Paneer Sandwiches / Cottage Cheese Toasties

                                                                                 

                                                                     


Whether you are looking for a meal on the go, a quick snack or something to eat when you are too lazy to make anything else, sandwiches fit the bill! The vast variety of sandwiches ensure that you can choose whatever you are in the mood for. It can be as elaborate or as simple as your heart desires.

The paneer ( cottage cheese ) filling I made for these sandwiches can be put together in minutes and is light and nutritious apart from being delicious! The veggies are cooked very lightly to retain their crunchiness and combined with soft and creamy crumbled paneer.

This sandwich, toasted on a hot flat pan is handy for those students or young professionals who do not have an electric sandwich toaster. I like making sandwiches this way once in a while. Makes for a nice change. Try it!!

Ingredients: 

1 cup paneer ( cottage cheese) crumbled
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 capsicum / bell pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp red chilly flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp herbs ( optional)
6 slices of bread
Butter as required
1 tbsp oil

Method:  Finely chop onion and tomato. Deseed and chop capsicum also.  Crumble the paneer.
                                                                       
                                                                       

In a heavy bottom or non stick pan heat oil and add cumin seeds. When they begin to splutter add the onions. Lightly saute the onions and then add tomatoes. Saute for a minute. Add paneer and capsicum. Add the seasonings... chilly flakes, salt, pepper and dry herbs ( if using). Mix well and close.

Butter a slice of bread and place the paneer filling on top. Cover with another buttered slice. Heat a tawa  (skillet / flat pan) and grease it.  Place sandwich on it and toast  till brown. Flip to the other side and toast it too. Remove on a plate and cut it diagonally across into two. Serve hot.

Do not over cook onions, tomatoes or capsicum. They should be slightly crunchy and not mushy. Once you add paneer, do not cook for long or paneer will harden. Just make sure there is no liquid left as that will make sandwich soggy. I used oregano but you can choose whichever herb you like or mixed herbs.

Dhania Murg / Cilantro Chicken

                                                               
      

Back in my early twenties I remember arrogantly thinking I had cooking all figured out!  Now, after all these years and all that I have learned along the way I feel I actually know so little!! The culinary journey can be so humbling...there is always so much more to experience, to explore.

As the name suggests, this dish derives it's name from dhania ( fresh coriander leaves / cilantro). We normally use it a lot for garnishing. Here, however it is the prime ingredient as the chicken is gently cooked in it. The aroma is unbelievable! So intense and mouth watering!

Ingredients: 

500 gms chicken
2 onions, sliced and fried crisp
1 cup yoghurt
1 cup dhania (fresh coriander leaves / cilantro) finely chopped
1/2 tbsp garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 tbsp green chilly paste or finely chopped
Salt as per taste
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
1 tsp cumin pwd
1 tsp garam masala pwd ( whole spices pwd)
1 tsp black pepper pwd
4 tbsp oil

Method:   Slice onions and fry till brown and crisp. Keep aside. Grate or finely chop ginger and garlic. Make a paste or finely chop green chilly. Wash well and chop dhania.

In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and put in the chicken pieces. Add ginger, garlic, salt, turmeric powder and saute on medium heat till chicken changes colour.  In the bowl containing yoghurt add garam masala pwd, cumin pwd and green chilly paste. Crush the crisply fried onions with your fingers and also add to yoghurt. Add the yoghurt mixture to the chicken and keep stirring on low heat till oil separates.  Add dhania  and crushed black pepper.Saute. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook till chicken is tender. At this stage if you like you can transfer to a pressure cooker and cook till done.

This dish does not have much gravy so do not add more water.  The flavour comes from coriander so be sure to add a generous amount. If you want you can avoid green chilly paste altogether or add 1/4 tsp red chilly powder instead. 

Sabut Moong Dal Tanzania Style / Tanzanian Style Lentils

                                                                         

So, finally  I am sharing a Tanzanian recipe!! Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, has been home to us for the last few years and it had been on my mind for some time to post some local recipes.  This lentils recipe, which I learned recently,  seems a good one to start with.  Lentils are an integral part of our diet in India, and world wide too, awareness is spreading on the importance of eating lentils, so that even those who did not eat it before are now taking to it in a big way. I hope this recipe will appeal as much to everyone as it did to me!!

Called " choroko" in Swahili,  sabut moong ( green gram / green lentils) is hugely popular in Tanzania.  In this recipe the use of coconut gives the dish a lovely creamy texture.  I was intrigued by the addition of carrot and capsicum.... gives the lentils a unique flavour!   I think, from now on, whenever I make sabut moong it is going to be this Tanzanian style recipe!

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup sabut moong dal ( choroko / green gram whole/ green lentils )
1 onion
1 tomato
1 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped green capsicum
1 tbsp finely chopped carrot
2 tbsp grated fresh coconut
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

Method:   Soak the dal for at least 6 hours in plenty of water.  Wash and put to boil with 2 cups water and cook till dal is tender. Alternately, you can pressure cook the dal. Chop the onions, tomato, capsicum and carrot. Grate ginger and garlic. Blend coconut with a little water in the blender to a smooth paste.

In  a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add cumin seeds. When it begins to splutter add onion. Saute for a minute till it softens. Add ginger and garlic. Stir.  Then add carrot, capsicum and tomato. Also add red chilly powder and turmeric powder.  Once tomato has softened slightly, add the boiled dal. Let it cook for a minute or two. Add the coconut paste. Let it simmer, without covering, for a few minutes till the coconut blends into the dal. Add salt and mix well. Cook for a few more minutes and close.

When you add coconut paste be sure to keep stirring for a while and do not cover otherwise the coconut paste may curdle. Add salt later, when coconut is well cooked. 

Methi French Beans / French Beans with Fenugreek Leaves

                                                                               

Simple vegetable recipes make up the backbone of our daily meals.  So I am always looking for different ways to make the regular vegetables we eat. One vegetable that I prepare a lot is French Beans. It is available round the year here in Dar es Salaam and the quality also is so very good that I can't resist buying it often.

French beans tastes great cooked alone or in combination with other vegetables. I have previously posted recipes of french beans cooked with coconut ( South Indian style), french beans salad and several recipes in which french beans form part of assorted vegetables.  In this recipe french beans is teamed with methi ( fenugreek leaves). The  amazing flavour of methi  takes this dish to a new level altogether.

My kids have never been too fond of french beans but I am hoping they will try out this recipe as they like fenugreek leaves.  Being so far away I can't force them to eat anything but sure can try to tempt them with intriguing recipes, can't I?

Ingredients: 

250 gms french beans
1 cup methi ( fenugreek leaves)
2 potatoes
2 dry red chillies whole
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter ( optional)

Method:   Peel and cut potatoes in cubes. Wash methi well and finely chop. String french beans and cut in 1/2 inch pieces. Grate or finely chop garlic.

In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and fry the potato cubes till light golden. Keep aside. Now add garlic to the oil. When garlic starts changing colour add cumin seeds. Add french beans, salt, turmeric powder and whole red chillies.  Lower flame, cover and cook till french beans soften.( If needed sprinkle a tbsp of water to aid the cooking process).  Add the potato cubes and methi. Saute for a couple of minutes till the water from the methi dries out.  Add butter and close.  

Bharwa Karela / Stuffed Bitter Gourd

                                                                               

If there was one vegetable I hated with a vengeance when I was a kid it was karela! I couldn't imagine what anyone found to like in this most bitter of vegetables. I used to gaze in astonishment at my dad who ate it with relish. Gradually, after marriage, I learnt how to prepare it as I found out that my husband too enjoyed it. From cooking to eating a little portion each time...slowly I developed a taste for karela.... and now I have also joined the ranks of karela fans!! Who would have thought!!

This is my mother in law's recipe which I am sharing here. She uses the spices used in pickles along with a generous amount of garlic to make the filling for this stuffed karela recipe. To allay the bitterness the karela is sprinkled with salt before cooking and a little jaggery is added to the filling.

Ingredients: 

10 small karela ( bitter gourd)
1 small onion
1 tbsp garlic
1 or 2 whole dry red chillies
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/4 tsp  methi dana (fenugreek seeds)
1/4 tsp  kalonji (nigella seeds)
1/2 tsp ajwain ( carom seeds)
1 tsp saunf ( fennel seeds)
Salt to taste
1 tsp gur ( jaggery)
1 tsp amchur ( dry mango powder)
2 tbsp oil

Method:    Scrape off the skin of the karela and make a slit lengthwise.  Sprinkle salt and leave aside for sometime. In a pan put water to boil and add the karela. Remove from flame when karela is slightly tender but still firm. Drain water and keep aside. Meanwhile in a pan dry roast  red chillies, coriander seeds, methi, kalonji, ajwain and saunf. Do not let the spices darken. The idea is to heat slightly so the aroma is enhanced while also making it easier to grind.  Coarsely grind the roasted ingredients and then add  onion, garlic and grind again. To this mixture add salt, gur and dry mango powder. Mix well. Using a spoon pack the prepared filling into each karela.  
                                                                         
                                                                           

         


In a heavy bottom pan heat oil. Add the stuffed karela. Fry on high flame for 2 minutes and then lower flame and cover. Cook till karela is lightly roasted. As the karela is already boiled, it should not take too long.  Do not overdo the browning or the karela will become hard. Serve hot or at room temperature.
                                                                               

Mint Corn Rice

                                                                           

There is nothing quite so  comforting as mint  in the summer months!  Health benefits apart, and there is a long list of them, I simply love it's wonderfully refreshing flavour.  While mint leaves are most commonly used in chutneys, raita ( spiced yoghurt) and juices in India,  I also like how well it goes with rice.

Mint Corn Rice is an easy recipe in which mint leaves are ground into a paste together with a few other ingredients and then cooked with rice and corn. The highlight of this recipe is the amazing aroma of mint. Too good!! This one pot meal  needs nothing else with it except maybe a raita.

With summer  peaking in Dar es Salaam what one craves for are recipes that require minimal time in the kitchen and which are light and soothing to the palate.  This was just perfect!

Ingredients: 

1 cup rice
1 cup corn
1 onion
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
1 bay leaf
2 green cardamom
2-3 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 black peppercorn
1 tbsp lemon juice

To Grind
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1 tbsp mint leaves
1 tbsp fresh grated coconut
1/2 inch ginger
2 green chillies ( optional)
3 cloves garlic

Method:    Slice onion. Place coriander leaves, mint leaves, coconut, ginger, garlic and green chillies in a blender and grind till smooth.

In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add whole spices...bay leaf, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds and peppercorn. After they crackle add onion and stir till it turns slightly golden.  Add the ground mixture and red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Cook for a couple of minutes till the water in the mixture starts drying out.  Add rice,salt and 2 cups of water. Cover and cook till rice is almost done and then add the corn. Uncover and add lemon juice and garnish with mint leaves before serving.

At the stage where you add rice and water, you can transfer to pressure cooker if you like ( just one whistle should be enough).  In that case you can add corn too at the same time.