Paneer Kathi Rolls

I have liked most versions of kathi rolls and have been wanting to try them out at home. I found this recipe and then found reference to another recipe in the comments section of the first recipe. So I came up with a kathi rolls recipe which was a combo of the two. The end result was quite tasty while being high on the health quotient. Here it is:

Paneer Kathi Rolls

Ingredients (makes 4 kathi rolls with generous stuffing):


Marinate
1/4 cup low fat curds, beaten
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/4 tsp garlic  paste
1/4 tsp besan
1/2 tsp chaat masala
1/2 tsp kasuri methi
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste

Mix the above ingredients well. To this add:
1 cup medium-small cubed paneer
1/2 cup finely chopped deseeded tomato


Mix well and keep aside for at least 10 minutes.

Vegetables
1 Medium capsicum chopped into medium sized cubes
1 medium onion peeled and chopped into medium sized cubes
 
Salad
1 medium onion cut into thin slices
1 long green chilli, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small carrot shredded into large shreds (use the big-holed side of the grater)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp vinegar
Sea salt to taste

Mix together the onion, green chilis and vinegar. Keep aside for at least 10 minutes. Just before using, pour out any remaining liquid vinegar, pick out and toss the green chili pieces. Add in the carrot, cilantro and salt, mix well and use.

For the roll
4 ready-made whole-wheat chapathis

Other ingredients
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat a non-stick pan on high and pour in enough oil to coat the  base of the pan. Add in onions, capsicum, a little bit of salt (remember the marinade has salt so don't go overboard) and stir fry till they start changing color along the edges.
2. Add in the paneer-tomato marinade and stir fry on high-heat for 2-3 minutes.
3. Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking till the raw smell of the spices has disappeared and the paneer starts getting a nice brown crust on it. This can take about 10-15 minutes. You just need to stir it from time to time. Lower heat further if you think the dish is beginning to burn. Check for salt and keep aside.
3. Time to assemble! Heat both sides of the chapathi on a tawa. Place it on a plate.  Place the paneer filling across the diameter of the chapathi. Top it with the salad.
4. Roll the kathi roll and serve hot with tomato ketchup on the side.

Notes:
1. For efficient time utilization, follow this order of cooking: marinate the paneer and tomato first and keep aside. Then chop the onion and capsicum and start cooking them. By the time they are cooked, the paneer mix will be ready to add in. While the entire mixture is cooking, chop the onions for the salad and marinate it in vinegar. Finally work on the carrots and cilantro for the salad. By the time the salad is done, the paneer mix will be ready as well and hey presto, everything required for assembly is ready!
2. The filling can be made before hand. Just reheat it before assembly. Do not make the salad too much in advance else it will lose its freshness.
3. Instead of whole-wheat chapathis, you can use maida parathas to get a more professional taste (of course, you lose the benefits of whole-wheat flour then).

Green bean potato bake

I did not use to like green beans at all. With age comes wisdom and a wider taste palette. Thus I can stand and even some times enjoy eating green beans now. This bake is one of those instances when I thoroughly savored the green beans (most probably because its distinct taste was tempered by the yumminess of the potatoes, egg and bread crumbs!).

The recipe is heavily adapted from here.

Green bean potato bake

Ingredients (makes 4 portions for breakfast or 2 for lunch):
For the potato layer:
3 medium potatoes
1 tbsp all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste

For the green bean layer:
1/4 kg green beans
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 medium onion
1.5 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dhania powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Oil
Salt to taste
Water to cook the beans


For the egg layer
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
Salt and pepper to taste


For the bread crumb layer
2 slices bread (preferably end bread for extra crunchiness)
1.5 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1.5 tsp onion powder (optional)
1 tbsp butter

Method:
1. Boil the potatoes and peel them. Add the flour, salt and pepper and mash with a light hand till the ingredients are just combined. Keep aside.
2. Destring and chop the beans into 1/4" pieces. Pour enough water to cover, add the turmeric and a little salt and cook till almost done.
3. In a frying pan, add a little oil and toss in the ginger-garlic paste when hot. Stir fry for a few seconds and add in the onions.
4. When onions change color, add all the masala powders and salt. Stir fry for a few seconds and toss in the beans. Cook till the beans are done and the raw taste of the masala powders is gone. Keep aside.
5. Beat the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper.
6. Grease a microwave safe baking dish (mine is a round dish about 7") with a little butter or olive oil. Take half of the potato mixture and pat down on the floor of the dish to form an even layer.
7. Spoon the beans mixture evenly on top of the potato layer. Now spread the remaining potato on top of the beans.
8. Pop the dish into your microwave and cook on high for 8  minutes (timing may vary depending on the microwave).
9. While it is cooking, process the bread in a food processor into crumbs. Mix in the onion and garlic powders if using.
10. Heat the butter in a pan and when it has just melted, add in the bread crumbs. Fry on medium-low heat till the crumbs are crunchy. Keep aside.
11. After 8 minutes are up, take out the baking dish and pour the egg mixture on top spreading it as much as you can. Put dish back into the microwave and cook for 1 minute on high.
12. Take the dish out again and top evenly with the bread crumbs. Pop the dish back into the microwave and cook for 2 minutes on high.

Serve hot! It reheats very well, so feel free to pop any leftovers (or even the just-made dish) into the fridge after it has cooled down.Reheat just before serving.

Chili chicken

This recipe for chili chicken must be the easiest ever. And it tastes great too. No wonder I always use this as my default chili chicken recipe!

http://mydhaba.blogspot.com/2005/12/chilly-chicken.html

Super easy and tasty chicken fry

You can also call this chicken dish SM chicken in honor of my cousin S's MIL who came up with this ultra easy recipe to make super yummy (but non-oily) chicken fry.

Below is the recipe in its original form. I have made notes regarding minor variations at the end. Please note that a non-stick pan is a must if you don't want to be hunched over your chicken while it is cooking and/or don't want to use copious amounts of oil.

Ingredients
Chicken 1/2 kg - cleaned and cut into medium sized pieces
Red chili powder 1.5 - 2 tsp (as per your spice tolerance level)
Dhania powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
Juice of 1/2 a medium-sized lemon
1" piece cinnamon stick
5 large pearls of garlic (or 7-8 small cloves)
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Take a wide non-stick pan and add enough oil to coat base of pan. Place on medium heat.
2. Add the cinnamon stick. Crush the garlic using a mortar-pestle (or the wide edge of a knife) and add.
3. When the garlic has cooked a bit and gives off a nice aroma, add the chicken pieces, chili powder, dhania powder and turmeric powder. Mix well so all the chicken pieces are coated with the spices.
4. Cover the pan with a lid, reduce heat to low.At this point, you can leave the chicken undisturbed and simply let it cook for 15-20 minutes. No necessity to add any water.
5. Check the chicken to see if it is done. If not, continue to cover and cook.
6. Else, add necessary salt, the yoghurt and lime juice. Mix well and cook without the lid till all the liquid from the yoghurt has evaporated and the chicken is mostly dry and has a nice coating to it.
7. Turn off heat and serve hot with rice or rotis.

Notes:
1. You can use 2-3 sprigs of curry leaves as seasoning along with the cinnamon and garlic to get a nice flavor.
2. There is no necessity to marinate the chicken beforehand. However, if you are so inclined, you can marinate the chicken with all the turmeric and about 1/2 of the chili powder you are planning to use and a little bit of salt. Adjust the ingredients accordingly while cooking.
3. The original recipe tastes great as is. Really, no tweaking is necessary.