Category Archives: All Posts

All Posts, Basics of Cooking

Making Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

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I grew up watching my mother make paneer. We never bought it from a shop, that was simply unacceptable. And then you grow up, get a job, get busy… and just toss the colorful packet of paneer into the trolley every time you visit the supermarket. Until that fateful day when you make your own paneer.

Then, you’re back to your roots, because, there is simply no comparison.

And it’s not even like it’s hard to make! When you’re having guests over and want to impress, it is even more of an incentive to make your own paneer. Here it is, step by step.

To make 150gm of paneer, bring a litre of milk to a boil. I like to use full fat milk for this, because the paneer is a lot creamier. Low fat milk will result in slightly more rubbery paneer.

And once it boils, turn off the heat and add lemon juice.

Give it a stir.

And let it sit for a few minutes.

Once it starts looking like above, i.e. once the cheese separates out from the water, and the water looks translucent, pour into a muslin cloth, and drain out the water.

Squeeze, and place under a weight, allowing space to let any excess water drain out. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.

And that’s it. Remove from cloth, cut into pieces and use, or eat just like that, because it’s that awesome!

Time Taken: 30 min
Makes 300 gm paneer

Ingredients

2 liters milk (preferably full fat)
¼ cup lemon juice

Method

  1. Bring the milk to a boil.
  2. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat and pour the lemon juice. Stir.
  3. Let it sit for 5 minutes, until the paneer separates out.
  4. Line a colander with muslin cloth, and pour the split milk into it.
  5. Drain out the water and twist the cloth to hold the paneer in.
    Place a heavy object on it, leaving space for any extra water to drain out.
  6. Let it sit 15-30 min, peel off the cloth and use as required.
  7. If you want your paneer melt-in-your-mouth soft, drop the pieces into boiling water for a few minutes before adding to curries.

Note: The water that you drain out can be poured to plants if you have any.

All Posts, Mains, Sides

Thai Peanut Curry

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Thai Peanut Curry

I’m sure this sort of dish exists already, but this one is something I just whipped up on a whim. I love peanut butter, and I felt like adding it to the curry. And voila, what a yummy dish it turned out to be. Just like the Thai red curry, this is a super quick dish as well.

Time Taken: 20 min
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup sliced halved zucchini
½ cup sliced halved carrots
1 cup broccoli florets
½ cup halved baby corn
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
½ cup water chestnuts (optional)
a handful of kafir lime, lemongrass & Thai basil leaves (optional)

1 can (14 oz/ 400 gm) or 2 cups coconut milk
2-3 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp chopped galangal (substitute: ginger)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp sesame oil
Salt to taste, a pinch of sugar

Method

Heat the oil and sauté the galangal/ginger and garlic for a minute.

Add the vegetables in the order of time required for cooking. So that means the carrots go in first, the baby corn and zucchini after a couple of minutes, then broccoli and water chestnuts, and lastly mushrooms and leaves. Cover and cook until nearly done, 3-5 minutes.

Mix the peanut butter, ¼ cup coconut milk, Thai curry paste and add it to the vegetables.

Add the rest of the coconut milk, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil, take off the heat and serve.

All Posts, Salads

Chana Chaat/ Chickpea Salad

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chana chaat

Well, this isn’t exactly the chana chaat you get on the streets of Lucknow. This has a lot more things. It is just wonderful eaten cold on hot summer days. Don’t overdose though, because chickpeas are a tad hard to digest and the digestion is a bit weak in summers.

Time taken: 30 min
Serves 4

Ingredients

½ cup chana or chickpeas
1 large potato
1 small cucumber
1 tomato
½ green mango (optional)
½ cup coriander leaves
1 green chili
1 tsp chaat masala (or jeera pd + hing + anardana pd + kala namak)
2 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Method

Soak the chickpeas overnight and then pressure cook along with the potatoes until done, about 10 min. (Skip this step if you’re using canned chickpeas)

While the chickpeas are cooking, chop the cucumber, tomato, mango (if using), chili and coriander.

Once the chickpeas are cooked, carefully release the pressure and open the cooker. Peel and chop the potatoes.

Toss everything together, chill and serve!

All Posts, Salads

Pomegranate-Corn Salad

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pome salad

One of the best parts of Kannada cuisine is the abundance of salads. I ate this one for the first time at a wedding. Typically, a wedding feast would comprise at least 2 salads, 3 if I’m lucky. Unfortunately I’ve almost never seen the servers bring the salads for a second round, so I make sure I get all I want the first time they serve.

So anyway, this one stole my heart. The sweet and salt combination is just lovely and goes well if you are eating something sour for mains, like mango chitranna, for instance.

Time taken: 5 min
Serves 2-4

Ingredients

½ cup pomegranate seeds
½ cup sweet corn, steamed
2 tbsp grated coconut
½ tsp lemon juice
1 small sprig curry leaves
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coconut or sunflower oil
a pinch of sugar
salt to taste

Method

Mix the pomegranate, sweet corn, coconut and lemon juice.

Add a pinch of sugar and salt to taste.

Heat the oil, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour on top of the salad.

Toss and serve.

All Posts, Mains, Sides

Kerala Vegetable/ Egg Stew

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vegetable stew
Egg and vegetable stew with idiappam (string hoppers)

Stew is one of the most soothing, calming dishes I know of. Pairing it with a rice based item like idiappam or appam takes it to another level altogether, although it is also fine with chappatis.

It is wonderful on those days when you’ve eaten something too heavy or spicy and want something to help the body come back to balance. It is soothing, but filling at the same time.

Time taken: 20 min
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 big potato, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, peeled and cubed
1 cup cauliflower florets
½ cup peas
½ cup sweet corn (optional)
4 eggs, hardboiled (optional)
1 500 ml can coconut milk
2 tsp chopped ginger
1-2 green chilies, chopped
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp coconut oil
salt to taste

Method

Heat coconut oil in a wok, and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the ginger, chilies and the curry leaves.

Add the potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, baby corn and peas.

Add salt, mix, then cover and cook. Stir occasionally and add a little water if it starts to stick to the bottom.

Check to see if the potatoes are cooked – they should be easy to poke through with a knife. Once they are done, add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Cut the eggs into pieces and add to the curry.

Take off the heat and adjust the salt if necessary.

Serve hot.

All Posts, Breakfast

Tuna Egg Sandwich

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Now, I generally avoid any canned food, but there are a few weaknesses. Like tuna. Maybe I’ll buy a can or so in a year, but buy I will, and then I’ll enjoy a couple of days of some yummy tuna dishes.

And being in love with sandwiches, there’s gotta be a tuna sandwich, right?

Time taken: 10 min
Makes 2

Ingredients

4 slices of bread
½ cup canned tuna, crumbled
1 egg, boiled
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 Greek cucumber, sliced
1 big tomato, sliced
1 cup shredded lettuce leaves
salt and pepper

Method

Crumble the egg, mix it with the tuna and the mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the shredded lettuce on a slice of bread, place the tomatoes and cucumber of top of it and scoop half the tuna egg on top of it.

Cover with the other slice and serve.

The accompaniment in the picture is potato wedges.

All Posts, Mains

Twice Baked Potatoes

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twice baked potatoes

There’s something magical about baked potatoes. I’d make them as a young teenager using the microwave, top it up with plenty of butter and it was one of my favorite snacks. What’s more, it just took 10 minutes to make!

I don’t use the microwave anymore, definitely not for cooking, so I just threw them into the oven. I found that they were so much more moist and tasty.

The timings can vary a bit, depending on the size, variety and the quality of potato you are using, so be careful about that. Also, if you are using the microwave, remember not to use foil unless you want to start a fire!

Russet potatoes are the best variety for baking. Look for potatoes with a brown, even skin without any green patches. Avoid potatoes with discolored patches, bruises or sprouts. Pick potatoes with similar sizes and shapes so that the baking is as even as possible.

Time taken: 1-1.5 hours
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 medium sized potatoes (Russet if possible)
3 tbsp olive oil or melted butter
2 tbsp butter, cold
Salt

½ cup green peas
½ cup sweet corn
½ cup carrots, chopped
½ cup green or red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup grated cheese
½ cup milk or cream
1 tsp Italian herbs or pizza seasoning
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F

Wash the potatoes under cold water, scrubbing to remove any dirt. Pat dry.

Pierce each potato with a sharp knife or fork, at approximately one inch intervals, on each side. Or, use a toothpick and poke all over. This makes sure that steam can escape easily and the potatoes do not burst.

Coat the potatoes in oil. Put salt in a place, and roll the potatoes lightly in the salt.

Wrap in aluminium foil and place in the oven
> Purists are against the idea of using foil for baked potatoes, but I like the moistness it brings. So skip it if you like your potatoes all flaky.

After 30 minutes of baking, rip the foil open with a knife, so that the steam escapes. Let it continue baking for another 15 minutes, totally 45 min.

While the potatoes are baking, steam the peas, corn, carrots and bell pepper for 10 minutes.

Heat milk and half the cheese together and boil until fairly thick. Mix in the vegetables and season with salt and herbs.

When the potatoes are done, slice them in half and scoop out a bit of the flesh from each half.

Mix the scooped out flesh with the vegetables, and place the vegetables on top of the potatoes.

Sprinkle grated cheese on top and place a little piece of butter on top of each potato.

Bake for another 10 minutes.

All Posts, Salads

A Dieter’s Wholesome Salad

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Raw food diets are so powerful. You don’t have to switch to eating raw for the rest of your life, but just eating raw one day a week, or a month, or for a few days at a stretch, can be a wonderful way to detox and bring the body back in balance. Some people do juice fasts, but I find those pointless as you are grinding away all the fibre, and science agrees.

This is the salad I make when I want to eat only raw, but I am pretty hungry. It is a myth that raw foods cannot be filling. Try this salad and you’ll know what I’m talking about!

You can put a lot of things in. I just search my pantry, find anything sprout-able and throw it in . Ditto for the veggies. Did you know that you can eat turai (ridge gourd) and lauki (bottle gourd) raw? Did you know that you could even eat ladies finger and brinjals raw? Maybe that would be pushing it, for most people, but at least add the turai and lauki. 

Time taken: 10 min + 24 hours soaking and sprouting

Ingredients

(All ingredients are optional, pick what you like/ have)
For Sprouting:
2 tbsp whole mung dal
2 tbsp matki or moth bean
2 tbsp whole masoor dal
2 tbsp horse gram
2 tbsp black chana or chickpea
2 tbsp dried white or green peas (vatana)
3 tbsp raw peanuts

Nuts and dried fruits:
2 tbsp almonds
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp cashew nuts
3-4 dates
2-3 dried figs

Fruits:
Apple, thinly sliced
Orange, seeds removed and sectors chopped in half
Grapes
Pomegranate, de-seeded
Coconut, meat chopped

Seeds:
1 tbsp sesame (wonderful in winters)
1 tbsp poppy seeds (wonderful in summers)
1 tbsp chia seeds (sabja seeds are a great desi substitute)
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, fresh or roasted
1 tbsp sunflower seeds, fresh or roasted
1 tbsp flax seed powder

Leaves:
Baby spinach
Brahmi
Amaranth
Methi or fenugreek
Dhania or coriander
Pudina or mint
Shepu or dill

Vegetables:
Turai or ridge gourd
Lauki or bottle gourd
Snake gourd
Zucchini
Broccoli (can be fresh or steamed)
Cucumber
Carrot
Radish
Beetroot
Tomatoes (add only if you aren’t adding any fruits or nuts)

Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp honey (if you are using fruits or nuts)
Dried Italian herbs (if there are no fruits or dry nuts)
Salt and pepper

Method

Soak all the sprouting ingredients together overnight.

Drain the water and let them sit at least for 8 hours or so. Usually, I take as much as I need for the salad, and let the rest continue sprouting. Refrigerate after 2 days of sprouting, and they will do just fine in the fridge. Rinse once everyday.

Soak the dry fruits and nuts. You could use them as is, but their nutritive value increases manifold if soaked overnight. You can drink the water they were soaked in.

Shred the leaves and chop the vegetables. Cucumber, carrots, beetroot and radish can be grated for better texture.

Mix the ingredients for the dressing and season with herbs, salt and pepper, to taste. Pour over the salad, toss, chill and enjoy!

All Posts, Breakfast

Spinach n Corn Sandwich

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Spinach and Corn Sandwich

Spinach and corn are such a lovely combination. The one in the picture is a simple, healthy spinach and corn sandwich, but you can also make it a lot richer. This recipe will give you both options.

Time taken: 15 min
Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

4 slices of bread
2 cups chopped spinach
¾ cup sweet corn
1 tsp mixed Italian herbs or pizza seasoning
1 tsp butter
½ tsp finely chopped garlic (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

For a healthier version
½ cup soya granules

For a richer version
½ cup milk
½ cup cheese

Method

Steam or boil the sweet corn until done, about 10 min.

Heat butter, add the garlic and spinach, and saute until wilted.

Soak the soya granules in hot water as per instructions and drain and squeeze them.

Mix the milk and the cheese, and cook them over low heat with continuous stirring until it starts looking like a paste.

Mix all the ingredients together, season with salt and pepper.

Spread on the side of a toasted slice of bread, top with another, and serve.

All Posts, Breakfast

Mango Milkshake

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mango milkshake

Most people will tell you that if you eat too many ripe mangoes during the summer, you will get sick. Not so many people will tell you, that if you drink a glass of milk after the mangoes, you will be juuussstt fine. Now, I haven’t verified this fact myself as I usually believe in moderation, but it does come from a trusted source.

And what better way to pair milk and mangoes, than mango milkshake? I remember drinking this almost every day, every summer. And it is so, so simple to make.

Time taken: 5 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients

1 mango ( I prefer alfonso or badami, but take your pick)
2 glasses of cold milk
2 tsp sugar
couple pinches of cardamom (optional)
a few mint leaves (optional)

Method

Blend everything together. Serve.