So my favourite festival is just around the corner - Diwali - the festival of light,finery and ofcourse some good food. Every year I make it a point to stay home and fill up my home with lights of all kinds. The diyas , the rangoli , the puja and finally party with my dear ones on Diwali night. Now parties also calls for some food and I like to prepare sweets and starters at home. A week before Diwali I diligently plan out the menu and start with the preparations. This year I have decided to serve up some starters that easy to prepare and are party pleasers. I will be making this very convenient to make Tava Paneer Tikka - that I am going to serve up two ways. For those who want to keep it light can have the tikkas as is and the rest I am going to turn them into wholesome wholewheat wraps garnished with some mint mayonnaise.
Ingredients:
Fresh Paneer - 200 gms - cut into big sized cubes
Curd /Yogurt - 100 gms
Tomato - 1 large - cut into cubes
Onion - 1 large - cut into cubes
Shahi Garam Masala - 1 tbsp.
Kashmiri red chili powder - 1 tbsp.
Salt - to taste
Olive oil - 1 tsp + 1 tsp for brushing on the tava
For the wrap:
Wholewheat flour - 1 cup
Olive oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Carom /ajwain seeds - 1 tsp
Warm water - to knead the dough
Method:
Take the paneer , onion and tomato cubes in a bowl. Add all the ingredients listed above. Mix well and keep aside for atleat 6 hrs. I usually keep it overnight - the flavours get absorbed very well.
Put a heavy bottomed tava /flat pan on heat. Arrange pieces of paneer , onion and tomato alternatively into wooden skewers.
Brush the tava with some olive oil and place the skewers on the hot tava. It takes very little time to cook so keep changing sides till it get a golden brown colour.
Remove from heat and serve with mint mayonnaise ( I used store bought ) or with some homemade mint coriander chutney. Make some salad with onion and cucumber and serve alongside.
Or you could wrap them up inside some wholewheat parathas /flat bread, top it up with some mint mayonnaise , secure with a tooth pick and serve hot.
Notes:
- To prepare the paratha /wraps- simply knead together the ingredients mentioned under "wraps" into a soft dough. Roll out into thin flatbreads and roast in the pan without or with very little oil. Stuff the paneer tikkas in to wrap, top with some mint mayo or chutney and chopped onions. Roll and secure with a tooth pick. Serve hot.
After eons today I baked bread! It is so therapeutic cant express in words. And when the fresh aroma of bread fills your home you will be so happy. I made Calzones. Stuffed with a spicy cheesy filling. I used my basic buns recipe and it turned out great. Made a filling of whatever I could lay my hands on - some home made paneer, some grated cheddar and mozzarella tossed in some ready to use pizza sauce..voila! It turned out a winner at my very first attempt.
Ingredients:
For the bread dough:
Plain flour - 2 cups + a little for dusting
Warm milk - 1 cup
Fast action dried yeast/Instant yeast - 2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tbsp.
Method:
In a bowl put the flour,yeast and the sugar. Make a well and add the warm milk - as much required to make a soft pliable dough. Add the salt and the olive oil and knead well on a lightly dusted surface for atleast 10 mins.
The dough should be soft and springy to touch. Put it in a greased bowl and leave it in a warm place to rest for an hour.I usually stuff it inside my microwave. The dough will double in size by now.
In the mean while make the filling. Recipe listed below.
Take the dough out on a lightly floured surface again and knock it down gently. Put it back into the greased bowl and let it rest again for 20 mins.
For the filling:
Grated paneer - 1 cup
Grated cheddar - 1/2 cup
Grated mozzarella - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 medium - finely chopped
Parsely leaves - a handful - finely chopped
Pizza sauce - 2 tbsp. - I used the ready made one. You could even use some tomato ketchup.
Olive oil - 1 tsp
Salt -to taste
Pepper - to taste
Method:
In a non stick pan heat the olive oil. Lightly sauté the onions. Add the grated paneer and the pizza sace and mix well. Add the chopped parsley and the grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep aside.
Now to make the calzones. Make little balls of the dough and roll it out flat. Like we roll out pooris/luchis but not very thin.
Take a spoonful of the filling and lay in in the centre. Fold into a half moon.
With a fork , neatly press the edges to make a design. Make sure its properly pressed or else the filling will pop out while baking. Similarly make the rest of the calzones. It makes about 8. Brush the calzone with a mix of little milk and butter.
Lay them neatly on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 20 mins. Brush them again after 10 mins of baking with the milk -butter mixture to get that lovely colour on top.
Take them off the oven once done. Let it cool a bit before serving.
Notes:
- Make sure you knead the dough well atleast for 10 mins. This will result in softer bread.
- You can use any filling. Chicken or mushroom or some vegetables sautéed together. Just about anything would do.
- Don't forget to brush the calzones with the milk butter mixture while baking to get that beautiful colour.
- Press the edges of the calzones well or else the filling oozes out.
Happy Baking my friends!
Well..what can I tell you about the FiFa World Cup fever that you don't already know! Probably this, that my husband is a football fanatic..a die hard Argentina fan..and says he will stop watching footie if his favourite team doesn't win! My 6 year old sings his dads tune..so much so that the father-son duo has bullied the travelling brother/uncle to get them jerseys which they plan to wear on the finals nite and cheer for their team. The energy at home on match nights is unbelievable and me who is a football novice cannot help but cheer alongwith and get tensed and bite my nails and give in to all the drama! When KFB announced their latest event Game Night Bites..it left me wondering what should I make? Then a brilliant idea struck me! Keeping with my philosophy of easy recipes - I decided to give the usual lamb/mutton/keema koftas a make over.These Mini Lamb Pops - turned out to be a perfect party/game night snack with not much of prep required.
Ingredients:
Mutton/lamb mince - 500 gms
Onion - 1 medium - roughly chopped
Garlic - 4-5 large pods - crushed
Black pepper powder - 1 tbsp.
Cheddar cheese - 2 cubes - grated. - parmesan would taste great too.
Salt - to taste
Worcestershire sauce - 2 tbsp.
Parsley - 1 tbsp. - I used the dried ones.
Egg - 1 large - lightly beaten
Refined oil - 2 tbsp. - for frying the pops
Green olives - a hand ful for garnish
Method:
In a blender jar put the lamb mince, onion,garlic,parsley, salt,pepper powder and Worcestershire sauce and pulse the mixture into a smooth paste.
Transfer the mixture into a bowl, add the egg and the grated cheese and give it a good mix. Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate for 15 mins.
In a non stick pan, heat the oil, shape the lamb mix into small balls and shallow fry till golden brown in colour.
Drain on a tissue and stick them up in toothpick along with some green olives. Serve with coriander-mint chutney.
For the chutney/dipping sauce - blend together a handful of chopped coriander and mint leaves, few green chillies( as per your taste), few pods of garlic, 2 tbsp. yogurt/curd and salt to taste.
Notes:
- Instead of shallow frying you could also bake the pops in the oven. Line a baking tray with foil, arrange the mince balls, brush with a little oil and bake at 180c for 20 mins.
- Black olives or jalapenos can also be used.
- It also tastes good when served with some mayonnaise.
Till then..Happy Cooking and as they say - May the best team win!
