Paneer -- How to make Paneer at home

 

Paneer is an unsalted white Indian cottage cheese. It is used mostly in North Indian cuisine. It is made out of milk, adding acidic flavors to it.
This is not a recipe but is a process of making it at home. As a South Indian, I do not have habit of making it. Whenever I have to make any dish with it, I get it from near by stores. But my North Indian friends inspired me to make it at home only and taught me. When I made it for the first time it was very hard and second time it was crumbled. Thanks to my friends, again and again I pester them, taught me all the tricks involved in it. So here is the finest and softest ever paneer I made. And from then on wards no looking back and no buying it from stores. 
To make it we can use lemon juice, citric acid or yogurt to make paneer. I prefer only lemon juice, reason I do not know. We use it in palak paneer, paneer butter masala, shahi paneer, mutter paneer, paneer tikka, paneer pakora and also sweet dishes like rasagolla and rasmalai. 

Tricks behind getting soft paneer:

• Use full fat milk. 
• When boiling milk cream floats on it, do not remove it, instead mix it with milk.
• Once ingredients added to milk for curdling, allow it curdle completely. Whitish whey should separate from it.
• Once done remove it from flame immediately, do not over cook. This makes harder paneer once set. 
• Once heavy weight is placed to set, keep it for 30 - 45 minutes, not more than that. The more time we keep heavy weight the more crumbled paneer we get. 
• Use it immediately with in a day or two.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time:  20 mins

Ingredients:

• Milk - 2 ltr
• Lemon Juice - 3 limes

Procedure:

1. Heat milk in a thick bottomed vessel. Let it boil.
2. Once milk started boiling, allow it to boil to rolling boil. 
   
3. Take juice of three limes. Pout it in the boiling milk slowly. 
4. Mix it with a ladle, while mixing lemon juice.
5. Allow the milk to curdles completely. Remove from flame.
   
6. Take a muslin cloth or any thin or any fresh kitchen cloth. 
7. Strain the milk and drain the whey. 
8. Collect the edges of the cloth together and tie it tightly and place it on a plate.
9. Place any heavy weight on it, I used my mortar and pestle's base. 
   
10. Remove the heavy weight after 30 mins, paneer should set. 
11. Cut it in desired shape.
    

Mint Rice -- Pudina Rice Recipe -- How to make Mint Rice

Mint or Pudina is a flavourful herb, is used in Indian Cuisine. Mint is a very healthy herb also. We make different varieties with this herb like rice, mint chutney, mint powder, mint water. Mint Rice is a very simple and easy dish. It is very flavourful and tasty dish best served with Onion Curd Chutney. 
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Recipe Category: Rice
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 5 people

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 and 1/2 cup
• Pudina/Mint - 1 cup
• Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Cinnamon - 2" stick
• Cloves - 3 to 5
• Green Chillies - 2 or 4
• Bay Leaf - 1
• Onion - 1 Large
• Salt - taste
• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Ghee - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Discard mint from the stems and wash thoroughly. Discard coriander also.
2. Chop onions and slit green chillies. 
3. Combine mint and coriander leaves make smooth paste of it. 
4. Add 3 cups of water to rice, i.e. for one cup of rice add two cups of water, and pressure cook for three whistles.
5. Heat oil in a kadai add cinnamon and cloves. When start spluttering add onions and green chillies. Fry them for a while.
6. Once onions become translucent add mint and coriander paste. Mix well.
   
7. Fry till the aroma of mint releases. Add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well.
8. Now add cooked rice to it. Mix well so that all the mint paste mixes with all the rice grains properly. Saute for a while. 
   
9. That's all simple and tasty mint rice is ready to serve. 
10. Serve mint rice with simple onion curd chutney.
    

Mixed Vegetable Curry Recipe -- Vegetables Saute with spices

I really donno how mixed vegetable made in restaurants. But I thought some thing on my own way and tried it, a big hit in my house. So I want to share it with my friends. 
A very simple and flavorful dish which is a good accompaniment with roti and chapati. Of course it may not taste like restaurant still tasty and a big hit among my circles. In the year long we may not get all vegetables, we can try with the available veggies. As I did so. It is a little bit spicy curry, of course we can modify it according to satiate to our taste. 
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Recipe Category: Side Dish
Recipe Cuisine: North Indian
Serves - 5 people

Ingredients: 

• Carrot - 2 
• Potato - 2
• Onion -3
• Tomato - 3
• Capsicum - 1
• Peas - 1/2 cup
• Green Chillies - 2 
• Cauliflower - 5 to 7 florets
• French Beans - 8 to 10
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
• Red Chillie Powder - 2 tsp
• Garam Masala - 2 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• Amchur Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tp

Procedure:

1. Cut all veggies (carrots, potatoes, onions and tomatoes) into cubical. Slit green chillies. Discard florets from cauliflower, chop french beans also. 
2. If not getting cauliflower and french beans no worries, we can still make this curry without them. 
3. Make smooth paste of one tomato and onion. 
4. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they start spluttering add chopped onions. Fry them till they become translucent.
5. Add ginger garlic paste. Saute for a while. Add turmeric powder and salt. Saute it again.
   
6. Add chopped tomatoes. Saute them till they become mushy. 
7. Add in tomato, onion paste. Mix well and let the oil come up. 
   
8. Add capsicum and all other veggies all at once.
9. Add in red chillies powder, coriander powder, garam masala and amchur powder. 
   
10. Mix well, add a cup of water. Cover it till all veggies cooks completely, stirring occasionally.
11. Once the vegetables done, remove from flame and serve it.
12. Serve my mixed vegetable curry with roti. 
    
13. The curry is neither too gravy nor too dry, but in moderate texture.

Kova Kajjikayalu -- Kova Raskora

A very special and traditional Andhra festival sweet. In my childhood days, I prefer this sweet from shop. My dad brought one or two pieces for me as it was very expensive. To avoid my crankiness mom learned making of it. And she did it for me. Nice thing to remember. :)  I learned it from her.
This is a sweet made with milk solids and coconut. Earlier people used to make kova i.e. milk solids i the house itself, but now we get it in the market also. I have a sweet shop near by my house where in I can order for it an hour or so before hand and can get a fresh kova without wasting my gas and time :P
Preparation Time: 10  mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Recipe Category: Sweets, Snacks
Recipe Cuisine: Andhra 
Serves: 7 people each two

Ingredients:

• Crumbled Khoya - 3 and 1/2 cups
• coconut - 1 and 1/2 cup
• Jaggery -  1 and 1/2 cup
• Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp
• All purpose Flour/Maida - 1 tbsp (optional)

Procedure: 

1. Dry roast crumbled khoya for five minutes and keep it aside. If you are adding maida add it, I did not added it.
2. Grate coconut and powder jaggery. 
   
3. Heat a thick bottomed vessel or kadai, combine coconut and jaggery. 
4. Mix well and cook on low to medium flame. 
5. Cook till jaggery melts and the mixture becomes thick and lumpy.
6. Check it by making small ladoo out of it, if it forms a thick ladoo, it is done. 
7. Remove from the flame and allow it to cool. 
8. When this mixture warm enough to handle make small ladoos. 
9. I made 15 ladoos with this mixture, of course they are small lemon sized only. keep them aside.
   
10. Add powdered sugar to the khoya. If khoya is hot sugar melts and making the outer layer is a tricky job.
11. Make a smooth dough out of it.
    
12. 
13. Grease palms with ghee and take small portion of khoya mixture into it. 
14. Spread it like a small chapati and take small coconut ladoo and cover it with the khoya and make smooth and round ball. 
15. Repeat the same with the rest of the khoya. 
16. Allow them to cool completely and serve. We can not store them for more than two or three days. 
    

Akki Rotti -- Rice Roti -- How to make Akki Rotti

It is almost a month since any new update in my blog, as I was revisiting the previous posts. As well as I am also learning new recipes from my friends and trying some new from other blogs. 
The result of the process is this new post Akki Rotti. Akki rotti is a kind of roti made with rice flour and adding some spices and onions. It is consumed for morning breakfast with any pickle but I preferred it for evening snacks time. 
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 5 mins
Recipe Category: Bread, Breakfast
Recipe Cuisine: South India
Serves: 5 people

Ingredients: 

• Rice Flour - 2 cups
• Onion - 1 Medium
• Green Chillies - 2 
• Coriander Leaves - fistful
• Ginger - 3" long
• Carrot - 1 small
• Fresh Coconut - 1 tbsp 
• Salt - to taste
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil - for cooking roti

Procedure:

1. Chop onions, green chillies and coriander leaves.
2. Grate ginger,coconut and carrot.
3. In a mixing bowl add rice flour and all other ingredients. 
4. Add chopped onions, green chillies and coriander leaves.
5. Add grated carrot and ginger also. Mix well. 
6. While adding little portions of water, make a smooth dough of it.
7. Do not pour all water at once, but add it little portions only.

1. Take a lemon sized ball of the dough, spread it on a greased sheet.
2. Spread it as thin as possible.
3. Heat tawa, put this roti on to it, pour one tsp oil. 
4. Cook it for two minutes.
5. Once cooked, flip it to other side and cook for another two minutes.
6. In the same way do it with the rest of the dough.
7. Serve hot rice roti with sauce or any pickle.