt, paprika powder, yellow food coloring ( not turmeric) and a good pinch of NITU DIDIS paella spice mix and  NITU DIDIS PURE SPANISH SAFFON let it boil for abt 30 mins till stock is a little reduced. add juice of half a lime and also the frozen artichokes. abt 40 mins before you want to eat, heat the stock and add ur rice ( plain ordinary rice…not basmati or thai) and cook till rice is dry. if u have abt 3 cups of stock u need to add around 1 cup of rice. serve hot with lemon wedges
for best results use nitu didis pure spanish saffron
if u dont have a paella pan u can use a good frying pan

VIDEO:

To buy Nitu Didi Spanish Saffron click here

Posted in Rice is Nice, Saffron, Spanish Tapas | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

POWER PACKED KABABS WITH TANGY SAUCE

Posted on June 17, 2011 by nituchugani

POWER PACKED KABAB WITH TANGY SAUCE
1 cup soaked and cooked garbanzos (chick peas), drained
¼ cup each grated carrot, cabbage and onion
½ cup boiled and mashed potatoes
Green chillies, coriander and mint leaves chopped fine to taste
A little grated ginger
1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
A good pinch each of cumin seeds, cumin powder and turmeric powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of lime juice
4-5 tablespoons of breadcrumbs or more if u need it
Oil for deep frying
Mix together all the ingredients and mix into a smooth dough. Heat the oil for deep frying and shape 1 kabab and fry in hot oil…if it fries well good enough, if not you will need to add more breadcrumbs. I say this because the frying depends on the quality of the potato used and also the garbanzos.
FOR TANGY SAUCE:
Mix together to taste :
Ketchup, mustard, chilli sauce, honey and lemon juice
Add to this chopped onions, coriander leaves, and green chillies
TO SERVE:
Place the kababs on a bed of lettuce leaves so you can roll each kabab in the lettuce leaves and dip in the sauce and eat
A GOOD NUTRITIOUS SNACK!!!

Posted in Veg Starters | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

MUSHROOM TIKKA

Posted on June 17, 2011 by nituchugani

MUSHROOM TIKKA
A PERFECT ALTERNATIVE TO CHICKEN TIKKA
500 grams white mushrooms cleaned and pat dry with a kitchen towel
MARINADE:
100 grams white yoghurt at room temperature
2 tablespoons garlic paste
2 tablespoons ginger paste
juice of half a lime
2 tablespoons NITU DIDI tandoori masala
1 teaspoon of NITU DIDI  chilli flakes if u want it spicy
marinate the mushrooms with the above overnight.
TO COOK
heat a grill, or a non stick frying pan or a bbq and grill the mushrooms till done
serve with NAAN!!
delicious!!

Posted in Veg Starters | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment