Kuzhi Paniyaram!

Kuzhi paniyaram sounds fancy, yeah?  Kuzhi Paniyaram is a actually a popular South Indian snack in which dosa batter is mixed with vegetables and seasoning, and shallow fried in special pans with little golf ball size holes (kuzhi in Tamil).  This pan is a necessity, but once invested, you'll be rewarded! 

My mom took a simple take on it this past weekend, and they turned out crispy and flavorful! This especially works well when you have dosa/idly batter that is a few days old and quite fermented (like uthappam consistency) .

Here's what you need:

• Dosa/Idly batter
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 serrano chili - finely chopped
• 2 tbsp curry leaves - finely chopped
• 1/4 cup grated carrot - optional
• Salt
• Oil

Method:

• Mix all the vegetables and salt into the batter.
• Heat up the pan and spoon 1/2 tsp oil into each hole.
• Scoop one tablespoon of batter into each hole.
• Flip over after a couple of minutes, and pull them out when they are golden.
• Repeat for the rest of the batter, oiling the pan before each batch.

Serve with chutney/sambhar.  We had it with my paneer butter masala :P

 

Corn in Cashew Gravy

Don't you just love it when you barely put effort into something, but it exceeds your expectations?  This is what happened to me last night, after a tiring day. I decided to make a subji of corn in a creamy gravy sauce. You'd be surprised, as I was, how one ingredient can really take a recipe to the next level.  The paste of cashews adds such a creamy richness to this simple gravy.

What you need:

• 2 cups frozen corn (I used petite organic ones)
• 1 cup frozen green peas (I again used petite ones)
• Handful of raw cashews!
• 1 red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• small piece of ginger
• 1 green chili
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chili powder or paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• salt/black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Puree onion, garlic, ginger, and green chili, set aside
2. Puree the cashew nuts with about 1/4 cup of water, set aside.
3. Microwave corn and peas for 3-4 minutes until tender.
4. Heat the oil and fry the cumin seeds.
5. Add the onion paste and fry for 10 minutes.
6. Add the powders (turmeric, chili, cumin) and any other optional Indian spices (i.e. garam masala), and let cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add the cashew paste, and cook for another 5 minutes, adding water if needed.
8. Mix in the corn and peas, season with salt/pepper, and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Serve hot with any bread of choice.  I used masala naan, but it's definitely yummy and healthy enough on its own :)

Should serve 4.

Carrot Kheer for Krishna

Been preoccupied with stuff, but I've still been cooking.  Krishna Jayanthi was a couple of weeks back, and I decided to make yummy treats for Krishna.  The main item was carrot kheer, but I accompanied with Panchamritham (fruit salad in honey) and a butter/sugar mixture.

Carrot Kheer, I discovered is probably one of the easiest Indian desserts that is also so healthy.  I had it for dinner for the next few days, without any guilt, because it was basically just carrot milk :)  Also, I eyeballed all the quantities, so it's definitely an easy Indian sweet to start with.


Here's what you need:

• Carrots - 3
• Milk - about 2 cups
• Sugar - about 1/4 cup
• Unsalted raw Cashews - 10
• Elachi - 1/4 tsp
• Ghee - 2 tsp

Method :

1. Cut the carrot into large pieces (halves or thirds) and pressure cook for about 20 minutes.
2. Once it cools, the peel slides off so easily.  Peel & blend into a smooth paste.
3. In a small pan, add ghee to fry the cashews and set aside.
4. In a heavy bottom pot, heat the milk until it boils.
5. Add the carrot paste and sugar and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
6. Finish by adding the elachi powder and cashews.

It tastes yum warm, but even better chilled!

Indian Spinach & Cheese Swirls

I've been wanting to try the recipe from the package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets, for a while, and since Appa's home, I wanted to finish most of my experiments while he's still here. I bought these pastry sheets for the first time ever to make Indian puffs a few weeks ago (which btw was delicious!!), and had one big sheet left. I didn't have a few suggested ingredients such as onion powder and garlic powder, so I substituted it with Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Chili Sauce. This was the surprise ingredient that brought together all the flavors I wanted. It added the extra Indian spice that this snack would have otherwise lacked. Also, this could serve as a very quick and easy snack to enjoy after a long and tiring day.

Ingredients:
- 1 sheet (half package of) Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets
- Half package of Frozen chopped spinach
- 8-9 tbsp Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Chili Sauce
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or any white cheese)
- Few tbsp Shaved parmesan cheese
- Salt (to taste)
- Butter (or 1 beaten egg if you prefer)

Directions:
1. Let the spinach thaw completely and squeeze out as much water as you can.
2. In a bowl, combine spinach, hot sauce, parmesan cheese, and salt well.
3. Unfold the thawed pastry sheet and spread a thin layer of butter all over.
4. Spread the spinach mixture in a thin and even layer over the pastry sheet.
5. Top with as much of the shredded cheese as you would like.
6. Roll tightly from one side to the other, and seal the corner with the remaining butter (or egg mixture).
7. Cut into 16-20 .5 inch slices. Place the slices, cut-side down, onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush the tops with more of the egg mixture if you'd like.
8. Bake for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven, flipping them at the 10 minute mark.
9. Let cool for 10 minutes before indulging in. I served mine with a side of hot salsa!

 

Raita - Yogurt Dip

Raita is a quick and easy Indian condiment. It can be used as a dipping sauce or a side for any spicy rice or bread.

It's one of those recipes that you can throw it many different ingredients, and they all will make an equally yummy version of the "raita". Here's my version from a Sunday lunch that I used as a side for "vegetable pulav"



Ingredients:
1/2 Peeled Cucumber
5-6 Grape tomatoes
1/2 Onion
Handful of Cilantro
Creamy Yogurt - 1 C
Mint Buttermilk (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)
Cumin Powder (optional)
Chaat Masala - 1 tsp (optional)
Black pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste


Directions:
Chop all the vegetables you want to use uniformly. Stir in the yogurt, and a dollop of sour cream, and mix in the remaining ingredients. A splash of the mint flavored buttermilk will give it great fragrance and flavor.

Dum Aloo

This past weekend, I made Dum Aloo (Fried baby potatoes in a creamy gravy). It's a fool-proof crowd pleaser, but definitely not for the calorie conscious. Nevertheless, I substituted a couple of the traditional ingredients with healthier options, such as olive oil for ghee and non-fat Greek yogurt for the heavy cream. It was so delicious, that my dad and I are still savoring it little by little.

Ingredients:

10-12 baby potatoes (slice in half if they not "babies")
Onion- 1 large
Tomato - 1 pureed
Ginger - 1 piece
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Green Chilli - 2
Cilantro - 4 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1tbsp
Cloves - 2
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Powdered Cardamon - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tbsp
Yogurt - 6 tbsp
Salt - 1-2 tbsp
Olive oil - 4-5 tbs



Directions
1. Boil and peel the potatoes
2. Add 2 tbs oil and shallow fry the potatoes until they are crisp and roasted.
3. Blend the onion, ginger, garlic, and chili into a paste.
4. Heat the rest of the oil and add cumin seeds and cloves until they splutter
5. Add the onion paste and fry till golden brown.
6. Add the powders (chili, turmeric, cardamom, garam masala), and cook for a couple more minutes.
7. Add the tomato puree and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Beat the yogurt (if not a European kind, which is already smooth), and incorporate it one spoon at a time, so that it doesn't curdle.
9. Add the potatoes, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
10. Top with chopped cilantro and enjoy with roti or rice!

Healthy Pizza

Once in a while, the absence of the of grease most store bought pizzas have is tempting. I'd been wanting to make pizza at home for a while, so one day last winter, I decided to make it for my family. I'm a big TJ fan, so the main ingredients are from there. Also, I used whole wheat, because while it is obviously healthier, I prefer its taste to regular while dough. My dad, who's usually very picky was pretty impressed and surprised that it tasted so good!

Note: This is a great recipe to make the dough from scratch.

Ingredients:

- 1 pack Trader Joe's 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
- Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce

Topping suggestions
- Thinly sliced onions, bell peppers, olives
- Sliced sundried tomatoes, olives, jalapenos
- Shredded mozzerella cheese
- Goat cheese crumbles
- Garlic

Directions:

1. Let dough rest and rise at room temperature for 30 minutes
2. Add a drop or two of olive oil to lightly grease the pizza pan
3. Sprinkly some semolina (rava) for that extra crisp on the bottom
4. Place the entire dough in the middle of the pan and spread out as thin as possible with your fingertips.
5. Pop it into a 400 degree oven for 7-8 minutes.
6. Take it out and add as much sauce as you like. (I used few spoons of it)
7. Add all your favorite toppings (except for cheese) one by one, and lay it out nicely. (If adding the garlic, grate it evenly all over)
8. Sprinkle the shredded cheese as lavishly as you'd like over the other vegetables. I used a little bit less, because I added the goat cheese as well.
8. Bake it for another 15-20 minutes, checking on it towards the latter half. The aroma will hit you soon :)
9. Let cool for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy!

Excuse the phone quality pics :)

Namesake - Paneer Pizza

As a tribute to my [previous] title, I'd like to introduce you to one of the best pizzas I have ever had - Indian Paneer Pizza! It's from a small hole-in-the-wall place called Canam Pizza in Bellevue, WA (near Seattle).

Who doesn't love creamy, chunky paneer butter masala? Who doesn't love a crispy thin crust pizza? Put these two together, and you have a winner! They serve it with a thick creamy raita (yogurt dip), so yum!

I started to make this one day for my parents back home, and made the paneer butter masala as planned. But it was so yummy that we decided to eat it with roti, and ended up making another yummy pizza the following day. Recipes for these coming up, till then, enjoy this beauty! I got half paneer butter masala & half palak paneer (trying to be healthy? hehe)

Welcome!

Hi guys,

Look who's back on the blogosphere? I blogged before, but lost interest due to no real direction to what I wanted to write about. Seriously, how many people want to know about how you feel because of a particular incident on a particular day? The people who do care probably already know. But during my absence, lots has happened in life. I graduated, started working, moved into my own place with a nice kitchen, and now have lots of free time to explore food further.

In the past year, I spent lots of time hopping from food blog to food blog! Yes, many hours were spent drooling on countless treats and experimenting with my own versions of select ones. Insert in a bunch of amazing restaurant food and many hours of watching Food Network, and you have the new me - the food enthusiast.

Pizza & Paneer is to share my thoughts on my food. I will warn you that I am really lazy when it comes to cooking for myself, and I refuse to eat out alone. Yet, I crave for my favorite delicacies too often, so I end up simplifying or mixing up some combo of an Indian favorite with a non-Indian twist to it. I hope this blog inspires the laziest of you foodies to see how easy yummy vegetarian food can be!

Thanks for stopping by, and I'm so excited to share my journey and adventures here! Without further ado, welcome!