Restaurant Style Paneer Tikka Masala

            

Paneer Tikka Masala is a very popular North Indian dish that is commonly served in restaurants. This is a super delicious dish where marinated and grilled Paneer pieces are dipped in the spicy and tangy onion-tomato based gravy. 

Whenever we visit any Indian restaurant and we have to order any veg recipes Paneer Tikka Masala is one of our favorites along with Garlic Naan. This Paneer recipe tastes amazing with both Indian flatbread or Jeera Rice.

This recipe of Paneer Tikka Masala is a bit on the heavier side as it has onions, tomatoes, yogurt and cream (adding cream is optional). The most important step in this recipe is to balance the spices. This recipe is appropriate when you have any guests coming your way or you have a party at your home. You can prepare the Tikkas beforehand and make the gravy and dip the Tikkas in them. Ta-Da our Paneer Tikka Masala is ready.

You can grill the Paneer Tikkas or even Pan Fry them. If you don't have an oven then pan fry them and trust me there is no difference in the taste. So, without any further ado let's begin with the recipe:

Amritsari Chole

           

There is something about Punjabi cuisine which is so alluring that one can't resist. To be very frank I just love North-Indian cuisine. The main reason behind my love for Punjabi food is because I have spent 7 years of my life in Punjab. 

Nobody makes Chole the way Punjabis do. I have already shared the recipe of Chana Masala in my earlier days of blogging. You can check out the recipe here (click here). Today's post is all about Amritsari Chole. This recipe is a bit different from Chana Masala, the main difference is in the mix of spices used to cook this dish.

Amritsari Chole is often enjoyed as a delicious breakfast in many parts of Northern India. It makes a complete meal when served with curd or lassi. This easy vegetarian recipe is a perfect spicy blend of ingredients easily available in your kitchen. If you love spicy food, then this one is a must-try for you! 

This delectable Amritsari Chole is usually accompanied with Bhature (a fried bread made of flour) or Kulcha. Chole-Bhature is a breakfast invented in Delhi after partition and nowadays, it is a popular breakfast around Northern India and other parts of the country.

So, let's begin with the recipe:

Paneer Tikka Kabab Without Oven

             

Hello Foodies.....hope you all are doing great. One of the most popular Vegetarian food items is Paneer. If you go to any ceremony or a function or if you plan to host a party at your home and if somebody is Vegetarian then the most convenient and loved food item is PANEER.

Whether the person is Vegetarian or Non-Vegetarian, Paneer is loved by everyone. Paneer not only tastes delicious but it has many health benefits too. I have shared quite a few Paneer recipes on the blog. 

• Paneer Poppers
• Palak Paneer
• Paneer Do Pyaza
• Malai Kofta
• Paneer Korma
• Kadhai Paneer
• Paneer Butter Masala

Today in this post I'm again going to share a very popular Kabab recipe and that too with Paneer. I have received many requests from my friends to share a Veg Kabab recipe then I thought why not Paneer Tikka Kabab this time! Usually we prepare Kababs in Oven or Tandoor  but this time we will make it on Tawa.

So, without doing any further ado let's begin with the recipe:

Dhaba Style Daal Makhni

                   

What is the most common food item that you always order while eating in the restaurant. Well for most of us it’s Daal Makhni.

Daal Makhani can be best described as "Lentils in a Buttery Sauce". It is pure North Indian Dish which is very popular in Dhabas in Northern India. We both love to eat in Dhabas. We have tried many dhaba style restaurants while we were in India. Undoubtably we loved the food but missed the ambience of Dhabas which can only be found at roadside Dhabas. 

Daal Makhni can be made by combining Urad Daal and Rajma but another variation is the Daal mixture which we get easily in the superstore. But the authentic Daal Makhni calls for Urad Daal and Rajma.

Rajma Chawal (Red Kidney Beans with Rice)

Hello Fellas.....hope you'll are doing great. Hope you're having a great summer time in your respective places and making the most of it this season. Here, in this part of the world we're having an awesome time and enjoying my summer dresses to the fullest because after this we have to load ourselves with the boring jackets and sweaters. 

Although summer brings lot of fun but it also leads to health and skin problems therefore we need to put extra time to take care of our body. My mantra for this season is to eat simple and drink lot of fluids. So, I like to eat very easy-peasy dishes in this season.

Few days back I made Rajma-Chawal for lunch. If you follow me for some time you'll know that I had spend few years of my life in Punjab so there's lot of influence of Punjabi cuisine in my cooking. I'm a great lover of Punjabi food and almost tried every type of food in my kitchen.

So today I'm sharing the recipe of Rajma-Chawal. 

Paneer Do Pyaza

Hello Foodaholics!! Hope you'll are doing good and celebrating food everywhere. We foodies don't need any reason to celebrate food. Right? You give us any damn reason and we come up with innovative ideas to make our meal special for that day.

As we all know IPL season is going on in full swing in India, and we both are supporters of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR); though we have to get up at odd hours to see the matches but anything for you KKR! So, last week there was a match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and obviously KKR won which gave us a big reason to celebrate.

And hence Paneer Do Pyaza and Garlic Naan (recipe here) to relish the flavors of this exotic dish. This is a very popular North Indian dish which is commonly served in restaurants. As the name itself specifies Paneer (Cottage Cheese)  Do (Twice) Pyaza (Onions). This recipe calls for using onions twice and in two different ways. How??? You'll get to know about it in the recipe:

Bhature

Chole-Bhature is one of the most popular recipes of North India. It is a breakfast invented in Delhi after partition and now a days, it is a popular breakfast around Northern India and other parts of the country too.

I had spent almost 8 years of my childhood in Punjab and may be that's the reason I have a great affinity towards North Indian cuisine. I have posted the recipe of Punjabi style Chole long back. Here is the link of the recipe for Punjabi Style Chole. It took me almost a year to post the recipe of Bhature (to be very frank I don't know the exact reason). 

Bhature is one of my family's favorites. These soft fluffy deep fried breads are so delectable that I consume 1-2 Bhatures while making them. One might think procedure of making these Bhatures seems to be very tough but trust me this "no failure" recipe will prove them wrong. The first time I made these, I was quite amazed that how soft and fluffy they came out. Since then every attempt I made, I ensured I have it accompanied Chole with Bhatures and nothing else.

One more specialty of this recipe is that its Yeast Free. So, let's keep the calorie part aside and indulge yourself into this lip smacking recipe of Bhature:

Murg Makhani/ Butter Chicken

Murg Makhani or Butter Chicken is one of our favorite dishes when it comes to Chicken preparations and we always find ourselves ordering this dish whenever we go out for dinner in a restaurant. We both are huge fan of Makhani recipes whether it's:

• Paneer Butter Masala
• Daal Makhani
• Malai Kofta

we just love all of them, actually you can never go wrong with these dishes. 

The origin of this recipe is from a restaurant named "Moti Mahal" in Delhi where the leftover Tandoori Chicken pieces is cooked in a rich, buttery, creamy tomato based curry.

I'm so much addicted to this Makhani gravy that these days the above mentioned dishes are getting place on my dinning table very frequently. Moreover, if you have this Makhani gravy handy then you can come out with so many options either veg or non-veg which is very helpful when all of sudden some guests arrives at your place.

Let's start cooking:

Daal Makhani

Few days back we went to a restaurant for a casual dinner and ordered pure vegetarian food. I have been raving about few dishes in my posts: Paneer Butter Masala and Malai Kofta. These are the two dishes we love to eat if we go for the vegetarian side. One more thing which we both love to order is Daal Makhani. As soon as the order arrived I thought why I haven't given a place to this very popular dish.

Daal Makhani can be best described as "Lentils in a Buttery Sauce". It is pure North Indian Dish which is very popular in Dhabas in Northern India. We both love to eat in Dhabas. We have tried few of the popular Dhabas in Kolkata. Undoubtably we loved the food but missed the ambience of Dhabas which can only be found at roadside Dhabas. 

In India we get the mixture of these lentils in every superstore. We usually buy them to make Daal Makhani. It's a mixture of many lentils including Chickpeas (Kabuli Chana) and Kidney beans (Rajma).

So, let's start with the recipe:

Mango Lassi

Sometimes you just need very simple things to make yourself happy. Well, I follow this basic principle always. For me that can be a cup of coffee, getting drenched in the rain showers, playing with kids, browsing my childhood pics and the list goes on. 

Having a glassful of Lassi during summer gives me exactly same feeling but when it's Mango Lassi then my excitement gets no limits.

It was a season of Mangoes this year and we really enjoyed some of the popular varieties like Alphonso, Himsagar, Langda, Amrapali, Dussehri etc. I had posted many mango based recipes in my blog which are very easy to make yet delicious to taste. 

• Mango Kulfi
• Mango Ice-cream
• Mango Mousse
• Skinny Mango Cheesecake  

There are many more in my bucket list, will soon try to give them a place in my blog.

Summer is very much over and monsoon has already arrived in India. So, before saying adios to the king of fruits I thought of making a very popular yet very simple recipe; yes it's nothing other than Mango Lassi. Lassi is a cooling and refreshing drink made from yogurt and when it's blended with the flavors of Mango, it takes this traditional drink to the next level. 

So, let's give our Mango love a pause and get into the recipe of Mango Lassi:

Achari Aaloo.....Pickle Flavored Potatoes

Achari Aaloo.........Aaloo or Potato is very versatile root vegetable which fits into any curry you make. When it comes to Indian cuisine you can see generous use of potatoes. That's why there are so many recipes made with Aaloo whether its Dum Aaloo, Jeera Aaloo, Aaloo Paratha, Samosa and the list is never ending. There's a secret about Bengali's.....they can't imagine their Chicken or Mutton Curries without potatoes........Sssshhhhh

Somehow, I don't like potatoes because it adds lots of extra pounds. So I try to use them as minimum as possible in my daily diet. But, when it comes to Aaloo Paratha or Achari Aaloo I can't resist myself.

Achari Aaloo.....Achar means Pickle in English. But we don't use pickle in this recipe. Instead we use the spices which are used to make pickle to infuse the flavor of pickle. This dish gets its tanginess from Amchur Powder (Dry Mango Powder). You can replace it with vinegar or lime juice. There are many variations of this dish. You can replace potatoes with chicken, mutton, paneer, cauliflower or any other vegetable of your choice.

So, let's start with our finger licking piquant recipe:

Paneer Butter Masala.....Cottage Cheese in a rich creamy gravy

Paneer Butter Masala.......Whenever I hear this name a clear view of Paneer cooked in bright orange colored rich creamy gravy runs through my mind which looks so inviting.  Anyway let me stop my day-dreaming and return to the post.

I am a great fan of North Indian cuisine may be that's because I have spent 7 years of my life in Punjab, India. So ask me anything vegetarian, I would say it's Paneer Butter Masala. A very popular North Indian dish which has now secured its place in the menu card of most of the Indian restaurants around the globe. As the name is self explanatory Paneer (Cheese) cooked in Butter and flavored with various spices. The gravy is thickened by using cream and cashew nut paste (though optional) which serve as the base of the gravy.

I love each and every preparation of Paneer whether its Palak Paneer, Matar Paneer, Paneer Paratha, Paneer Bhurji and the list goes on......

I don't find much difference between "Paneer Butter Masala", "Paneer Makhani" and "Shahi Paneer" where all these dishes are made with onions, tomatoes, butter, cream and nuts. It solely depends upon the preference of the cook to add or subtract the ingredients. Whatever the case is, the end result is scrumptious and mouth watering dish served on your plate.

Dahi Vada

The taste of Indian street food is so addictive that it's irresistible. It leaves your taste buds tingling even after the dish is finished. The spicy and tangy flavor of the food always ask you for "Thoda Aur"(little more). Dahi Vada or Dahi Bhalla is an Indian Chaat (snack) to be more precise a North Indian street food but now its taste has spread in the entire world and can be found easily in many Indian restaurants around the globe.

Dahi Vada is deep fried lentil dumplings made from Urad daal (split black gram), soaked in beaten yogurt and topped with flavored chutneys, spices and garnished with Sev or Boondi. It is making me drool even when I'm writing this post. It's taste is just inexplicable. So, without any further ado I'm sharing it's recipe:

Punjabi Chole/ Chana Masala

Nobody makes Chole the way Punjabis do. It is a very popular Punjabi dish. Chole is usually accompanied with Bhature (a fried bread made of flour). Chole-Bhature is a breakfast invented in Delhi after partition and now a days, it is a popular breakfast around Northern India and other parts of the country.

Chole-Bhature is one of my favorite dishes. I had spent 8 years of my childhood in Punjab. We were a family of three; me and my parents. Sundays used to be very special, we would go for an outing and eat those gigantic Bhature with Chole in restaurant. They usually serve them with a pickle made of carrots and cauliflower. 

I wish I could go back in time but you know no one really can. So, here is what I thought, I will give Chole-Bhature a try at home. But somewhere I was not sure whether I can recreate that flavor on my plate or not. After few trials I was able to do so and came up with a recipe which reminds me of my childhood days. Happy to share it with you.