A Hint of Spice

Georges Blanc once said "Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.”
This is a saying very close to my heart and the people who are close to me,know that I would cook on   any given day but good things come out only when my heart is in it.Now many of you must be thinking what does it have to do with Malai Kofta? Well the first time I tried making malai kofta was my Husband's first birthday after marriage.I did not have a first hand experience till then,had not seen any one make it and I think to be honest I tried to accomplish too much that day.Soo the final result was OK,my husband was impressed but I was not happy.It is only after 6 years did I have the heart to make it again.The special occasion was our anniversary.This time I am really impressed(If I can say so myself).

2 heaped tbsp each of crumbled paneer,khoya and thick malai(You can substitute this with baked ricotta cheese and heavy cream)
4-5 cashew nuts finely chopped
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp warm milk(for soaking the saffron)
Few strands of Saffron(optional)
Salt To Taste
3 tbsp cooking oil/ghee(clarified butter)
Oil for frying the koftas
For The Gravy
Gravy Masala
1 tblsp cashews (soaked in warm water overnight)
2 tblsp plain yogurt


Directions
1.Boil the potatoes till tender.
2.Peel and mash the potatoes and add salt according to taste.
3.Keep aside.
4.Mix the crumbled paneer,ricotta cheese and heavy cream,cardamom powder,cashews,salt(to taste),saffron threads (mixed with milk).
5.Make rounds of the potato dough and place a little of the prepared mixture in the center of each round.
6.Seal the edges and shape into stuffed rounds. Deep fry each kofta till golden brown. Drain and keep aside.
7.Make the masala for the gravy as mentioned in the link above.
8.Make a paste of cashew(which has been soaked overnight,if you are all out of cashews you can use almonds)
9.Once you add the cashew paste to the gravy let it cook for few minutes,remembering to stir the gravy so that the cashew paste does not stick to the bottom.
10.The gravy will begin to change its color.Then add the plain yogurt.In this recipe I am using plain yogurt instead of cream.If you want you can use heavy whipping cream or even fat free sour cream.
11.If the gravy is too thick add water and let the gravy boil.
12.Put the kofta's in the hot gravy when you are ready to serve.
13.Garnish with finely cut cilantro or kasuri methi and serve with Naan or Hot Chapati
'njoy!!!
This goes to Reeni from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice for her Event Side Dish Showdown.Also sharing it with Divya from Dil Se for her event Show me Your Curry

Kofta is a Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian dish made by grinding meat, mixing it with spices, and forming it into balls or cylinders for cooking. There are hundreds of variations on this dish ranging from spicy grilled lamb koftas to vegetable koftas served with naan in India.India being a country with a large vegetarian population there is a big variety of vegetables which can be used to make kofta's .For example....Lauki(also known as Dudhi in some regions),Corn,Cauliflower,Cabbage,Peas,Potatoes and many more.
    I stumbled upon this dish by accident.I have being making vegetable manchurian for quite some time now,the difference in Vegetable Manchurian and Cabbage Kofta is the binding material used and the spices added to the kofta.I normally make Dudhi Kofta and for special occasions Malai Kofta,but once it so happened that I had guests coming over for dinner...since No Dudhi at home so no kofta,Malai Kofta takes time and more importantly for me the mood to make it,so I thought why not make koftas out of cabbage and carrot.This experiment I can say was successful.

Ingredients
For the Koftas:-
2 cup grated Cabbage
1 cup grated Carrot
3 tblsp Besan(Gram flour) (keep some extra in hand,in case you need it)
2 chopped Green Chilli
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder(acc to taste)
1-2 tsp Saunf
1-2 tsp Dhaniya Seeds
1 tsp Garam Masala
Oil to deep fry the Koftas

For The Curry:-
2 tblsp Unsalted Cashew (or Almonds)
2 Tblsp Plain Yogurt
Gravy Masala

Directions
1.Grate the cabbage and carrots seperately and remove as much water as possible from the grated vegetables by squeezing them as hard as possible.
2.Mix the grated vegetables,Salt,green chilli,Red chilli powder,Garam Masala Powder,Saunf and Dhaniya seeds along with the besan.
3.Try forming uniform consistent size balls(kofta's).If the kofta balls don't hold together,add besan 1-2 tsps at a time and please remember do not add any water.Let the besam get the moisture from the grated vegetables.
4.Meanwhile heat oil in a deep pan for frying.Test to see if its hot enough,by putting a very small amount(a pinch ) of kofta masala in oil.If it comes up,the oil is hot enough for frying.
5.Fry the kofta's few at a time,ensuring that they are not crowded in the oil and also keeping the burner setting on medium.If the burner is set on high,it means the kofta's will fry and get the golden color,but they will still have the raw taste inside.
6.Fry the kofta's till they turn golden brown in color.Drain them on a platter lined with paper towel.
7.These kofta's can also be kept in ziploc bags in freezer for a month .(Hint,hint....for those unexpected guests or for the days you are tired.)

For the Gravy:-
1.Soak the almonds or cashews in water overnight.If you don't have that much time soak them in warm water and then put them in microwave(with the water they are soaked in) for 2-3 mins.
2.Grind the Almonds(or cashews) with as little water as possible to a paste like consistency.
3.Make the onion tomato paste following the recipe .When the Onion tomato masala is ready add the Almond paste and saute the masala for a few more minutes.Then add the plain yogurt and again let it saute for 2 more minutes.
4.Finally add little water,to make the masala into a gravy texture and let it boil.Then add the fried Koftas and put the Kofta Masla on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
5.Garnish with finely cut coriander.
6.Serve with Naan,Paratha,Roti or Rice.
'njoy!!!

Tips:-
1.You can totally avoid adding the almond or cashew paste to the onion tomato masala.Although I must say if you are serving this dish to guests,adding the almonds gives it a creamier texture and changes the color as well.
Sending this to Divya from Dil Se for her Event Show me Your Curry.

               Pakora are small fritters made by dipping various ingredients in spicy chickpea batter(besan batter) and deep frying them.Pakora are widely eaten throughout India and parts of Southeast Asia, where they are a very popular snack and street food, and they are a common offering in Indian restaurants outside of the Asian subcontinent. Pakora are also very easy to make at home, for cooks who want to put a quick Indian appetizer together.

There can be many types of Pakoras Eggplant,Onions,Potatoes,Cauliflower,Corn,Lentils(Daals),Chillies,Chicken,Egg,Spinach and Finally Paneer Pakoda.(Paneer is bland Indian cottage cheese.).Once deep fried, the pakora are eaten hot, and they can be eaten straight or dipped in a variety of dipping sauces, from creamy cucumber raita to spicy mint and cilantro sauce.These Pakoras are a treat on a rainy,cold day and so easy and quick to make.

INGREDIENTS
7 oz Paneer
1 cup Gram flour(Besan)
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Roasted cumin powder(Jeera Powder)
1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
Coriander leaves, chopped
Salt
Vegetable oil(For Deep Frying)

DIRECTIONS
1.Put the oil fro deep frying in a Pan.
2.Mix Gram Flour,Red Chilli Powder,Roasted Cumin Powder,Garam Masala Powder,Chopped Coriander Leaves and Salt.
3.Add water in samll quantities to the above mix to make a thick and smooth batter.
4.Cut paneer into medium size thick square shape pieces.
5.Dip the Paneer pieces in batter and let it coat the Paneer & then Deep fry the Paneer Pieces(few pieces at a time) on medium heat till golden brown.
6.Drain the fried pieces on a plate covered with Paper towel.
7.Enjoy them hot with Coriander Chutney,Mint Chutney or Tomato Ketchup.Don't forget a hot cup of Tea.
'njoy!!!!

Tips
1.You can also use Extra firm Tofu ,instead of Paneer.Just remember to drain the tofu in the whey it is stored and pat it dry using Paper Towel.
2.To check if the oil is ready for frying, put a drop of batter in it. The batter should come up, but not change color right away.

3.Make sure the temperature of oil is suitable for frying. If it's too hot the crispiness is lost and if it's not hot enough then the pakoras will be very greasy.

1.FRY-When adding sauce or a cornstarch and water mixture to a dish, push the ingredients up to the side of the wok, forming a well in the middle. Then add the sauce in the middle and stir to thicken.
2.STIR-FRY IT RIGHT -For stir-frying, cut the ingredients in uniform-sized pieces so that they all cook at the same rate. A safe rule is to cut everything into bite-sized pieces. Cut the vegetables on a diagonal to maximize exposure to the heat.
3.UNSTICK FRIED FOOD-To ensure that your fried food does not stick to the pan, do not preheat the pan and oil before adding the food. Start with a cool pan and your bread mixture will stick to the meat or chicken.
4.FRY BACON -Sprinkle a little amount of salt in the frying pan before adding bacon to fry. That way it will not splatter all over.
5.PURIS -You can roll puris and place them between a wet muslin cloth at least an hour ahead. Fry them just before serving.
6.RIGHT TO DEEP FRY -To check if the oil is at the right temperature to deep-fry, drop a bread cube into the oil, if you see bubbles around the cube, the temperature is too low. If it browns, the temperature is just right. On the other hand, if the bread burns, then your oil is way too hot!
7.To make poori's consume less oil, put them in the fridge for a while before frying.

My experiments with food and cooking started after seeing that my DH always came back hungry when we were eating out.He is always concerned about what are we eating,its quality and the amount of fat in it.So I started experimenting and trying recipes at home.
I tasted this Kachori at my friends place .As we decided to drop in suddenly to surprise them she had to delve into her freezer.She came out with Matar Kachori.I loved it!!!!So I decided to try it at home .Kept on experimenting and finally came up with this.Hope you like it.

Ingredients
For Cover
All Purpose Flour- 1 cup
Salt- Acc to taste
Oil- 1 table spoon
Frozen Peas- 1 cup.
Oil- 1 tablespoon (for making Filling)
Hing/asafoetida- 1 pinch
Jeera/cumin seeds- ¼ tsp
Coriandar powder - ½ tsp
Red Chilli - 1 tsp (you can reduce it according to your taste)
Garam masala- 1/4 tsp
Amachoor powder - ¼ tsp
Green chilli - 2-3 ( finely cut )
Ginger - 1 inch long piece ( Finely Grated )
Salt - Acc to taste
Oil- For frying

Method

Filling
1.Thaw the frozen peas and blanch them in hot water.Let it cool for few minutes and then make a paste of the peas in the blender.
2.In a heavy bottomed pan put oil and let it heat.Add hing,jeera,saunf,Green Chilli,Ginger and let it splutter.
3.Add dhaniya powder and then add the peas.
4.Add red chilli,Garam Masala,Amchoor Powder, and salt.Let it cook for 5-6 minutes. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan .
5.Take small flour balls and roll it to 2 cm diameter.
6.Put a small amount of filling and seal the open edge to form small balls.
7.Fry the kachoris and let it fry till it turns golden brown.
8.Sprinkle Chat powder on top of kachori and serve with tamarind Chutney,Green Chutney or simply Tomato sauce.