Chilli Paneer Dry

This is a really Indian take on a Chinese style inspired spicy starter with cottage cheese – which is an Indian favourite for vegetarians. This can be as spicy or mild as you like it. 

I used the following vegetables but you can add whatever you like 

Red peppers – diced into large cubes 

Green peppers – diced into large cubes 

Fresh ginger and garlic – finely chopped or minced 

Spring onions -finely chopped 

Red jalapeño- cut into slices 

Fresh green chillies – slit lengthwise 

Ground black pepper 

Chinese sauces – green chilly, soya, black pepper, red chilly sauce 

Oil 

1 spoon of cornflour.

How to cook : 

Chop paneer into large cubes. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of cornflour, some black pepper, salt and red chilli powder if desired on the paneer and let it sit for 10 min. 

Take a wok, I added just 1 tablespoon of oil for 400 gm of paneer.Lightly toss the paneer in this oil until cooked and soft. You can deep-fry them if you like but I made a low cal version. 

Keep aside. 

In a bowl add 1 tablespoon or more (per taste) of soya sauce, red and green chilli sauce abd black pepper sauce. Blend well and ksso aside. 

Use the same pan used for paneer, add 1 teaspoon of oil, add the ginger and garlic and cook slightly. Now turn the flame high. Add in chopped vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes.  Add the blended sauces and cook for a minute or two. Toss in the cooked paneer and coat well in sauces anand veggies.

Check seasoning and serve hot.

Be cautious of adding salt because all the sauces are high on salt so you want to check and taste before adding more. 

Spice level can be adjusted per taste.  

Sabudana or sago khichdi

This is an absolutely delicious preparation of sago or sabudana as it’s called in India.  Soaked for a few hours and then tempered with cumin, black mustard, green chillies and cooked with peanuts, coriander, potatoes and some fresh lime juice squeezed. It’s a popular dish in maharashtra and cooking it takes some skill ..else it’s too soggy or uncooked or too oily. 

One of my fav breakfast dishes for sure.

Bruschetta with hung curd

Made this delightful bruschetta in a jiffy at home. I replaced some of the original ingredients from a version I had at Jamie Oliver’s pizzeria in Mumbai, India.

Used garlic bread for the base, cut into thick slices. I toasted them (without oil/butter) in the oven for a few minutes. Then sprinkled some freshly chopped tomatoes, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, and then instead of ricotta which was in the original, I used hung curd which was really thick and actually resembled a crumbled cheese texture. Topped it with a few drops of balsamic vinegar which I had picked up from Italy.

It was delicious and a much healthier version, and the use of hung curd and balsamic really lifted the taste. Needless to say there were no leftovers.

Low Calorie Baked Cauliflower in a White Sauce with Mustard

Its a bird, its a plane – no its a deliciously good baked cauliflower. That too in a low calories sauce that is packed with the punch of good old mustard.

I used a medium sized cauliflower – whole. Blanched it to get it slightly cooked and also to clean it through since I am not going to chop it up. Made my low cal white sauce without a single drop of oil or butter or cheese and added a nice dollop of English Mustard so it blends in well. The challenge with using Dijon or Indian Kasundi is the black mustard seeds do not dissolve, while I prefer the flavours better. And thats pretty much all there is to do.

Pop the cauliflower into an oven proof dish and pour the sauce over it. Sprinkle black/white pepper and bake at 180 for a good 40-60 minutes depending on how you like it cooked – slightly under or nice and soft. A dash of tobasco for my indian pallette and its a super dinner dish.