Paneer Bhurji

Know What You Eat: Paneer is a good source of calcium, which in later years helps prevent osteoporosis. Cheese provides 25% of the calcium in the food supply.Its high in protein thus reduce the risk of cancer and its a health food for stomach disorders..

Paneer Bhurji has become my kids favorite since a while now, but I never got chance to blog it, since the minute it was in serving dish, before I know it was gone.This dish comes very handy sometimes when I have a make a paneer side dish, a heavy after school snack, very simple and easy to make yet very nutritious high in protein and superlike by all kids..The recipe calls for almost all the ingredients found in your kitchen, though addition of bell peppers and other veggies makes this dish versatile and healthy.

Recipe:   Paneer Bhurji
Preparation time: 5 mins                             Cooking time : 7-10 mns                     Serves 4 as side dish

Ingredients

• 2 C Paneer, grated (homemade, store-bought)
• 1 big Onion, chopped
• 2 medium Tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Tbsp Clarified butter | Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1" Ginger, grated
• 3-4 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1-2 Green Chilies chopped
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
• Few pinches Turmeric Powder
• 1/4 tsp Chaat masala powder
• 1/4  tsp Garam Masala powder
• Coriander or Cilantro to garnish
• Salt to Taste
• Juice of  1/2 lemon

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan add cumin seeds, and fry onion until translucent and lightly golden brown.
• Now add grated ginger minced garlic and green chilies and fry until light brown.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook until about 2 mins until it becomes more or less like a gravy, then add coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric, salt, garam masala powder. Mix well.
• Add grated panner and chaat masala, mix well so all the spices coats  paneer, cover the lid and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
• Remove the lid stir paneer bhurji and cook for another 2 minutes or until done.
• Squeeze  lemon juice and garnish it with chopped cilantro. 
• Serve hot with Rice | Roti OR as a Wholesome Snack.

Read more »

Vegetable Puff Pastry

Vegetable Puff Pastry: Vegetable Puffs are a wonderful snack option for the days that you want something quick super easy to make yet super yummy. I remember I used to indulge these in college canteen humm..it was my favorite snacks any time of the day. I always keep a package of these puffs in my freezer, and you can have endless options for the stuffing..from sweet to savory, paneer, cheese, mix vegetable...and so on. The one I made is 0 Transfat

How to Thaw and Use Puff Pastry Sheets: 
 Read the instructions on the pack.

1. Take out the packet about 1 hour before you want to use it. 

2. Place it on a liberally floured surface and roll it out firmly to about 1/2" thickness. 

3. Cut out into long rectangles for puffs or other shapes depending on your use.

Ingredients:

Any Ready made Puff Pastry Sheets  1 pack (0 Transfat)

Water to brush along the sides.

Filling:

3 Plantain (cooking banana) or Potatoes, peeled-boiled -chopped           

2 Carrots,peeled-boiled- chopped

1 Medium Bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp or acc to taste dry Parseley/1 Tbsp cilantro

1/2 C Green Peas

1 Medium Yellow Onion

2 pods of Garlic

1" Ginger, finely chopped

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt to taste

Spices:

1/2 tsp Coriander-Cumin Powder       

1/2 tsp Paprika/redchili powder

1 tsp Garam Masala powder

1 tsp Amchur(Dry Mango Powder)

Prepare & Bake:

A. In a pan/pot, heat oil, add mashed banana/potatoes, rest of the vegetables, add salt and let it cook for a while untill its cooked fully.

B. Mix with all spices & set aside.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. 

2. On a flour dusted board roll out these rectangle sheets upto 1/2" thickeness, cut 3 equall squares from these sheets.

3. Stuff a spoonfull of filling into these squares and flip the other end to form a triangle shape. Or place the filling in the center and lift all the corners to close it 

firm, brushing little water on its edges, making sure the filling is nicely intact to form a square shape..check the picture.

4. For a nice golden look, brush/spray oil on these pastries. 

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes till it raises & forms a golden brown crust.

6. Enjoy hot with ketchup/or as it is...

My favorite Home made dip for these puff pastries:

1 C Tomato salsa

2 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup

1 tsp Red Garlic Chutney

Mix everything together and enjoy this with hot vegetable puff pastry.

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving	%DV
Serving Size 37g
Recipe makes 18 servings
Calories 50
Calories from Fat 21	42%
Total Fat 2.36g	3%
Saturated Fat 0.35g	1%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 5mg	0%
Potassium 131mg	4%
Total Carbs 7.66g	2%
Dietary Fiber 0.8g	3%
Sugars 3.53g	2%
Protein 0.48g	1%

Read more »

Tomato Spinach Omlette

Know What you Eat

This food (ChickPea Flour Besan) is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Magnesium and Copper, and a very good source of Protein, Folate and Manganese, Niacin.

Cooking Time: 15 min
Preparation Time: 10 min
Serves – Yields roughly 4 to 5 med.size Omlettes

Ingredients:

1 cup (120 gms)chickpea besan flour
1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 cup finely shredded spinach
1/2 cup mixed cabbage, carrot, cilantro & onion (optional)
1/2 cup tomato puree OR (very finely chopped tomatoes)
5 tsp canola oil for frying
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp turmeric pwd
2 tsp red chilli pwd (or acc. to taste)
1 tsp garam masala pwd
Salt to taste
Water to mix the batter(be careful as you already have tomato puree to make batter loose enough) for eg. after mixing should look like a dosa batter.

Method:

1 Mix together all the ingredients,then add enough water to make a dosa like batter, keep it aside for atleast 10 mins.
2 Heat the iron or non-stick griddle and pour a ladle full of the batter and spread like you spread a dosa, let it evenly cook.
3 Pour a tsp of oil and once it is cooked on one side,turn and place the other side of the omlette and remove it once cooked.
4 Serve it with green chutney or ketchup.

Event Participation:
This dish is our contribution to SWC- Cooking with greens event.

This goes to Sunday Snacks - Chaats/Indian Street Food, hosted by Pallavi

Read more »