Zaiqa

Any Indian restaurants are sure to list Paneer Butter Masala on their menu. One of the favorites of any Indian, this North-Indian curry is rich, creamy and pleasing to the eye with its bright orange-red color.

Paneer Butter Masala

I usually prepare my own home-made Paneer at home. But occasionally I get it from the stores to simplify my work. The usual ready made brands that I trust and buy usually are Nanak and Mother dairy. Recently I had got Paneer manufactured under ‘Nanak’ brand name, and it was a totally bad experience for me. The paneer block had bits of egg-shell like pieces in it (which when I had later contacted their Manager, I was told that the pieces were scales of deposited calcium chloride from the surface of the tubes in which the coagulation of milk takes place, which look like egg shells, he also apologized for it and asked if he could replace the product). It was totally unpleasant, and I hence had to discard the curry I had prepared using it, as I did not like the feeling of a crunchy Paneer.

The following is my sisters recipe, which I thoroughly enjoyed eating along with fresh warm Methi wale Naan.

Butter Paneer Masala – Paneer in rich buttery tomato-cream sauce

Home-made Paneer block – 400 gms
Tomatoes – 4, medium sized, chopped
Long green chillies – 2, chopped
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Onion – 1, large, finely sliced
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Kasuri methi – 1 tsp
Tomato Ketchup – 1 tbsp (I used Heinz)
Canned Tomato puree – 2 1/2 tsp
Half and half cream – 1 cup
Salt – to taste
Cashew nuts – handful, whole
Unsalted Butter

Fried Paneer cubes (Paneer is Indian Cheese)

Method:

1. Cut the paneer block into rectangular bite size pieces. Heat Canola oil in a pan, and shallow fry the paneer pieces until lightly browned on all sides. Remove using a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined platter. Keep aside. Also, fry the sliced onions and cashew nuts individually in the same oil until golden brown. Remove using a slotted spoon onto a platter and keep aside.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies into a blender and blend into a smooth puree.
3. Heat 2 tbsp butter in a medium sized saucepan at medium heat and as soon as it warms up, add the ginger garlic paste. Fry for a minute. Add the fried onion and mix well. Pour in the pureed tomato+chilli paste. Add coriander powder, garam masala, red chilli powder, kasuri methi, tomato ketchup and tomato puree. Let cook for 5 minutes covered on simmer.
4. Pour in half and half cream and salt. Mix well. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the fried paneer pieces and let it cook for a further 3-5 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and fried cashew nuts and serve.

Luv,
Mona

Baghara Khana (or Baghara Chawal), is an another simple and nourishing dish that reminds me of that happier era, when I was a kid. Food that reminds me of my childhood and my hometown definitely makes me immensely nostalgic every time.

Baghara Khana along with Aloo Gobi Matar ~ was my yesterday’s lunch

Fragrant long grained basmati rice is cooked along with caramelized onion and exotic whole spices that give a delicate flavor and a wonderful aroma that will fill your house, and welcome your loved ones with open arms and a sense of home where warmth and comfort abounds. Always serve Baghara khana warm, along with the accompaniments of your choice.

To prepare Baghara Khana, use rice and water in the ratio of 1:2, i.e., for 1 cup rice, use two cups of water. Save a little amount of the water to add later on after the rice is about 3/4th cooked as described below.

Baghara Chawal/Khana
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Long grained White Basmati Rice – 1 cup (I prefer the brands ‘Daawat’ or ‘India Gate’ or ‘Lal Qila’)
Canola Oil – 1 tsp
Ghee – 2 tsp
Onion – 1, small, finely sliced
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tsp
Fresh Cilantro/Kothmir – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Fresh Mint/Pudina – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Green cardamom/Elaichi – 2
Cinnamon/Dalchini – 2 inch stick
Dry bay leaf – 1, medium sized
Caraway seeds/Shahzeera – 1/2 tsp
Water – 2 cups
Salt – 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash the rice in two changes of water and soak it in surplus cool water for 30 minutes.
2. In a saucepan at medium high heat, pour oil and ghee and as soon as it warms up, add the sliced onion and stir fry until the onion is nicely browned up. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry it along for a minute. Add the chopped herbs, green cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and caraway seeds. Fry them for a minute more. Add 1 2/3 cup of water and salt. Cover with a lid and increase the heat to high. Let it come to a boil.
3. Meanwhile drain the soaked rice and keep ready.
4. Add the drained rice to the boiling water in saucepan and mix well. Let it come to a boil once. Lower the heat to simmer and cover with a lid. After 3 minutes using a spoon, mix the rice well, lower the heat to minimum and and cover it back again and let cook for a furthur 3 minutes. Open the lid, pour in the remaining 1/3 cup water and gently mix well. Cover and let cook until the rice is tender. Close the heat and leave the saucepan on the hot stove for about 15 more minutes to finish cooking on Dum. Serve warm.

My house smells like a potpourri every time after I prepare Baghare Chawal due to all those aromatic spices.

Note: You can also add chopped green chillies and a few whole cloves along with the other spices while frying the onions. I do not prefer to add them. Also for a special touch, garnish the cooked rice while serving with a few toasted whole cashew nuts.

Suggested Accompaniments: Baghara khana is enjoyed along with Dalcha or Baghare baingan or Mirchi ka Salan or Sem ki phalli gosht or Qimah or Qorma for a delicious Hyderabadi meal.

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This Summer, I had planted a few tomato seeds (first time with tomatoes) and voila, I had plenty of fresh tomatoes from my lil tomato garden in the backyard. Here are a few snaps:

Tomato Variety: Moneymaker

tomato budss under the warm early spring sunshine

tiny tomatoes and blooms in early summer

after a shower
I love the fuzzy stems and the unique strong scent of tomato foliage

on a warm sunny evening

ripening on the vine

For the curry below I had used the garden ripe tomatoes from my plants. With the commenced autumn chill in the air, I do not think the plants will live much longer. To freeze tomatoes, just cut out the tough part of the core, put the whole tomatoes on a baking sheet and into the freezer. After they’ve frozen, transfer them to a plastic zipper bag and put them back into the freezer. When you want to use them, you can easily peel them if you allow them to thaw until they’re just barely soft on the outside. Then just rub off the skins. Or you can run warm tap water over them and peel them immediately. Use them in recipes for any cooked dish. Inshallah the next season, I plan/wish to grow the heirloom ribbed or beefsteak tomatoes and even more veggies. Have a look at the beautiful heirloom tomatoes here, I am sure even you all will be smitten by their beauty. Need to stock up the seeds soon for the gardening season.
For those of you interested, this book has loads of information on heirloom tomatoes and how to plant them.

Aloo Gobi Matar – Potato Cauliflower and Peas in one pot

Ingredients:

Canola Oil – 1 1/2 tbsp
Onion – 1, large, finely sliced
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Fresh Curry leaves – 6
Dry red chillies – 3, each broken into two
Salt – 2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Cauliflower – 1 medium head, cut into florets, washed and drained
White Potatoes – 3, peeled and cut into quarters
Tomatoes – 2, medium sized, chopped
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Frozen organic peas/Matar – 3/4 cup
Fresh Cilantro – 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Aloo Gobi Matar along with toasted Afghani Roti, and home-made Lemon pickle ~ todays lunch

Method:

Heat oil in a wide saucepan at medium high heat and as soon as it is warm, pour in oil. Add the sliced onion and stir fry until the onion are just lightly browned. Add the baghaar ingredients~cumin seeds, curry leaves and dry red chillies. Also add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well. Add the cauliflower florets and potato quarters and mix well. Spread the vegetables so that they are in a single layer in the pan. Sear the vegetables for about two minutes. Keep stirring them occasionally. Add the chopped tomatoes, half cup of warm water and red chilli powder. Mix well and cover the lid. Let cook until the vegetables are tender and have absorbed most of the liquid. Keep stirring occasionally. Add the frozen peas and cover the lid for 2 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm.

‘Aloo Gobi Matar – Potato, Cauliflower and Peas’ in one pot goes to Andera’s Grow Your Own event.

Luv,
Mona

Sweet red beets when cooked in a hot and spicy tomato meat stew result in a delicious curry that you will definitely enjoy. We Hyderabadis like to cook our vegetables with meat.

Peeled and chopped red beets

I enjoy beets this way a lot, along with warm parathas. My brother dislikes the way it tends to color your rice though. Whenever I go to the market, I buy beets along with its greens which are very nourishing, that way I can enjoy the goodness of both the greens as a subzi, as well as beets as a seperate curry.

While preparing salad with beets, do not peel and then boil the beets in water. That way all the nutrients are lost when you drain the water. If you have to boil the beets, wash them thoroughly and boil them unpeeled. In this manner, the nutrient loss is less. I recommend steaming the beets when you wish to have them as salads. This is the best way with minimum nutrient loss and maximum flavor.

Chuqandar Gosht – Beets in Spicy Meat stew

Ingredients:

Canola oil – 1 tbsp
Yellow Onion – 1, small, finely chopped
Lamb/Veal/Sheep meat (with or without bone) – 250 gms, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tsp
Tomato – 2, medium sized, finely chopped
Water – 1 cup
Beetroot/Chuqandar – 5, medium sized(as shown in the picture), peeled, sliced and cut into bite-size wedges

Chuqandar Gosht – Beets in Spicy Meat stew

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker at medium high heat, pour oil and as soon as it warms up, add the chopped onion and stir fry until the onion is just soft. Add meat, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and salt, and fry them along for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and water and pressure cook until the meat is tender.
2. Later, add chopped beetroot and pressure cook again for 2-3 minutes until tender. Cook on high until the water has all almost dried up. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Tastes delicious along with warm Parathas, or you can even savor it along with Basmati Chawal.

Luv,
Mona

The first Ashra of Ramadan has passed away الحمد لله. May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) accept all our dua’s inshallah. Todays dinner after our 14th roza features Ivy Gourd curry, Khatti dal and Dum ka Murgh along with Afghani Roti and Khushka.

Ivy Gourd~(Coccinia indica, C. grandis) (other names in various languages-Scarlet fruited gourd, Little gourd, Donda, Kandori, Tindora, Gherkin, Kova, etc) is an Indian vegetable, grown on aggresively climbing vines, and a very good source of Calcium, Fibre and Iron.

Fortunately this vegetable is available here at my place at most of the Indian stores, priced a bit higher though, but nonetheless and I am very happy for that reason. This humble vegetabe is one of my favorites and it makes its presence on my dinner table whenever its cravings defeat me.

Ivy Gourd – chopped and whole

Ivy Gourds in dry tomato-onion gravy

Ingredients:

Ivy Gourd – 2 pounds, topped, tailed, and chopped as shown
Onion – 1, large, finely sliced
Tomato – 2. medium sized, finely chopped
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Canola oil – 1 tbsp

Ivy gourd curry served along with Flat bread~Paratha

Method:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker at medium high heat. As soon as it warms up, add onion and stir fry until soft. Add chopped tomato, red chilli powder and salt. Also add in the chopped Ivy gourd and 1 cup water, and pressure cook for 10 minutes, until the Ivy Gourd is soft. Let cook uncovered until most of the moisture has been evaporated. Keep stirring occassionally and gently. Serve along with Parathas .

***

Dum ka Murgh – Slow cooked Chicken in Aromatic sauce

Ingredients:

Chicken, with bone – 1.3 kg, cut into pieces
Yogurt – 1/2 cup
Almonds, ground – 1/4 cup
Garam masala powder – 2 tsp
Saffron strands, lightly crushed – 1/4 tsp
Onion – 4, large, finely chopped
Tomato puree – 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Red chili powder – 1 tbsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Lemon juice – 4 tbsp
Cilantro – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Mint leaves -1 tbsp, finely chopped
Ghee – 1/3 cup
Cinnamon stick – 1 inch stick
Cloves – 2
Green Cardamom – 2
Black Peppercorns – 4
Bay leaf – 1, dried

Dum ka Murgh

Method:

1. In a frying pan at medium high heat, pour ghee and as soon as it warms up add the sliced onions. Fry them stirring it frequently until golden brown in color. Remove the fried onions using a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined platter. Reserve the leftover ghee.
2. In a mixing bowl, add yogurt, almond paste, garam masala, saffron, salt, fried onions, ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder, lemon juice, tomato puree and cilantro and mint leaves to the chicken. Mix it all well. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the chicken marinate in the aromatic paste for about 2 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Take the mixing bowl out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. In a large saucepan at medium high heat, pour the leftover ghee and as soon as it warms up add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, bay leaf, peppercorns and cloves. Saute for a few seconds and add the chicken mixture into it. Spread the chicken in a single layer and mix well. Cover the lid and cook on simmer for 20 minutes. Later, gently give a good stir and again cover and let cook for a further 15 minutes until oil leaves. Garnish with fried onions and serve with sliced onion rings and lemon wedges.

Suggested Accompaniments: Afghani Roti/Naan/Parathas or Plain Rice and Khatti Dal.

Luv,
Mona

No wedding banquet in Hyderabad in earlier days were witnessed sans Luqmi in the menu, as a starter paired along with Qimah Kawab. Today other sophisticated entrées make their appearance on the wedding banquet tables. Luqmi is not much seen so nowadays, but it not forgotten, it is still one of every Hyderabadis most favorite snack.

Luqmi has Persian origins, and now is a popular Hyderabadi snack. Other snacks like Osmania biscuit, Pauna chai, Irani chai, etc all have Persian origins and made a mark in Hyderabad. Irani cafes in Hyderabad, seen at every other corner, selling these snacks and refreshments are always crowded with locals. Luqmi is preferred as a starter in the menu, a rectangular parcel stuffed with sauteed minced mutton cooked with a hint of spices and a delicious lemony zing to please your palate.

My miya yesterday had requested me to prepare a few Luqmi for the إفطار and الحمد لله he loved them.

Qimah – Minced meat (the filling)

Ingredients:

Qimah~Minced Veal/Lamb/Sheep meat – 700 gms
Onion -1, large, finely sliced
Cumin seeds – 2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Cilantro – 2 tbsp
Long green chillies – 3, chopped finely
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Lemon juice – 3 tbsp
Cashewnuts – chopped, handful

Qimah – Minced meat

Method:

In a large frying pan, pour oil and as soon as it warms up, add the onion and fry until evenly golden brown in color. Add the cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, cilantro and green chillies. Fry for a few seconds. Add the minced meat and cook mixing it well. Add the red chilli powder, salt and turmeric. Mix well and cook stirring frequently until all the moisture has been dried up. Pour lemon juice, and add the chopped cashewnuts, mix well and remove from heat. Let it cool down completely.

Luqmi – Minced meat stuffed parcels
Makes – 15 Luqmi

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour/Durum Atta – 2 1/2 cups+extra for dusting (you can also use All-Purpose flour/Maida instead)
Semolina/Sooji – 1/2 cup
Salt – 1 tsp
Yogurt – 1/3 cup
Warm water/milk – 1/4 cup
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Canola oil to deep fry

Luqmi – Minced meat stuffed parcels

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, add all the above ingredients except ghee and oil and working with your fingers, form a soft dough. Add a few more sprinkles of warm water if needed to form the soft dough. Once the dough has formed into a ball, smear ghee and cover with a lid. Keep aside for 40 minutes.
2. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. Form the dough into 30 equal size balls and cover them all with a damp kitchen towel. Also divide the prepared Qimah filling into 15 equal portions. Pour cool water into a cup and keep aside.
3. Dust with extra flour and roll out two dough balls, one at a time into 8 cm in diameter circle each, using your rolling pin on the work surface. Make sure the rolled out circles are not very thin, they should be just a little bit thick. Place a potion of the divided Qimah filling in the center of the rolled out dough circle. Dip your fingers into water and smear lightly on the entire outer edge of the dough circle. Gently place the second rolled out disc over the filling and press the edges of the dough circle to seal them. Using a pizza cutter cut out the extra outer edges of the dough to shape into a rectangle. (You can collect the scraps until the last luqmi is done and roll it out into a ball and repeat the procedure again). With your fingers, press the edges once again to make sure they are sealed. Crimp the edges with a fork to form a pattern. Repeat until all the luqmi is prepared. Keep them on a tray, covered with a towel, until all are ready to deep fry.
4. Heat oil to deep fry in a kadai. Depending on the size of your kadai, you can fry the luqmi, one or two at a time, until lightly browned on both sides. Remove using a slotted spoon into a wire mesh strainer for the extra oil to drain away. Serve them warm.

Head over to Muneeba’s blog and have a look at her version of Luqmi. Enjoy!

Luv,
Mona