Paneer-Matar Paratha

In case you missed my Aloo-matar paratha from a few moons ago, this paratha is similar only better, in that it has paneer - my favorite ingredient. I have sung praises of the stuffed bread or paratha in that post so pay a visit if you are super interested! Also I described how tricky it can be for first timer and takes a little practice to get it right. Anyway, addition of Paneer gives this stuffed paratha the added soft texture as well a mildly creamy taste along with the kick of the spiced up peas. This paratha is perfect for those times when you feel like eating a yummy bread and don't really want to deal with making accompaniments. Just enjoy with some spicy Indian pickle, a simple raita or heck even ketchup.

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Tags:Paneer-Matar Paratha

Masaledar bharwan baingan/ Spicy Stuffed Eggplants

Eggplants in my home is always about hubs.The little one and I like it too but with hubs its like nothing I can explain in a few words. Guess the only way he wouldn't eat them is raw. To go on a little more, he loves all different kinds of them, the italian, chinese, indian, purple, green, white and most likely any other kinds that he and I haven't even seen yet. His most favorite kind however are these baby eggplants just the way I make them *smirk*. You do have to give him some credit though, the eggplant is no doubt a very versatile vegetable. Fry them, saute them, bake them or even mash them and they always come out a winner.
I make them many different ways and this way is one of the most frequent as this one is my favorite eggplant preparation too. The eggplants are thoroughly soaked in spices and yet retain their beautiful petite shape making them very presentable for when you are entertaining. The kick of the spices and tang from the lemon juice and amchur along with the creamy texture of the nicely cooked eggplant make them ideally suited to be eated either with parathas or with rice and some daa. And yes, remember to leave the stems on to make them extra fun to eat.

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Dahi Gujiya/Stuffed lentil dumplings with yogurt and chutneys

elieve it or not, up until very recently I was totally clueless when it came to that room in the house called the kitchen. My metamorphosis began almost half a decade ago with me meeting the man of my dreams. Before that in the kitchen I used to be as clueless as a  camel at the north pole. The only experience I had, boiled down to (literally) making the occasional hot tea for everyone. Anyway, when I got serious about getting married and settling down, mom realized cooking could be a skill I might need and took the challenge to show me how. Daily she would take the time to walk me through what she was cooking that day for lunch or dinner and would occasionally make me write the recipe down in my little notebook. I gradually built a liking for the art which very quickly grew into a passion. I was amazed to find that a skill that is so often taken for granted required such dexterity. As I grew into it, I developed a new found respect for my mom who would make three square meals for us every calendar day of the year and alter her menu on demand depending on our mood swings (yes bro and I both were picky eaters).
Yes I still have that little recipe notebook. This is one of the recipes from one of the now yellowing pages. This is one of mom's specialities that she was often requested by friends and neighbors to make and re-make.
This dish is a twist on the classic Dahi-Vada, the only difference being the dumplings are stuffed with a nut mixture and is shaped like a half moon rather than the traditional round vadas. It is kind of street food that borders on the exotic. The fried lentil dumplings give it an amazing texture and topped with the spiced up yogurt  with the tangy sweet tamarind chutney makes for an amazing flavor profile that is totally addictive.
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Paneer Dhaniya Kulcha / Paneer & Cilantro stuffed flatbread

ulcha is a soft leavened Indian bread with delicious fillings that can be paired with just about any curry or eaten by itself. So if you haven't heard about them or have not tasted them, do not feel bad. I personally think that they are a little bit underrated and overshadowed by their more popular but very close cousin, the Naan. But if you have never had a Kulcha, I do encourage you to give one a try and you will realize for yourself that the difference is worth the special mention. The bread is exceptionally soft and tender when you break it between your fingers and as you take a bite, the savory goodness of the filling together with the softness of the bread, well.. makes you happy :)
So what is the difference between the Kulcha and Naan - here's what I think - Naan uses yeast in its dough while Kulcha uses only baking powder and baking soda. Naans are usually oblong in shape while Kulchas are round. Both are traditionally made in a Tandoor (earthen clay oven) but kulchas can be made on the stove top too. Both can be made in a conventional oven as well. I make my kulchas in the oven as well as on the stove top. It is popular all over India and in different parts of the world. They are generally stuffed with nuts, paneer, potato, khoya etc however the variety of filling one can stuff inside these Indian flatbreads is only limited by your imagination. Creativity is the name of the game – almost anything and everything goes for filling up these.

If you already like kulcha, good for you, or if you are like me you might have just found your new favorite bread.

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Stuffed Paneer Kofta Curry with Tandoori Roti

oftas especially fascinate me as somehow I relate them to exotic curries. Unfortunately though Indian restaurants in the US (atleast the ones I have been to) more often than not fail to do a good job in making kofta dishes (and most others too). They are either not seasoned appropriately or overly laden with cream and butter. Hubby and I both love koftas so I prefer to make it myself. Me being me, I use no cream, very little oil and I have given an option to alternatively bake the koftas rather than deep fry them. I totally admire them. To me they are exotic with the different layers as they unfold when you bite into them. Simmered into a spicy and creamy gravy simply makes them irresistible.
A little general knowledge doesn't hurt, here's some about koftas-  Kofta or kufteh, köfte, keftes, kufta, ćufta… have a heavy presence over various cuisines in the South Asian sub continent. They are essentially the distant cousins of American meat balls. The concept of the kofta is that a ground form of particular ingredients are mixed with various spices (according to what herbs and spices are predominantly available in that country) and rolled into a certain shape. Now, they are usually rolled into spherical shapes but in some Arab counties they are shaped rather like long kebabs, therefore the concept obviously varies according to where it is being made. Kofta can be fried, steamed, grilled or baked according to what ingredients you added to the mix. Vegetarian koftas are also very popular especially in India and different vegetables like bottle gourd, cabbage, potato other mixed vegetables are used and of course the very much liked ingredients by us veggies the evergreen Paneer!

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Pizza Buns

ast night I was officially declared food crazy by hubby. We had dinner, tucked our little one into bed, watched some TV and then as we were getting ready to call it a night, this crazy idea struck me. God help me, it was almost close to midnight but I had to make these buns that would be stuffed with pizza sauce and pizza toppings. I call them pizza buns not sure if such a thing even exist. With much excitement I explained the recipe to poor hubby who listened to me with his jaw dropped to the floor. I could see him calling me crazy in the back of his head - not that I cared at the time - I just had to make it. I am sure some of my readers will identify with me (please say yes, its very important for the self-affirmation of my sanity :)
Anyway, believe it or not, the project took a little over an hour and by some insanely ungodly hour we were standing in the middle of the kitchen enjoying the pizza buns. I was so tired I don't even remember what they tasted like but hubby tells me they were awesome as he ate a couple (and he never eats anything that late).
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Methi-Matar/Fenugreek-Peas Stuffed Paratha with Grape Walnut Raita

tuffed parathas are really popular in India. They can be found on the menus of high-end restaurants as well are made fresh to order in road side dhabas. They come in different types obviously varying by their filling. I have yet to meet a person who does not like them, yes regardless of their filling. There is just something about them.

A stuffed paratha is basically an unleavened and pan fried flat bread stuffed with variety of fillings like spicy potatoes, peas, cauliflower, paneer and even with chicken. You can even find them with sweet fillings too. They are generally served simply 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 these for breakfast and also sometimes for dinner with tomato chutney during winter times and it was always soul satisfying.

Hubby loves aloo paratha and my favorite is the one with stuffed peas. In this recipe I added some of the leftover methi leaves to my regular recipe of matar parathas and the result was fabulous. The sweetness of the peas with the flavor of methi and all the spices tucked inside the crispy yet soft bread was a total winner.

I chose to accompany my parathas with some raita. The raita below is one of my mom's famous raita recipe. The sweet tiny mini grapes with the fresh creamy yogurt and nuts is a the perfect side with these or any kind of stuffed parathas.

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Gud aur til ka Paratha / Jaggery and sesame stuffed flatbread

My mom is a queen of innovation. Especially when it comes to innovation with leftovers. She would come up with cool ideas to convert things that everyone deemed throwaway into dishes that would fly like hot cakes.

In India it is tradition to take some sweets if you are visiting a near and dear. My mom being quite the entertainer, we used to have a rather busy guest 'traffic'. Now not everyone has a big heart to take the best quality stuff so quite often we would wind up with sweets that no one wanted to eat. This one time mom came up with the idea of mixing it all up, boiled it in some milk to make a thick filling and made stuffed parathas out of it. Papa and my brother ate them up in seconds.

This dish is another such example of my mother's innovativeness. After the festival of Sankranti, we would usually have lots of left over 'tilkut' (a sweet candy made of sesame and sugar). She used a similar technique on the tilkut to convert it into absolutely fabulous sweet stuffed bread. I wanted to give this a shot but unfortunately I couldn't find any tilkut here. I had some sesame seeds handy and some jaggery so I used them together to create the tilkut effect. Hubby loved it :)  So here's another one inspired from and for my dear mom.

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