Dum Aloo (punjabi style), potato curry

After a long time almost a month i am posting a recipe. Its not that i stopped cooking but i was busy reading a novel kite runner and other cobwebs have kept me occupied. Though this recipe was waiting in my archive long back and it was only me who was reluctant to post it. Now i am back with a peace of mind and full of energy. For now lets look at this one.
#Dumaloo is a very popular dish in northern region of India. Till date i have tasted its two versions one is kashmiri style and the other is punjabi style. The kashmiri version is very rich and aromatic loaded with spices while the other one is tangy with tomato taste. This curry is meant for people who love potatoes, as the name itself suggests dum aloo. Also this dish is hot on every menu card of hotel as well as it is popular in parties and other functions. I have come up with a very simple technique to cook this dish in no time. The ingredients are quite simple which are commonly found in every bodies kitchen. Since my husband is a potato lover so i make this one specially for him.

Now look at the ingredients used:-            

Dum Aloo

1. Baby potatoes 6-8 nos  
2. Tomato 4 nos
3. Onion 1 large finely chopped
4. Ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp
5. Curd/dahi 1 cup
6. Cumin seeds/jeera 1 tsp
7. Turmeric powder 1 tsp
8. Garam masala 1/2 tsp
9. Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
10. Asafoetida/hing a pinch
11. Green chilli 1 slit
12. Salt to taste
13. 2 Tbsp oil
14. Fresh coriander leafs for garnish

First of all boil the baby potatoes, if you don't get them then you can use large ones and cut them into smaller proportions. Then shallow fry them as it will give them a crispy texture. The original recipe of dum aloo involves deep frying but since i want to cut down on calories so i did shallow frying. You may also skip frying but the crispy taste will be missing in the curry.

Then take oil in a pan add jeera, followed by onion, ginger-garlic paste, asafoetida, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and green chilli. Saute the mixture till it turns little brown in colour.

Puree the tomato and add it in the pan. keep stirring till it start leaving the sides of pan and it will turn brown in colour.

Then add curd in the pan. Beat the curd before adding it so that there are no lumps in it. Keep stirring it till all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Add garam masala and salt to taste then leave the potatoes in the curry and cover with a lid for 5 minutes so that they absorb the masala.

Finally garnish with coriander leafs and serve hot with roti, paratha, naan or steamed rice.

Dum Aloo

Read More

Dal tadka

Dal/lentil or pulses are the part of human diet since aceramic (before pottery). Archaeological evidence shows that they were the first domesticated crop near east and were eaten 9300 to 13000 years ago. They are rich in protein and are found in many forms and colour. Some of the common ones which are part of daily life are moong, uradh, arhar/toor, masoor and Channa. Dal tadka is basically any dal with tadka. One may find this name in every restaurants menu card. Mostly yellow dal is used in making this ie arhar or Channa or one may also use a mixture of 2-3 dals. Though my favourite is arhar dal and i use this one quite often as it gets ready in no time abd also because of its taste. So the procedure of making every dal is same only the time of cooking varies depending on the type of dal selected. For toor/arhar dal hardly any soaking is required and if one is using a pressure cooker it gets ready in 1 whistle only. Dal is staple in our diet and it is prepared at least once in during any one of the meals, so not writing a blog for this one would have been quite injustice.

So lets look at the ingredients used in its preparation:- 

Dal Tadka

1. Arhar dal 1 cup
2. Water 2 cups
3. Cumin/jeera seeds 1 tbsp
4. Onion finely chopped 1
5. Tomato chopped 1
6. Ginger/garlic paste 1 tbsp
7. Turmeric powder 1 tbsp
8. Asafoetida a pinch
9. Salt to taste
10. Garam masala 1/2 tbsp
11. Ghee 2 tbsp
12. Red or green chilli 1-2
13. Fresh coriander leaf

First of all take arhar dal and rinse it thoroughly in fresh water. After washing put it in the pressure cooker and pour water, close the lid and wait till it is boiled properly. if one does not have pressure cooker then any utensil can be used but cover it so the time of cooking gets minimised.

Once the dal is cooked, then comes the time for tadka which is the main step in adding flavour. For this take kadhai/pan add ghee and once it is hot add cumin/jeera seeds

After they start cracking add onion, ginger/garlic paste and asafoetida. Saute the till they become golden brown in colour. 

Then add red whole chilli or green chilli, i used a red one coz i like it, as it looks very pleasing floating in the yellow dal, but its entirely once choice. One may also add chili powder if they like to eat more spicy.

Then add tomatoes, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Mix them properly till they incorporate well.

After the masala is ready add the dal in it and cook it till one boil, garnish it with fresh coriander leafs and its ready to serve.

It goes well with rice, chapati or nan and taste best when eaten warm. So enjoy the recipe and stay healthy.

Read More

Shahi Paneer

Shahi paneer is a North Indian curry made with tomato and cashew nut gravy. It is very rich in texture and one can find it in every menu list of a restaurant. It uses Paneer (cottage cheese) and tomato gravy laced with rich spices. But what can be more tempting if it is prepared at home to surprise everyone. It takes about 15-20 minutes to cook. So if one have the ingredients at home then giving a second thought is just waste of time.

Shahi Paneer

Ingredients used are:-

1. Paneer (200gms)
2. Tomatoes (3 for puree)
3. Onion (1 in form of paste)
4. Ginger-garlic paste (1tsp)
5. Cashew nuts (8-10 powdered)
6. Green chillies (1-2 chopped)
7. Cumin seeds (1tsp)
8. Bay leaf (1/2 leaf)
9. Yogurt/ dahi (1 cup)
10. Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp
11. Salt to taste
12. Sugar (1tsp)
13. Oil or ghee (1tsp)
14. Cream to garnish (1tsp)
15. Coriander leaf to garnish

Step by step process to cook shahi paneer:-

First of all take oil in a pan/kadhai and heat it, after it is hot add cumin seeds and bay leaf. let the seeds and bay leaf splitter.

After this add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and also onion paste. Saute it till the paste turns golden brown.

Then blend the tomatoes and make a puree out of it and in next step add the tomato puree as shown.

Once the tomato puree starts leaving the sides of kadhai it is an indication that it has been cooked properly. Now its the time to add cashew nut powder. One can soak the cashew in water and make a paste out of it or can add it in powdered form and then add little water as per requirement.

Then yogurt/ dahi is added and it is stirred continuously to ensure it binds well with the rest of ingredients. Adding yogurt gives a tangy taste to the curry. 

After this sugar is added and also some cashew nuts and raisins are added to give it an extra flavour. Though this step is entirely optional and one can even skip it as per the taste.

Then paneer which is cut in form of cubes is added, at this stage one can turn of the stove or lower the flame to slow. Mostly uncooked paneer is used in this recipe but if one likes to fry the paneer dices one can go ahead with that. 

Lastly garam masala powder is added and stirred in to leave the aroma of all the spices which are blended.

Before serving give a final touch with cream and coriander leaf. This curry is enjoyed with most of the Indian breads like Naan, Parathas, tandoori roti and also goes well with rice or pulao.

SHAHI PANEER

Read More