Restaurant Style Shahi Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

Shahi Paneer (Cottage Cheese) is one of the best and most glamorous North Indian paneer dishes. Though this dish needs no introduction just writing a few lines for those who are not familiar with it.  Essentially Punjabi, Shahi Paneer has become popular owing to its super delectable taste and magnificent color and texture. This dish has a thick, smooth gravy of tomatoes, cashew nuts, fresh cream and different condiments. The beautiful mix of flavors makes this dish unique, the tomatoes give the tanginess the cashew and cream give the richness to the gravy and justify the name ‘Shahi’ given to it. It is a must-feature in any north Indian thali in a restaurant and goes brilliantly with any Indian bread, but you can try it out with jeera rice or pulao too.

Shahi Paneer

Green Egg Curry

Sonny’s exam is over and I’m relieved. Waiting for the results and making some dishes on his request. This is one of them, Green Egg Curry. It is a delicious egg curry with coriander and green chili paste. Tastes quite different from the regular egg curry and we loved the flavour of coriander and green chilies with eggs. This should be served with steamed rice for the most awesome experience. You can make this curry with potatoes too if you want.

Green Egg Curry

Spicy Prawn Curry (Chingrir Jhal)

All the seafood lovers out there this is one prawn dish I’m sure that you would love to try!! This dish is always a winner, makes a match made in heaven with plain steamed rice. Texture, color, flavour you name it, this is superlative in each. So quick and easy, it’s a foolproof recipe and ready within half an hour together with the preparation time. So what are you waiting for? Rush to your kitchen if you have some prawns in your freezer, make this delectable spicy prawn curry and enjoy the bliss of having awesome food with every morsel.

 

Spicy Prawn Curry

Sukha Chatpata Aloo (Spicy Dry Potatoes Sans Onion And Garlic)

What do you do when you have nothing in the refrigerator to treat a surprise guest at your place? Yes, if you have only a few potatoes lying somewhere in the kitchen, you can serve a delightful meal with hot pooris and sukha chatpata aloo. I thought this post would be all the more apt with the Navaratras on because this delicious spicy potato is sans onion and garlic. It requires minimum time and fewer ingredients, everything that is readily available in the kitchen and is totally hassle free.

Sukha Chatpata Aloo

Rava Kesari (Golden Semolina)

Rava Kesari is a delicious South-Indian sweet dish mainly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka made usually on religious festivals or auspicious occasions. This is the simplest of desserts that can be made and one of the regulars in my kitchen. The addition of saffron or kesar, the most expensive spice in the world makes the dish breathtakingly beautiful and gorgeous. Naturally it conquered the hearts of Indians from other parts of the country as well, gained fame and is now loved all over India. Though the golden semolina is thought to be most befitting as an offering to the Almighty, you can treat this vegetarian dessert to your guests too any time because it’s so easy to make and is ready in a jiffy.   

 

Rava Kesari

Hyderabadi Mutton

Hyderabad, the land of the Nizams has the flavour of Royal Gharana in its cuisine. All the exquisite flavours thus incorporated into the various dishes originating from this part of India mirror the glamour of the Nawabs. This dish is no exception either. The mutton is most beautifully cooked with the choicest of spices resulting in an outstanding flavour and incomparable texture. Obviously you don’t have to go by my words only, you just have to try it out yourselves. This region adopts ‘Dum’ cooking in most of the dishes including Biryani. ‘Dum’ means steam, the food is cooked in its steam. Here I have pressure cooked the mutton instead of slowly simmering it following Sanjeev Kapoor’s way of cooking this dish.

Hyderabadi Mutton

Jhaalmuri/Masalamuri ~ Street Food Of Kolkata

This is one nostalgic and very special write up for me as it’s about street food of Kolkata and is quintessentially Bengali. My love for the city I was born in has increased over the past decade considerably enough as I stay away and miss all the vibe, festivities, warmth, adda, Book Fair and of course the food that the city is about. My vehement desire for the incredible ‘biryani’, ‘champ’, chinese, ‘fuchka’, ‘jhalmuri’, rolls, ‘chop’(croquettes), cutlet, ‘kochuri’, ‘fulkopir singara’(cauliflower samosa), ‘sandesh’, ‘roshogolla’, and so much more…(the list is endless), finds an escape through my writing. That’s all I have, I pen down my love for the city whenever I get time and recreate the Kolkata delicacies in my kitchen which gives some solace whatsoever now and then.

Jhaalmuri

Manpasand Chicken Korma

What do you call a dish that’s lovable to all? Yes, ‘ManPasand’. ‘Korma’ or ‘Kurma’ is a very popular dish you can find in the menu of almost every restaurant in North India. This dish which finds its roots in the Mughal cuisine means braised chicken in assorted ingredients. To be more specific the dish took birth in central Asia from the Turkish word ‘kavurma’ meaning ‘cooked meat’. Like most of the North Indian dishes this too got introduced to the Indian palate via the Mughal kitchen. It was a ‘Shahi’ dish for the Mughals meaning something special which did not feature in the day to day cooking. It was imperative that the dish had a satin smooth richness of nut paste, cream, yogurt, coconut and an accompaniment of Pilaf or pulao for a special dawat/meal.

Manpasand Chicken Korma

Restaurant Style Yellow Dal Fry

Dal (Lentils) is the most common dish in the Indian kitchen. Cooking the same old dal  everyday becomes somewhat a boring affair. So why not infuse something to make it not only interesting to cook but to eat as well?  Restaurant style yellow dal fry is that dish which will give you the flavour you are looking for in your mundane dal. Gives both the taste and texture, the dal cooked in this way will be loved by your family and make this bright yellow dal as a side dish while hosting a party as well to liven up your party table.

Restaurant Style Yellow Dal Fry

Crunchy Cabbage ~ A Microwave Recipe

Today my post is dedicated to all the working moms who in spite of putting in nine to ten hours a day in office cooks for her family just because she cares. She knows that home cooked food is best for her child even though her heart is crying out for ordering something from outside, to skip cooking for the day, arrange for something to eat quickly and go off to bed, she is just too exhausted at the end of the day. This post goes out to that twenty-first century smart working woman who manages her job inside and outside with equal proficiency.

Crunchy Cabbage