Palak Paneer- Dhaba Style Palak Paneer

             

Palak Paneer is one of the most loved North Indian Dishes which is eaten with roti, paratha, naan or even with rice. Soft Paneer cubes are simmered in smooth, vibrant green, medium spicy spinach gravy.

It is very easy to prepare and can be made in so many ways. But today I’m going to share a bit healthy version of palak paneer so keep on watching.

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:

Rasmalai.....Bijoyar Mishti Mukh

Durga Pujo.....whenever we Bengalis hear this word the image of Maa Durga-the goddess of power and strength comes to our mind. According to mythological stories Maa Durga was created by the most powerful Gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh in order to defeat the demon Mahishasur.

Durga Puja is the most popular and glamorous festival of Kolkata. It's not only a festival for us but it's a blessing for us. You can judge our madness for this festival by the fact that as soon as we get the new calendar the first thing we see is when is the Durga Puja? 

The city of joy-Kolkata get's decked up like a newly wedded bride. The whole city gets embellished with lights. You can find fairy lights on every nooks and corners of the streets, buildings and even on trees. Thousands and thousands of pandals and idols are prepared months before the celebration. Idols are mainly prepared in Kumortoli. 

This carnival of madness is the celebration of love, color, light, enthusiasm and most importantly Food. We Bengali's can't imagine any festival without impeccable food. 

People start their shopping months before the festival and make different plans what to wear, when to wear, how to deck up on different days of Puja, where to go for Pandal hopping, what to eat, where to eat and the list goes on and on and on.......

This year I got a chance to be a part of this carnival. Though I enjoyed the festivities in Nagpur, Maharashtra (I grew up there) but missed all the fun and frolic of Kolkata. We went for shopping, did lot of Pandal hopping with friends and family, enjoyed Bhog in our complex Puja, tasted different varieties of food starting from street side to fine dining restaurants and finally bid a tearful adieu to the goddess at my Uncle's residence Puja.

Due to this reason I took a break from the blogging world and enjoyed the largest and biggest festival of Bengali's. During the 5 days of Durga Pujo I prepared different varieties of food and for the climax i.e Dashmi I prepared a special dessert for my family: Rasmalai. 

Rasmalai are creamy cheese dumplings dipped in cardamom and saffron infused creamy milk. Firstly, cheese dumplings are prepared the same way you prepare Rasgulla (for the recipe of Rasgulla Click Here). Once they had soaked enough sugar syrup, press to release the syrup. Secondly, Rabri is prepared and flavored with cardamom powder and saffron (for the recipe of Rabri Click Here). Finally, the dumplings are dipped in this Rabri and garnished with chopped almonds and pistachios. 

So, let's begin with the recipe of Rasmalai:

Malai Kofta

Malai Kofta....whenever I hear this name soft, tender cheese dumplings dunked in rich, creamy Makhani gravy comes to my mind which is enough to make anyone drool. After Paneer Butter Masala this is the recipe which is I usually prefer to order if I want to eat anything Vegetarian in a restaurant and believe me these two recipes can never go wrong.

Malai means cream and Kofta means fried dumplings. If I talk about only Kofta then there are many variations of making them either veg or non-veg. I have already posted a recipe of Nargisi Kofta Curry. You can have a look here (Click Here).

This particular recipe of Kofta demands for Paneer (Cottage Cheese) and Potatoes. Some people like to add chopped veggies too but I prefer them this way. There are many ways in which you can prepare the Malai Kofta Curry: 

• cashew nut + onion + tomato based gravy 
• onion+tomato based gravy
• tomato based gravy

Here, I'm showing you the first version as this is the one which gives the gravy rich, perfect and creamy texture. This kind of gravy is also known as Makhni gravy. You can prepare number of dishes with this gravy some of them are: Paneer Butter Masala, Murg Makhani etc. Here I have used very less butter but if you want you can make the gravy completely in butter.

So let's start with the recipe:

Paneer Korma

I know it has been quite a while since I posted last. The reason behind my long absence is: We moved to our new home. I was waiting for this moment for a long time and finally we did it...Yipppieeeee!!!!!

I was very much busy in every nooks and corners of my home. Starting from designing the interior, choosing right colors for the rooms to selecting the furnitures and electronic stuff etc. I could find myself passionately decorating each and every corner of my home, putting things around and again moving them to different places.

Now-a-days I'm shuffling things around my home and I'm really loving it. It means a lot to have your own home and gives immense pleasure to decorate your home. I believe my home is my reflection and it shows what I'm inside out. Yet, there are plenty of things to do which we had planned and yes believe me it's a never ending process. Last but not the least I would like to thank my husband who have shown full confidence in me and let me do whatever I wanted. My home is my canvas and I painted it with the colors of love, affection, trust and respect.

Enough of rambling, coming on to today's post: As we're little bit stable at our home, I can concentrate on my blog now. Few days back I made "Paneer Korma" for dinner and served it with white rice.

Korma recipes has its roots from the Mughlai Cuisine where meat or vegetables are braised in water, stock and then cream and cashew paste is added. Many of the Korma recipes include yogurt and coconut-poppy seeds paste but I substituted it with cashew-onion paste as I love it's flavors.

Let's start with the recipe:

Kadhai Paneer

Kadhai Paneer.......one of the simplest Paneer recipes. The name itself is self-explanatory Kadhai means "Wok" in English (not the Chinese one) which is thick, round, deep cooking pan used in Indian kitchens and Paneer is "Cottage Cheese". It is very quick and easy stir fried dish which is made in "Kadhai" and that's how the name is derived. 

Kadhai preparations are generally tomato based dry curries flavored with various spices and kasuri methi. This mild spicy and crunchy dish is full of flavors. Roasted and coarsely ground spices gives a nice aroma and bell peppers (capsicum) gives the crunchiness.

Here's the recipe: