Rich’s paneer korma

It was difficult to get our daughter to eat at daycare.  She was raised on Indian food, and when we transitioned from home to daycare after the pandemic, she didn’t want to eat the foods she didn’t recognize.  We thought about what we could send, and we decided on one of her favorites, Paneer Butter Masala.  However, most of the packets, frozen meals, or what you get at restaurants contain nuts, which is prohibited at daycare.  So, my husband experimented and came up with this dish which is rich, buttery, creamy, and delicious.  Plus, it is 100% nut free.  

Ingredients:

5 Large Roma Tomatoes – pureed

2.5 Tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste 

1Tbs Cumin Power 

1Tbs Coriander Powder 

1 Tbs Kashmiri Chilli Powder 

2 tsp garam masala 

2 Tbs butter  

1 Tbs ghee 

1 medium onion- 1 finely chopped 

1 Tbsp Oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp Dried Methi (Fenugreek Leaves)

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro 

1 14 ounce package of Paneer (Cubed) 

1 Pint of heavy whipping cream  

This recipe was made for a child.  If you wish to add some spice, you can include 1 – 2 green chilli’s ( sauté it ) 

1. Begin by washing the tomatoes, quartering them, and pureeing them in a blender.  Set aside.

2. Chop the paneer into small to medium size cubes and set aside.  

3.Heat a large pot on medium heat and add oil and butter.  Once the butter melts, add the onion.  

4. Cook the onion until it starts to turn transparent.  Add all the spices and sauté well.  Cook for about one minute.  Spices always need to be sautéed to prevent a raw tasting / bitter curry. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for another minute.

5. Add pureed tomatoes.  Cook until the raw smell goes away.  The tomatoes will go from a pinkish color to a deep red color. Add salt. 

6. Add heavy whipping cream and stir. Turn heat to low, add ghee and paneer.  Cover and cook for about five minutes.  

7. Add dried Methi leaves and cook for a few more minutes. 

8. Add Cilantro and serve on rice or with Naan or Chapati

Spinach paneer muffins

We wanted to make a higher fiber breakfast with spinach for baby and we found this recipe and modified it substituting chicken with paneer and adding a few more things. It was a hit ! Baby ate the muffins and loved the paneer in it. Eventhough we made this for baby , we loved these muffins too!! 

Ingredients:

Frozen spinach ( thawed)- 5 oz ( get an 8 oz package)

Can of creamed corn- 1

Eggs- 5

Butter (melted) - 1/2 cup

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Oatmeal ( grind into a powder) - 1 cup

Thawed paneer cubes - 1 package ( 8 oz)- cut into small pieces 

Small onion - 1/2-  cut into small pieces - Sautéed until translucent 

Shredded cheddar cheese - 2 cups

Ground flax - 3 tbsp

Ground Chia seeds- 2 tbsp

Baking powder - 1.5 tsp

Salt- 1 tsp

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. Grease the muffin pans ( we used a silicone pan) and set aside 

3. In a large bowl add 1/4 can of the creamed corn, butter, eggs, paneer, sautéed onions, and 1.5 cups of shredded cheese and mix

4. Place the rest of the corn and thawed spinach in a blender and blend until it is a smooth mixture 

5. In another large bowl combine the dry ingredients: the flour, oatmeal powder, baking powder, flax, chia  and salt

6. Now take the wet ingredient from steps 4 and 5 and mix it in with the dry ingredients to make a smooth mixture 

7. Fill the muffin pan with the mixture and top it with some shredded cheddar cheese.

8. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 F ( bake until golden brown on top)

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Palak paneer

Since the COVID pandemic started we haven’t been dining at restaurants and we have been cooking a lot more at home. I am going to start sharing my recipes here . I cook by taste and I tend to add things until they taste right ! This is how I was taught how to cook. I am going to try to add objective measurements and directions for people who follow this blog. 

Palak paneer is a spinach dish with cubes of paneer ( Indian cheese) . 

Ingredients

Frozen (well thawed) or fresh spinach ( cooked ) - 2 cups

Paneer ( cubes) - 2 cups - can get the pre cubed and fried frozen kind or you can get a block of paneer and then cube and fry them until golden brown in butter 

Cumin powder - 2 tsp 

Garam masala powder - 2 tsp 

Onion - 1 large chopped into small cubes

Tomato - 1 large chopped into cubes 

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp 

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp 

Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

1 green chili - de seeded and chopped ( if you want it spicy you can use two chilies with the seeds )

Clove - 2 crushed 

Cream - 1/4 cup 

Salt - 1 tsp or to taste 

Butter or ghee- 2 to 3 tbsp for frying the paneer 

Oil- 2 to 3 tbsp 

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Take the spinach and purée it well in the blender and set aside 

If you have fresh paneer make it into medium sized cubes and fry it in the butter / ghee until golden brown and crispy on all sides and set aside 

Now in the pan put the oil and sauté onions until translucent and golden brown. 

Add ginger garlic paste and green chili and sauté it in with the onions. 

Add cumin powder, cloves, garam masala , chili powder, turmeric powder , salt and sauté in the oil. 

It is very important in Indian cooking to sauté the spices so it doesn't taste raw ( whcih is what most American restaurants do with curry powder- which gives it a raw bitter taste)

Once sautéed add the tomatoes and ensure they are cooked as well.

Add in the spinach purée and water (as needed to get the desired consistency of a gravy) and mix all the ingredients and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes ( spinach purée will have bubbles when it is hot). Make sure you stir once in a while to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning 

Add in the heavy cream and stir it in 

Now add in the paneer cubes and let cook for about 5 minutes on low heat. 

Now we are all done and ready to serve this with chapathi ( indian flat bread) or basmati rice. I have even used this as a filling this to make a palak paneer roll!

Indian Sloppy Joe's

 I use vegetable kurma (vegetable kurma)to make these tasty sandwiches!

Ingredients:

White bread

Mint chutney

Tamarind sauce / ketchup

Vegetable kurma

Ghee/butter

White cheese ( pepper jack/Muenster/havarti)

1. Take two pieces of white bread and spread ghee/ butter on it on the outside.
   
   
   
2. Next spread mint chutney/mint powder and tamarind sauce/ketchup on the inner side of the bread
   
   
   
3. Place cheese on the inside of the bread
   
   
   
4. Place vegetable kurma on top of the cheese
   
   
   
5. Toast the bread on pan until the cheese melts and the outside is golden brown!
   
   
   
   
   
   

This is a tasty way to use the vegetable kurma !