Braided Bread with Paneer Stuffing

Welcome back friends to the start of a brand new year. Yes of course the holidays are over :( but then again 2011 fills me with enthusiasm and hope, all 365 days worth of it!

The mercury is steadily dipping and in the past couple of weeks we've seen some of the coldest weather in my few years in this part of the world... but I'm not complaining... totally loving it sipping hot coffee, getting to wear all the winter gear which have been bought and boxed up for a while, being lazy, cooking only occasionally and enjoyed the holidays to the fullest with family.
Now, coming back to the kitchen, there’s something about baking bread that gives me a high. And when I bake one, my fingers itch to make another one. I still jump for joy when I watch the dough rise, as I did the very first time.
There are hundreds of temptations all over the web that keeps me motivated to bake a new and different kind every time. I have been eying this beautiful braided bread for sometime now and finally tried it this weekend. I was a bit unsure as to how it would turn out, but was not in the least bit disappointed. Of course, I still have got a long long way to go and I don't claim to be a bread baking veteran but I do enjoy my little experiments now and then. My family adores them all… and I graciously take all the compliments :)
My brother is visiting us for the holidays and he was totally *wowed* by what he called one of my masterpieces straight out of an upscale bakery! lol... (he is still getting over the fact that his sis can cook ha-ha)... we had it fresh out of the oven and later pan toasted with some butter and the the whole big loaf was finished in no time... when that happens, I know it was good for sure... loved it!!

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Paneer Calzone (whole wheat)

Friday is my most favorite day of the week. You have the whole weekend ahead of you. Also friday nights are mostly pizza nights( which my little daughter loves)... which means Pizza Hut delivery or if we have the enthu hubby and I make it together at home. Last friday I thought I should do something different and decided to make a Calzone. Of course I had to put in a desi touch to it. I remember a while back they introduced a Calzone on the Pizza Hut menu. I saw the commercials and flyers and always wanted to try it but unfortunately they never came up with a vegetarian version.
A calzone ("stocking" or "trouser" in Italian) is a sort of folded over pizza or turnover with filling. It is originally from Naples, Italy. It is made of ingredients similar to pizza, folded over and shaped like a crescent sealed on one edge, and baked. The typical calzone is stuffed with tomato and mozzarella, and may include other ingredients usually associated with pizza toppings (sourced from Wikipedia).

I love the half moon envelope shape... they make for a cute and fun  presentation.
Calzone may be filled with a variety of vegetable combinations, cheeses and meats of choice. It is typically served with marinara sauce on the side for dipping. Here, I made them with my whole wheat pizza dough recipe (so they are healthier) and for the filling I used  the world famous indian cheese paneer sauted with some tandoori spices. The spicy tangy filling was definitely the highlight of this yummy calzone. It was a great dinner and made a yummy filling lunch the next day. They will be fun to take on picnics too and great as an after school snack for kids. We had this as an evening snack, but it was quite filling and so yummy that we ate more than what you you typically call snack portion :D. So much so that we didn't eat any dinner. It is an easy and interesting one pot meal and is simply delicious.

I know I am going to make this often.

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Paneer Bharvan Bhindi (Paneer stuffed Okra)

Humble okra gets a  glamorous makeover with this recipe and gets a "WOW" from whomever you are serving it to. A very innovative and always popular recipe from my mom's cook book (the best there is). This recipe came to existence one day when some special guests arrived and mom had only bhindi in the fridge... which is not always considered the best vegetable to offer to special guests at our home. So she made some paneer added some masala in it and stuffed the okras and boom... okra got a makeover. Guests loved it. My papa became its biggest fan and now he always asks mom to make these whenever we have guests over. In fact if we were out of bhindi, he would go and get some from the market. He just loves it :). Mom used to fry the bhindis first then stuff them then saute again with the masala in a makhani kind gravy (which I will be posting soon). I use my microwave for this and it becomes so quick and easy. It is great for lunch and dinner when paired with either rice or roti..have served as an appetizer too.

Here goes the recipe (see notes for the 'microwave-only' version) -

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Easy cheesy stuffed peppers

Hubby makes a killer eggplant bharta. Why the mention of eggplant bharta in the stuffed pepper recipe, you ask? It is because this one time he decided to use these anaheim peppers in his bharta and that is when I got the idea that these peppers will be absolutely fabulous when stuffed. I will definitely post his eggplant bharta sometime soon but for now here is the recipe for the stuffed peppers. They are anaheim peppers (you could use practically any 'stuffable' ones) stuffed with a spicy potato cheese filling and baked to a perfect crust. They are perfect as appetizers or as a side to a nice homey rice daal meal (or anything else you like).
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Aloo matar paratha

loo parathas are something that don't need any introduction. These are the most popular of all the stuffed parathas in India. Can be found in high-end restaurants as well as at the road side dhabas. I have not met a single person in my life who doesn't like it. It is basically an indian unleavened and pan fried flat bread stuffed with spicy potato filling, generally served with pickle, yogurt or just a little pat of butter...mmmm! It is a staple dish in almost all indian households with minor variation in the recipe here and there.
I remember mom often used to make it for breakfast and also sometimes for dinner with tomato chutney during winter times and it was soul satisfying. She also sometimes used to add peas in the filling and I always liked that better as i love green peas... so here is my mom's recipe of my fav aloo matar de parathe!
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