CAULIFLOWER MAKHANI MASALA

Hi all, it's been a while but I made this dish today and it came out so well that I had to share it. My son wanted to make something using Cauliflower, but at the last minute, he lost his mood and didn't want to. So I came up with a dish using cauliflower, the gravy is very similar to many other curry dishes, nevertheless, the variations in the process, makes it different. My family loved it, they said the cauliflower tasted like Paneer so let's get started

CAULIFLOWER MAKHANI MASALA

INGREDIENTS

FOR SAUTEED CAULIFLOWER

Cinnamon stick: 1 small

Cloves: 3-4

Jeera: 1 Tsp

Cauliflower Florets: 1-2 cup

Ginger-Garlic: 1/2 Tbsp each chopped

Turmeric and Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 Tsp each

Jeera-Dhania powder: 1 Tsp

Garam Masala: 1 Tsp

Oil and Butter/Ghee: 1 Tbsp each

Salt: 1/2 Tsp

TO MAKE MAKHANI GRAVY

Onions: 2 medium chopped

Tomatoes: 1 and 1/2 large or 2 medium chopped

Ginger-Garlic: 1/2 Tbsp each chopped

Turmeric and Red Chilli Powder: 1 Tsp each

Jeera-Dhania powder: 2 Tsp

Garam Masala: 1 Tsp

Jeera ( Cumin): 1 Tsp

Dhania seeds: 4-5

CashewNuts: 10-12 soaked in water for 10 minutes

Kasoori Methi: 1/2 tsp crushed

Oil and Butter/Ghee: 1 Tbsp each

Salt as required

Freshly Chopped Cilantro ( Coriander): 1/4th cup

Cauliflower Makhani Masala

                                    

                                                        

MAKING

Wash the cauliflower florets and keep aside. Take a pan, pour butter and oil, once heated, add in cumin, cinnamon stick, cloves. Once it turns aromatic, add in Ginger-Garlic chopped. Saute, and then add the cauliflower florets. Mix it well, add the Red Chilli and Turmeric powder, Jeera-Dhania powder, Garam Masala and a little salt. Keep in the gas in low flame, saute and close the lid until the cauliflower has become soft. Switch off the gas and keep aside. 

In another shallow pan, pour in 1 Tsp oil and butter, once hot add cumin, dhania seeds, chopped Ginger-Garlic, once aromatic, add chopped onions. Saute until onions turn translucent. Add in the chopped tomatoes, saute for a minute or two before adding the spices. Add the Turmeric and Red chilli powder, Dhania- Jeera powder, Garam Masala powder. Saute for a few minutes until the masala is well blended into the mixture. Switch off the gas, allow the mixture to cool, and then grind it into a nice paste, with the soaked cashews and required water. The gravy should be semi-thick with a rich texture. Do not add too much water

Finally, use the same pan, add the rest of the butter/ghee, pour in the gravy, saute for a few seconds before adding in the sauteed cauliflower, add required salt and mix well with the gravy. Allow it to cook for a minute or two, then add the crushed Kasoori Methi and mix it well.

Switch off the gas and the Cauliflower Makhani Masala is ready to eat. Garnish it with freshly chopped coriander leaves and a dollop of butter on top. Believe me, it's absolutely delicious.

TIPS/VARIATIONS

You could also add cardamom pods 1-2 for a sweetened flavour, I did not add it as I wanted it to be more on the spicy side. You could avoid dhania seeds.

You could sprinkle some water during the cauliflower cooking process to prevent it from getting burnt.

I used unsalted butter, you could use ghee. I feel butter added more to the dish than ghee.

FROTHY KULFI

Hi all, the holidays are here and it's time to celebrate. I have made a different version of this recipe and it's also in my blog. However, the one I made recently was a simplified version of the one I posted years back. This one uses just 3 ingredients and it's perfect for gatherings and parties. Quick to make and yummy in taste. 

LIQUID FROTHY KULFI

INGREDIENTS

Evaporated Milk: 1/2 cup

Cardamom seeds crushed & powdered: 1/2 Tsp

Half & Half heavy Cream and Sugar: 1 cup and 1/2 cup respectively.

FROTHY KULFI

FROTHY KULFI

MAKING

In a bowl beat the half & half heavy cream and sugar until it reaches a frothy consistency or thicker consistency. 

Take a glass, pour evaporated milk, add crushed powdered Cardamom seeds, mix it well. Top it with the frothy whipped cream. 

That's it, delicious frothy Kulfi is ready. Serve it at room temperature or cold. Believe me, it's pure deliciousness

Simple but delicious. 

TIPS/VARIATIONS

You could use whipped cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk with crushed cardamom to make it, even more, thicker consistency kulfi.

In a small cup, pour the liquid kulfi, cover the top with an aluminium foil. Insert a popsicle stick in the middle and freeze until it hardens. There you go kulfi in a stick is ready.

SHAHI LASOONI PANEER

 Hi all, it's winter break, and my kids are off, they wanted the day to be special. So I decided to make a dish with their favourite ingredient, Paneer. Now, you can find various versions of this dish, however, I decided to do my own, add my own touch to it. Kids loved it, we all enjoyed it so sharing it with you all. Here it goes, its called

SHAHI LASOONI (Garlic) PANEER

Now I gave it this title because the ingredients I used were such that, it had the touch of luxury in it. Shahi means royal and as the name suggests, there's a lot of lasoon (garlic) used in this.

INGREDIENTS

For Curry Paste

Garlic: About 5-8 pods

Ginger: 1 Tbsp chopped

Coriander seeds: 1/2 Tsp

Cardamom seeds: 2-3

Cinnamon stick: 1 small stick

Red chillies: 2 medium

Jeera: 1 Tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/4th tsp

Red Chilli powder: 1/2 Tsp

Jeera-Dhania powder: 1 Tsp

Onion: 1 medium 

Tomatoes: 1 big or 2 medium chopped

Cashew Nuts: 10-12 

Raisins: about 8-10

Turmeric powder: 1/4th Tsp

Red Chilli powder: 1/2 Tsp

Salt as required

Oil & ghee: 1 Tbsp

FOR GRAVY

Paneer: 1-2 cups cubed pieces

Onion: 1 medium finely chopped

Green Chilli: 1 thinly sliced or slit

Garlic: 1-2 pods thinly sliced

Ginger: 1 Thinly sliced

Salt as required

Curry paste (mentioned above)

Yoghurt: 1 cup

Cream: 1-2 Tbsp

Garam Masala: 1-2 Tsp

Kasuri Methi: 1 Tsp crushed

Oil & Ghee (1 Tbsp)

FOR TADKA 

Ghee: 1 Tsp

Garlic thinly sliced: 1-2 pods

Red chilli powder: 1/4th Tsp

                                        

Shahi Lasooni Paneer

MAKING

Although you may think, its such a long list of ingredients and tedious. Believe me, it wasn't. Once you had all the ingredients ready, it was simple. Take a pan, add some ghee & oil ( 1 Tbsp), add in the Jeera, once aromatic, add in the cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick, ginger-garlic, onions, tomatoes, red chillies, dhania seeds, Turmeric, red chilli powder, cashew nuts, raisins with enough salt and saute for about 5-8 minutes until the onion raw taste is gone and all the spices are well blended. Switch off the gas, once the mixture is cool, grind it into a nice paste consistency. Curry paste is ready, set it aside.

Now proceed to make the gravy. In the same pan, add some Ghee ( 1 Tbsp), add in some ginger garlic, 1 Green chilli, add in the onions, once golden brown, add in the curry paste that you made. Saute it for a few minutes in low flame, add in the cubed paneer, mix it well and again saute it for a couple of minutes before adding in the yoghurt. Mix it well, add salt and cook in low flame for about 4-5 minutes, add some Garam Masala, Kasuri Methi and fresh cream. Cook for a couple of minutes, switch off the gas.

Finally, take a tadka pan, add ghee, put in some sliced garlic, watch it turn brown, add a little bit of red chilli and pour the tadka onto the gravy.

Garnish it with fresh cream and freshly chopped coriander leaves. 

Delicious, Shahi Lasooni Paneer is ready to eat. Serve it hot with Rotis or Naans or paratha.

TIPS/VARIATIONS

You could add more cream to take off the heat.

The Gravy should be thick and creamy. The cashews and the raisins give a creamy consistency to the curry paste. When grinding, you could add some water but not too much, as we need a thicker paste consistency.

you could remove some ingredients if you want, like dry red chillies, cinnamon or dhania seeds. I added it as I like it spicy and flavorful.

QUICKFIRE RAVA IDLI

Hi all, this recipe is perfect when you want to make something quick when some guests show up or you are too tired to make something. This one comes out really well when you make it right. My relative Santhy gave me this recipe and I have followed it since and make it often now. All credit to her for this one, here it goes

QUICKFIRE RAVA IDLI

INGREDIENTS

Rava (Sooji coarse): 3 1/2 cups

Buttermilk (storebought 2%): 3 1/2 cups

Salt as required

Baking Soda and Baking powder: 1/8th tsp and 1/4 tsp respectively

Oil: 2-3 Tsp for greasing the idli plates and tadka

Jeera: 1-2 Tsp

Red Chilli: 1

Green chili: 1

Coriander and Curry leaves: 1 Tbsp chopped

Hing (Asafoetida): 1/4th Tsp

                                

                                    

Quickfire Rava Idli

MAKING

In a bowl, put in the Rava, salt, baking powder, and baking soda mix well. Add in the buttermilk. Mix the batter thoroughly and set it aside for at least 20-30 minutes. 

After 20-30 minutes, add in the chopped coriander-curry leaves. Now for tadka, in a tadka pan, add 1 Tsp oil, add some jeera, red chili, green chilies, Hing. Once the jeera turns aromatic, add the tadka to the batter. 

Finally, grease the idli plates with oil. Take a ladle, pour the batter into the idli plate and place it inside the pressure-cooker, and steam for about 6-8 minutes. Remove from gas, and voila, soft fluffy Rava Idli's are ready to eat. Serve them hot with molagapodi, sambhar, or any chutney.

TIPS/VARIATIONS

The key to getting this Rava Idli soft and fluffy is the buttermilk, it has to be store-bought. I use the Harris teeter 2% or the Aldis low fat one. 

You could add ginger (1Tsp chopped) when doing the tadka, to add to the taste.