Nawabi Paneer

Nawabi Paneer 

Some dishes are celebratory dishes and this Nawabi Paneer which I make for special draws heavily from Nawabi chicken. It is a rich decadent creamy nutty gravy and is fit for the royalty indeed .

I made this when my mother-in-law's visit almost came to an end and since she loved it as did my husband and brother-in-law I am sharing this extremely easy recipe.

Serves 3 to 4

1 litre full cream milk
1.5 tbsp vinegar diluted with 2 tbsp water

2 tsp ginger garlic paste
Onion paste made from 1 medium sized onion and 2 green chilies
50gm cashew nuts
1/4th of a coconut
1.5 inch cinnamon
1 large bay leaf
2 cloves
Pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tbsp milk
Pinch of nutmeg
2 blades of mace
1 tbsp crumbled khoya (In case one doesn't have khoya one can use 1/2 cup cream)
Salt as per taste

2 heaped tsp ghee

Start by making your paneer. Simply bring the milk to a boil and then lower heat and add the diluted vinegar and wait for 5 minutes for the paneer to form. You know its done when the white paneer clumps flat around in a green liquid called the whey. Switch off the gas and cover and leave for 5 minutes and then strain the paneer in a cheesecloth or muslin cloth and reserve the whey . Hang the cheesecloth for 15 minutes and then press it on a flat surface to make a slab with the cloth around it and place a plate on top and a mortar and pestle or a heavy book on the plate and leave for 45 minutes. You will have the softest paneer ready to be used.

Soak the khoya, cashewnuts and coconut in 1/2 cup reserved whey while the paneer is being made. Soak the saffron in the milk.

Now make a smooth paste of the ginger and garlic and then reserve it and make a smooth paste of onion and green chilies with 1 tbsp of reserved whey. Make a smooth paste of the soaked khoya, cashew nuts and coconut. Use extra whey if required.

Heat the ghee and saute the ginger garlic paste and then add the bay leaf and the onion paste and saute till the raw smell goes away and add the cinnamon after crushing it well and then add the crushed cloves. Now add the Khoya cashewnut coconut paste and mix well and add 1/4th cup whey and bring to a slow boil and add salt  , crushed mace and the nutmeg and the paneer and then simmer covered for 5 minutes to 7 minutes. make sure you check from time to time and give it a stir if it shows sign of sticking to the bottom of the wok. Once done the gravy should be velvety smooth and thick but not extremely  dry. Add the saffron , mix well and serve with hot rice.

Payesh/ Bengali Kheer/ Payasam

Payesh/ Bengali Kheer/ Payasam

One of the most basic Indian desserts is the Rice Pudding. It goes by many many names be it Payesh in Bengali, Kheer in Hindi, Payasam in tamil and telegu, payasa in Kannada or Khiri in Oriya.

Its an easy basic recipe indeed yet perfecting it is really an art.

To be fair I am fortunate enough to have an aunt like my Mimi who can perfect each and every Bengali recipe. Now the problem is once you have had the perfect dish or to be politically correct lets say its perfect for me then it is difficult to enjoy any other variations which falls short of being perfect. As a result throughout my childhood and adulthood the only place I would relish this decadent creamy dessert was at my Mimi's (even my grandmother's kheer pales in comparison to my Mimi's) till the day I asked her to teach me how to make it.

The best part about Mimi as a teacher is that she tries and explains each step and gives me the reasons wherever possible.  This one is neither too thick so that the creaminess is overshadowed by the rice clotted together and nor is it too liquid in nature. Its just right.

This is one of the desserts I have made again and again and again from a very long time and so here goes a simple easy recipe which I have tried to keep as precise and detailed as possible

Recipe :

Makes about 4 to 5 servings

Cups used hold 220ml liquid

1 litre full fat milk (you cannot use toned milk else it will most definitely compromise the taste)
1 handful of . rice washed thoroughly (it comes to about 1/4th cup of rice ) { This rice is short grained and sometimes it is sold as kheer rice in many places, it is called Atop Chal or Gobindobhog chal in Bengali)
1 handful of sugar + 2 tbsp sugar but you must change the amount of sugar as per taste
2 green cardamom
1 large bay leaf
50gm broken cashew nuts
Fat pinch of saffron soaked in milk
1 tsp ghee

Bring the milk to a boil in a deep bottomed pan and the ghee , green cardamom and bay leaf  . Adding the ghee keeps the dessert extra smooth.

Now reduce the heat to the lowest possible temperature and add the washed rice and simmer it. Use a wide spatula to stir the mixture every 10 minutes for the next 45 minutes make sure the bottom of the pan does not burn.

Add the cashew nuts after 45 minutes.

After 50 minutes of simmering it with frequent stirring check the rice . It would have been cooked by now and will be of a melt in the mouth consistency. Now add the sugar . You must not add sugar before the rice is fully cooked else the rice remains uncooked.

You must stir continuously for the next 10 minutes to 15 minutes to prevent the dessert from sticking to the bottom and getting ruined. After 10 minutes add the soaked saffron and simmer while stirring continuously for another 2 minutes and switch off the gas.

Let it cool down and chill it for 3 hours to 4 hours and serve after giving the dessert a good stir. You must stir before serving because a thick cream will form on top which must be mixed well with the desert for the creamy smooth consistency.

Enjoy this classic delicacy

Tip

1. During the winters we get a special jaggery called 'Nolen Gur' in Bengal which is palm date jaggery and we repalce the sugar with the jaggery and it gives a divine taste. 
2. Many people love adding raisins to the dish. If you wish to do so add it when you are adding the cashew nuts. 
3. You can replace the cashew nuts with blanched  pistachios or blanched and chopped almonds. 

Cholar Dal (Bengali Chana Pulse)

Cholar Dal (Bengali Chana Pulse)

There is little to be said about this Classic Bengali Pulse. Bengalis  cook this  for all special occasions be it the Pujas, weddings, rice eating ceremony, gathering of friends and family or just for a special Bengali meal. You can team it up with all purpose flour pooris which Bengalis call 'luchi' or hot steaming rice and julienne potato which is deep fried .

The bottom line is that, this is a classic dish. Now its mostly the same recipe followed everywhere with a few variations. Here is one that I know of passed down by my Mimi (aunt) whose mother had passed it down a long time ago.

Serves 4 to 5

1 cup Chana pulse 'cholar dal'
1 tbsp clarified butter 'ghee'
2 green cardamom
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
2 to 3 dried red chili
Half a cup diced fresh coconut
A handful of raisins
Salt as per taste
Pinch of turmeric
Sugar as per taste (Now, traditionally  this pulse is supposed to be a bit on the sweeter side so I would personally use 1 tbsp to 1.5 tbsp sugar but you can adjust as per your taste)
4 cups of water
1 large bay leaf

Soak the pulse for 1 hour and then pressure cook it on low flame till 1 whistle to 2 whistles and let the steam go out on its own. It should have cooked by that time.

Now heat the ghee and add the ginger and saute and then add the cardamom , bay leaf and red chilies and keep sauteing and then add the coconut and raisins and finally the pulse. If it seems too thick add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil and add salt, turmeric and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. It should be of a medium thickness and the pulse must retain their shape. Its traditionally supposed to be a thick pulse but not as thick as the North Indian Mah ki Dal aka Dal makhani

Creamy Potato Spinach 'Aloo palak malaiwale'

Creamy Potato Spinach 'Aloo palak malaiwale' 

There here are some dishes which you anyway know are going to be delicious because butter and cream makes everything extra delicious. Now normally I don't even bring in fresh cream in my house because the thought of those extra kilograms hanging from everywhere on my body  is not something I relish thinking about but then there are those special occasions when you can actually indulge and my mother-in-law's visit is reason enough to make a creamy lip-smacking Aloo Palak Malaiawale aka Creamy Potato Spinach.

Now before I share the this recipe let me tell my readers from before that any substitution of the ghee or cream used here will not render the same results at all. In case you want to not use ghee the only other substitute for ghee can be mustard oil but even that cannot give it that delicious taste that ghee gives .

Anyway moving on to the recipe

Serves 3 to 4

4 medium sized potatoes cubed into medium size
1 large bunch of spinach
1.5 tbsp minced garlic
1 inch ginger chopped julienne
1 green chili julienne
Salt as per taste
4 cups of water
4 heaped tbsp fresh cream
2 heaped tsp clarified butter 'ghee'
Pinch of asafoetida 'hing'
Garam masala made with 1/2 black cardamom, 1 green cardamom, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 blade of mace, pinch of nutmeg, 1 bay leaf , 1/2 inch cinnamon, 3 cloves
3 to 4 green chilies
Dollop of butter

Start by dry roasting the ingredients for your 'Garam Masala' and then grinding it to a fine powdery consistency.

Now ever since I read this Italian chef's tips on maintaining the green colour of spinach I have never had  trouble with maintaining its colour. Its simple actually. Wash the spinach well. The easiest way to make sure you get rid of all the dirt is to fill a bit pan with water and then chopping off the end of the spinach and soaking the leaves in the water and rubbing them and cleaning them. This mostly gets out all the dirt.             Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil. Now add the chopped spinach leaves and let it boil for exactly 2 minutes and immediately take out the spinach and there you have boiled green spinach. Reserve the water in which you have cooked the spinach.

Cube the potatoes and heat the ghee and add the asafoetida 'hing' and when it splutters add the minced garlic, ginger and chili  and saute till softened and add the potatoes and cook on medium heat to saute the potatoes and add the reserved spinach water and bring to a boil and add salt and then simmer covered till the potatoes are mostly cooked. It might take anything between 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

In the meantime make a paste of the cooked spinach and 3 green chilies.

Now add half the garam masala and remove the cover and cook till the curry dries up. Add the spinach paste and mix well and then add the cream and mix well and simmer for 2 minutes . taste and add salt if required. Serve with a dollop of butter on top with soft chapatis or hot fluffy rice.