Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Palak Puri



Ingredients:

1 cup chopped spinach

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

3 green chilies (finely chopped)

1 cup wheat flour

Salt

Water to make dough

Oil for deep frying

Instructions:

1. In a bowl add flour, onions , spinach , green chillis , salt Mix everything then sprinkle with water and make a stiff dough ( like regular puri dough) don’t let the dough sit more than 5 min ,it will become watery

2. Make balls with dough and roll to create circle shapes.

3. Heat oil and deep fry puries in a medium heat until golden brown. Serve hot with any kind curry



Paneer Biryani


Ingredients:


2 cups Basmati rice

500 grams of Paneer (cottage cheese), cut into 1 inch cubes and fried till lightly brown on all sides.

2 cups finely chopped onions

2 cups diced ripe tomatoes

1 tsp chopped green chilies

1 tbsp chopped ginger

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp garam masala

Salt to taste

A pinch of saffron, mixed in 2 tbsp warm water

8 black peppercorns

8 cloves

3 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp cumin seeds

Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Sliced hard boiled eggs for garnish


Instructions:


1. Par-boil rice and set aside. (You can use about 2-3 cups of water to cook 2 cups of rice. Just make sure the rice is not fully cooked through, or else the Biryani will turn out mushy.)

2. Heat oil and add cumin seeds. Add onions, garlic, ginger and green chilies, and fry on medium-low heat till they start to brown a bit. Add cinnamon, bay leaves, pepper corns and cloves, and cook for about 2 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, salt, chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and cumin powder. Continue to cook on medium heat till it begins to dry up and starts to give out oil. Add paneer pieces and cook for 5-6 minutes till it forms a thick, rich and dry gravy base.

4. In a non-stick deep pan, put a layer of the paneer gravy, without the paneer. Now add a layer of rice, topped with a layer of paneer. Alternate layers of gravy, rice and paneer till everything is used up. Make sure that the top most layers are rice.

5. Crush a pinch of saffron into 2 tablespoons of water and mix with your finger till the water catches color. Pour the saffron water over the top layer of rice.

6. Cover cook for 15 minutes on a low flame, without stirring. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and hard-boiled eggs (optional).