'Dive in Five' Homemade Pizza

Yippieeeee Yuppieeee Happieeeeee..... all emotions shrilling with exaltation as I bake my First Pizza with the base as well. In India, I guess 60% people who are 'Pizza-buffs' try baking them at home using the bakery-baked Pizza bases. And how can I forget the way we used to freak upon trying all variations and hit-or-miss toppings on that pancake sized chhotu sa Pizza base. Believe it or not, but the best Pizza to me would always be the Sukhadia Circle wala 'Desi Pizza' with no mozarella cheese, rather processed cheese grated on the top with desi tomato gravy to line. Those days were different; the gust of wind waving the hair and dabbing the cheeks as we rode on Kinetic Honda, staring at all dolled up people taking over our bike, and that free-bird feel that filled the blood with Endorphin, the happy hormone. I still remember the posture in which I would spread my arms like feathers, sitting at the back, next to my darling sis, and feeling those fresh vibes and energy passing through during the ride (though this was occasional; especially done when there was no one on the road to watch such freaks!! :P)
Huuuh, so now it's time to come back to the real world, out of my fantasies and dreams, but yeah, I definitely will do that again with my daughter at least once after she starts riding. :)
Now this Pizza thing actually took my brain to all directions, from creativity to copying, and from experiments to experience. I almost used everything when I made this first Pizza of mine. I copied the basic ingredients and procedures from various sites, jeweled it with some creativity, experimented with multi-grain flour in the next go, and used the earlier experiences on baking to see that the experiment doesn't fail, and when you are this organized and focused, nothing in this world can stop you from reaching the goal. The outcome was flabbergasting! :)
As always, my brain cells were struggling hard to find a good name for the recipe, and finally I settled on this 'Dive in Five' Homemade Pizza because the topping had five major ingredients to fill it with taste and glamor. 

'DIVE IN FIVE' HOME-MADE PIZZA:

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Dough Rising Time: 1 hour
Baking Time: 15-20 minutes
Makes 2 Pan Pizzas

Ingredients:
 For the Base:
1. Maida/APF: 3 cups
2. Dry/Instant Yeast: 1 and 1/2 tsp
3. Warm Water: 1 cup
4. Sugar: 1 tbs
5. Salt: 1 tsp
6. Olive Oil: 2 tbs + for greasing, smearing and dabbing
7. Cling Film for wrapping

For The Tomato Gravy:
1. Ripe tomatoes: 2 (blanched and pureed)
2. Onion: 1 (finely chopped)
3. Garlic Pods: 5 (medium sized, finely chopped)
4. Olive Oil: 2 tbs
5. Salt: 1 tsp or as per taste
6. Black Ground Pepper: 1 tsp
7. Tomato Ketchup: 2 tbs
8. Oregano: 1 tsp

For the Topping: 
1. Mozzarella/ Pizza Cheese: 200 gms
2.  Tomato: 1
3. Onion: 1
4. Olives: 8
5. Capsicum: 1/2
6. Paneer: 50 gms
7. Oregano
8. Chilli Flakes (optional)



Method:
For the base:

1. Take 1/4 cup warm water (the bowl/cup should be warm as well) and add sugar to it.
2. Now sprinkle the dry yeast over it and let it foam, say for about 10 minutes.
3. On the other hand, sieve the flour, add salt and oil to it and mix.
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add warm dissolved yeast to it.
5. Start kneading and prepare a soft dough with it using the remaining warm water. 
6. The consistency should match that of the dough used for poori/chapathi.
7. Remember, the dough will loosen and soften after fermentation, so don't keep it very soft. 
8. Dab your hands with some oil and keep kneading till it goes smooth. Smear the dough with a little oil.
9. Now place this dough in a greased bowl and cover with a cling film.
10. Keep this bowl in a warm place (either in sunlight, or in an oven with lights on, or in a bigger bowl of warm water)
11. The dough will rise to double in an hour. If not, check with the temperature again and keep for some more time.
12. Now take the dough and punch it down.
13. Divide the dough in two equal parts and keep the other part covered while working with one.
14. Take one part of the dough, make a ball and roll it with a rolling pin. Keep the size of the circle slightly bigger than the size of the base of the pizza pan.
15. If you want, you can stretch the dough using your palms and fingers, too, and thus avoid rolling with a pin.
16. Now place this rolled dough in the base of the pan and stretch with your hands on all sides to fit in it.
17. The dough should be stretched up high till the upper rim of the pan.
18. Dab the base with your fingers so that it doesn't puff on baking.

For the Gravy:

1. Blanch the tomatoes, peel off and puree them.
2. Take oil in a pan and heat it.
3. Add chopped onions and garlic to it and saute till they turn translucent.
4. Now add the tomato puree followed by the salt, pepper.
5. Cook for 5 minutes and then add tomato ketchup and oregano.
6. The gravy is ready to use. Make this during the dough-rising time.

For the Topping:

1. Cut onion, tomato and capsicum in medium sized pieces.
2. Cube the paneer and take a boil for them to soften.
3. Slice the olives into rings.
4. Divide the cheese cube into two for the two pizzas.

Assembling the Pizza:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 230 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.
2. Now take the pan with the dough sitting in it.
3. Coat the base with half of the tomato gravy.
4. Now grate half a cube of the mozzarella cheese over the gravy and spread vegetables and olives over it.
5. Now grate the remaining cheese over the veggies and sprinkle some oregano and chilli flakes.
6. Transfer this pan to the pre-heated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes till the top browns.
7. Take it out and carefully lift the pizza out of the pan.
8. Cut it into pieces and serve oven-hot with some ketchup and chilli flakes.

Suggestions:

1. The rising of the dough is the most critical here. I hear many friends complaining that their dough didn't rise well and hence the whole experiment crashed.  My suggestion to them is to check with the yeast they are using first because it could be old or not good enough. Secondly, the temperature for rising matters a lot. If you keep the dough in normal temperature, it might not rise especially in winters or rain, so try keeping it either in an already warmed/heated oven for rising or in a warm bowl of water.
2. You can always play with the base of the pizza. The base could be made 'thin crust' if you keep the dough thin, and this can be made 'deep dish' if you pull the dough high till the upper rim of the pan. 
3. Also, you can make instant thin crust multi-grain pizza without fermentation, just by using more oil like how we keep for Samosa Dough. I tried this and it came out really well, and will post this sometime later for sure.
4. The gravy get vary as per your taste. I even tried with coriander chutney to smear on the base and it was yummilicious.
5. The toppings can go as creative as your mind goes. You could pop in some mushrooms, jalapeno, corn, red bell pepper or other veggies that you love to eat.
6. Do not overheat. As soon as the top browns a bit, take the pan out of the oven.
7. My pizza was baked in about 15 minutes. The oven timings may vary according to the type of oven you are using. 

The recipe flies off to:
My event: Cooking Made Easy With Cheese/Paneer

Bake Fest started by Vardhini guest hosted by Archana  

Garlic Braided Bread with Potato Cheese Capsicum Filling

 
Yippieeeeeee!!!

Ha ha, don't get thrilled, I've not won any medal nor I'm going for a vacation to Seychelles; it's just that I baked my first bread ever and it was really not bad. For more than a week, I had this enthusiasm running in my nerves to bake some home-made buns/burgers. I got a packet of dry yeast for that especially and just don't know what was stopping me to pop it up. Finally, the day arrived, because there was no wheat flour/aata left and I had no other option than to switch over to Maida/APF. I was in a full mood, all set to bake some buns and then was about to prepare some aloo bhaji to go with it, and then suddenly the milk I had kept for boiling otherwise got some chemical issues and wooop, it was no more in its form!! The curdled milk was giving me jitters because that was the last packet I had for my doll, but as it is said, 'Everything happens for a reason'. I never use any tetra packs or fresh packs of milk without taking a boil (a genuine habit, you see) and that perhaps saved me. Fortunately, the security guard came to my rescue buying 2 fresh packets for the little one and then I was excited rather to use this curdled milk in some form. I took a long boil to run over any bacterial deterioration and made sure it was not spoiled or sour smelling. When the mind gave the permission and the 'green signal' was released, I immediately caught hold of it, sieved it, and washed it well with cold water. Again it was caged in the sieve for around 20 minutes to let the excess water drain out. And now was the final question: Whether I make Paneer Pav Bhaji with this or something else? The dough was already sitting in the dish for rising and was almost done and fermented. And then a sudden thought flashed like lightening, directing me to think about a stuffed bread, and what else could I think of better than the 'Braided Bread'!!

Although I had doubts about how it would come up finally since this was my first attempt on breads, but believe me guys, it was worth all the efforts, in fact more than that. When hubby darling arrived from office, the breads were graciously welcoming him on the dining table and he was almost shocked to see that I made them. He said, now we can open a 'Bakery Joint' in Bangalore. (Ha ha, I know he's too sweet, and he always tries to keep my spirits high by saying all these lovely words)

Well, but they weren't that bad, too. I actually loved them, just loved them. They reminded me of the Footlongs we used to relish back in my hometown, and in fact these home-made braided ones had that extra crsip n crust in them which you miss out in footlongs/buns.

Now, here's the simple recipe to charm your hubby, kids, family and even guests.

GARLIC BRAIDED BREAD WITH POTATO CHEESE CAPSICUM FILLING

Preparation Time: 20 minutes (excluding the time taken for dough rising)

Baking Time: 15-25 minutes (depending on your oven)

Makes 2 breads

Ingredients:

For the Bread:

1. Maida/ All Purpose Flour: 1 cup

2. Yogurt/curd: 2 tbs

3. Baking Powder: 1/2 tsp

4. Salt: 1/2 tsp

5. Sugar: 1/2 tbs

6. Dry Yeast: 1/4 tbs

7. Milk: 1/3 cup for the dough + 2 tbs for brushing

8. Butter: 1 tbs

9. Garlic Powder: 1 tsp

For the Filling:

1. Large Potato: 1

2. Paneer/Cottage Cheese: 1/2 a cup

3. Capsicum: 1/4 cup (finely chopped) - roughly half of a capsicum

4. Onion: 1(finely chopped)

5. Tomato: 1 (finely chopped)

6. Green Chilli: 1 (finely chopped) - optional

7. Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp

8. Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp

9. Coriander Powder: 2 tsp

10. Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

11. Garam Masala: 1/4 tsp

12. Salt: 2 tsp or as per taste

13. Amchoor Powder: 1/2 tsp

14. Chopped cilantro/coriander leaves

15. Oil: 2 tbs

16. Cumin seeds/jeera: 1/4 tsp

17. Fennel seeds/saunf: 1/4 tsp

18. Mayonnaise/Cheese Slices: optional

Method:

1. Add the yeast and sugar to warm milk (1/3 cup) and let it stand for 10 minutes till it starts frothing.
2. Sieve the maida/all purpose flour, and add salt, baking powder, garlic powder to it.
3. Now add butter and yogurt to the flour and mix well. Make a well in the centre of the flour and slowly pour in the yeast milk mix. Keep on kneading and adding slowly till a sticky soft dough is formed. You might not need the complete milk even, so add small quantities and keep kneading. The dough will be as soft as the dough we make for naan.
4. Knead it well till it becomes pliable and soft. 
5. Now grease the outer dough with little oil to avoid drying and keep it covered in a warm place for about an hour or more (till it doubles up in size).
6. In the meanwhile, you can prepare the filling.
7. After one hour, when it's doubled, deflate it gently with your palms and make two equal sized balls with it. 
8. Take a ball and roll it into a cylindrical/oval shape.
9. Place the filling (you can also top the filling with some mayonnaise/cheese slices) on the central vertical line covering 3/4 of the length of it. 
10. Make long slanting slits/cuts on both the sides of the filling in a feather fashion. Make sure that the cuts on both the sides of the filling are the same.
11. Now close one end of the dough by pulling it within near the filling, and then start braiding the strips alternately on both sides like how we braid our hair, tucking in one end below the other and sealing it. Continue till you reach the end and twist the bottom part under the roll/bread.    
12. Cover these with a wet, clean cloth and keep covered for almost 30-40 minutes (better an hour) for rising.
13. Pre-heat the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes and keep the baking tray greased and ready. 
14. Now brush them with milk (and sesame seeds, if you wish) and place them on the baking tray.
15. Bake for 15-25 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius till the top turns light golden brown. The browner it goes, the crispier it becomes.
16. Take them out and let them cool for 5 minutes. Smear some butter over them and savour with some chutney or tomato ketchup.

 

 For the Filling:

1. Chop all the vegetables finely, including the peeled potatoes.
2. Either prepare paneer/cottage cheese at home or grate the store-bought paneer.
3. Now take oil in a pan and heat it.
4. Once hot, add cumin seeds followed by the fennel seeds. Then add in the chopped onions and fry till turn golden brown.
5. Throw in the chopped capsicum and cook for 2 minutes.
   
6. Add all the spices and give a quick stir.
7. Push in the chopped potatoes and salt and mix well. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on low-medium flame.
8. Now add in chopped tomatoes and let them cook for 3-4 minutes covered. make sure that the potatoes are cooked by now else continue for some more time. Also, there should be no gravy form and it needs to be dry/slightly moist. If you find it runny or loose, then cook uncovered for some time.
   
9. At last spoon in the grated cheese/paneer and cook covered for 4 minutes. 
10. Give the final flavors with cilantro/coriander leaves and let the mixture cool down.
11. Use as explained above and use the leftover with some chapati or naan. 

Suggestions:

1. If you are using instant yeast, use the same amount.
2. There's another way of making the dough in which all the ingredients are mixed together and dough is formed; no separate frothing of yeast in milk required. Although I prefer the original method.
3. If the dough is not rising because of the temperature (i.e. it's not warm), you can place the dish containing the dough over a vessel filled with warm water (and not dipping in the warm water). This will help providing the right temperature for rising.
4. The filling can vary according to your choice and availability of vegetables.
5. I made two breads, and one of them was also filled with some mayonnaise resting on the veg filling. The taste was amazing and you can use cheese slices in place of that, too. 
6. Baking timings vary according to different ovens, but this cannot be baked in a microwave oven without convection mode. 

 The recipe takes off to:
My event: Cooking Made Easy With Cheese/Paneer
Bake Fest by Vardhini hosted by Kalyani, I Love Baking by Radhika
  Midweek Fiesta and Hot and Spicy Treats at Food Corner,

Healthy Morsels- Pregnancy at Taste of Pearl City, 
Spotlight- Colorful Holi  initiated by Indrani and hosted by Chandrani,
I'm The Star by  Veg Food and Me, Color n Sweet - Holi Fest by Preeti,

EP Series: Herbs and Spices  by Erivum Puliyum, Holi Fest at Kalyani's space,

Comfort Food by Daily Cuppa, Sumee's Bon Vivant: Savory Items

Paneer Methi Malai

                 Believe it or not, I was very bad at making any gravy with Paneer, be it Kadai Paneer, Paneer Makkhanwala, Shahi Paneer, Matar Paneer or Palak Paneer; the taste was never what I dreamed of having and I never knew why. I always used to trouble all ' Paneer Recipe Maestros' for their recipes, their exact way of cooking, and what not, but I think God never wanted me to cook it, rather I was privileged to gulp the whole plate cooked by someone else. At times it was fine not to cook and just eat (Well, who doesn't want that! :P) but the other times I used to be so nervous of being a bad cook. This is not the story before my marriage because then I knew no cooking at all, so all recipes were alike and all all failures in cooking were alike, too. But after marriage, when the spirit of cooking was dancing on my head, I wanted to make everything, and that too with interest. I would not lie here, I became good at dessert handling quite soon but vegetables had always been my brittle line. I still struggle with some which are traditional and unique but the love and zeal to try till I go perfect keeps it all alive.

Since all Hindi movies must have a happy ending, so has to be with me. My story on Paneer had to find a happy end and see, I'm sharing this recipe with you guys so delightfully and with a 'cheese' ( don't think about cheddar or cottage cheese here, it's just about my smiling lips that say 'cheese' ). 

PANEER METHI MALAI:

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Health Meter:

Cottage cheese is a mild-tasting, high-protein cheese curd product. Made by curdling milk and draining most of the whey, or liquid, from the solid product, cottage cheese is essentially unprocessed or raw cheese.

 Since cottage cheese is low in fat and high in protein, it's the perfect food for anyone who is watching their weight. A little known fact about cottage cheese is that it's a favorite food for athletes and bodybuilders who aren't trying to lose weight. Cottage cheese is low in carbohydrates and full of healthy vitamins and minerals. A half cup serving contains about 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates, and 14 grams of protein.

Are You A Turophile?
A turophile (pronounced toor-uh-file) is one who loves cheese.

Fun Facts:

- Cottage cheese should not be left outside of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours.

- It takes 100 lbs of milk to make 15 pounds of cottage cheese.

- Cottage cheese is also known as pot cheese, farm cheese or farmer's cheese.

Ingredients:

1. Fresh Paneer (Cottage Cheese): 200 gms

2. Tomatoes : 3 (medium sized and ripe)

3. Onions: 2 (medium sized)

4. Garlic: 3-4 cloves or Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbs

5. Capsicum: 1 (small, finely chopped)

6. Fresh Cream/ Malai: 1/4 cup

7. Kasoori Methi: 2 tbs

8. Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp

9. Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp

10. Coriander Powder: 2 tsp

11. Cumin Powder: 1 tsp

12. Cumin seeds/ Jeera: 1/2 tsp

13. Garam masala: 1 and a 1/2 tsp ( I use MTR)

14. Kitchen King Masala: 3/4 tsp ( I use MDH)

15. Water

16. Oil: 3 tbs

17. Salt: As per taste

Method:

1. Wash the paneer/ cottage cheese well and cube it. Keep the size small and not too big. 
2. Take the onions and grind them into a paste.
3. Separately, puree the tomatoes and keep them aside. If you are using garlic cloves instead of paste, you could add them while pureeing tomatoes.
4. Take a wok/pan and heat oil in it. Splutter the cumin seeds followed by the addition of ground onion paste. Saute this well till the onion paste becomes golden brown and the onions are completely cooked, which means they have left the oil. ( Undercooked onions leave a sweet taste and a raw flavor)
5. Add chopped capsicum to it  and saute for 3 minutes.
6. Now add all the spices (just add 1 tsp garam masla and leave 1/2 tsp for the finishing flavor) and cook.
7. Throw in the tomato puree and cook till the oil separates. You'll feel the aroma lingering in the whole kitchen by now.
8. Sprinkle salt and kasoori methi into the gravy. Adjust the texture by addition of water.
9. Now add the soft paneer cubes to the gravy. ( I do not shallow fry the paneer cubes as that would make them slightly sticky). Cook covered for 3-5 minutes on sim/low flame. This will infuse the flavor into the cubes. Do not stir too often else the paneer cubes will break.
10. Shower the remaining garam masala and add the fresh cream at last. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
11. Serve the aromatic paneer with Tandoori Roti/ Naan/ Lacchha Paratha.

Suggestions:

1. The quality of paneer/cottage cheese holds the maximum importance for incorporating the real taste. If the paneer is not fresh/ old/ sour, it will spoil the entire gravy. Make sure you get fresh, non-sour-smelling paneer from the market. You could check the freshness by its smell and best by tasting it. 
2. If the tomatoes are very sour, reduce their quantity.
3. In place of Kasoori Methi, you could also add fresh fenugreek/ methi leaves. 
4. Never leave the onions undercooked in haste because they can win or lose you the entire game.

The recipe goes to:

My event: Cooking Made Easy With Cheese/Paneer

An Apple Cheese Affair ( Apple Paneer Mishrimava)

Africa and Cooking have at least something in common; they both bewilder you. Africa stuns you with its unrivaled beauty and then sometimes shocks you with the on-road high-crime-rate, and no less is Cooking which can win you medals unexpectedly and then pull you down sometime without any socks-on. But as it is said, there's no fun without adventures and there's no success without blunders, so Africa and Cooking, don't worry, I still love you both. :)

Now you must have estimated that something definitely must have went wrong in my kitchen that I was thought-provoked to write all this, right? Well, yeah, it did.

I think you all know by now that I have a sweet tooth along with my hubby and little angel, and know it or not, Ras Malai is my favorite sweet. So, here I was, ready with everything required to make it, along with the focused mind last weekend. I had curdled milk, the Cottage Cheese/ Paneer was hanging up in the sieve ready to be used, the 'Ras' was ready after I had reduced the milk to half, but but but, where was Sugar???

Oh Gosh! This was possibly one of the biggest blunders I made that while going for a sweet, the sweet sugar was not enough...hufffff.... and then I urgently called my hubby who was in the office and it was 8 in the evening so almost all stores were closed. My doll was sleeping so I had no option to run out and bring it, and wow, my hubby could not find it too while returning on Saturday eve, so now I am all set with my darling paneer, 'Ras' with the flavors added, but not much sugar. I had only that much of sugar which could either help me in steaming the paneer balls or preparing the 'Ras', so options were way too limited. I went a little mad at first because I could take my mind off Ras Malai and then knew that can't make it too, so the Cerebrum started calculating for the best available options, and no wonder it helped me finding a new recipe. Now this version was surely healthier than the previous one because I would be using less sugar, and then I would be adding apples to it.  It reminds me of the saying, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' but my poor husband just can't keep himself away from me even after having a dozen of apples...hehe..now that's the side-effect/disadvantage of getting married to a doctor, you see. ;)

Without much ado, here comes the recipe:

AN APPLE CHEESE AFFAIR (APPLE PANEER MISHRIMAVA)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4-6

Health Meter:

• One apple has 5 grams of fiber. They’re also fat, sodium and cholesterol free. 
• Don’t peel your apple! Two-thirds of the fiber and many of the antioxidants are found in the apple peel.

Did you know?

• Apples are a member of the rose family, along with pears, peaches, plums and cherries.
• Fresh apples float because 25% of their volume is air (thank goodness, or none of us would have ever experienced bobbing for apples!).

Ingredients:

1. Red Apple: 1 (peeled and grated)

2. Milk: 1 litre

3. Cottage Cheese/ Paneer: 1 cup (approximately prepared from 1 litre of milk)

4. Saffron strands: a few

5. MTR Badam Drink Mix: 3 tbs (optional)

6. Cardamom powder/ Elaichi: a pinch

7. Slivered almonds

8. Sugar: 6 tbs or as per taste 

Method:

1. Prepare fresh cottage cheese/ paneer at home by curdling milk with curd/lemon juice. This will be very soft so will give a better texture to the dessert.
2. Wash the paneer well before hanging to let out any tangy extract from lemon juice or curd.
3. Hang it in a muslin cloth or keep in a sieve for an hour to let the excess water run out. 
4. On the other hand, keep milk for boiling in a thick bottomed pan. Simmer it and keep stirring till it reduces to half.
5. Add MTR Badam Drink mix, saffron strands and cardamom powder and sugar to it.
6. Take the grated apple and add half a cup of milk to it. Boil/ Microwave this separately to make sure the whole milk does not get curdled because some apples are sour and can cause curdling. 
7. If the milk does not curdle on boiling/microwaving, add this to the flavored milk followed by the fresh crushed paneer and take a boil. 
8. If you see the milk curdling on adding apple, keep this separate.
9. Add paneer to the flavored milk then and take a boil/ microwave for 3 minutes. At last add the boiled/microwaved apples when the milk cools down. This will avoid curdling of the flavored milk.
10. Let it cool and then refrigerate for 2-4 hrs or overnight.
11. Garnish with almonds, saffron strands and enjoy the apply-cheesy flavor.

Suggestions:

1. While reducing the milk to half, be careful that it does not stick to the bottom.
2. Instead of boiling on a gas stove, you could actually prepare the whole thing in a microwave, but be sure to use a really big bowl to avoid any kind of spilling while boiling.
3. It's always better to use the sweet red apples or the Fuji ones. The sour ones will spoil the taste.
4. If the flavored milk curdles even after all your efforts (chances are less than 1 %), don't panic; it's nothing else but cottage cheese/paneer which can still be used creatively.
5. You can variate the texture by addition of milk. If you want it slightly runny, add more milk and if you want it thick and granular, add more of paneer.

The recipe flies off to:
My event: Cooking Made Easy With Cheese/Paneer
My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts 

Lets Cook for Christmas- Red and Green by Nayna
Christmas Delicacy  by Erivum Puliyumm
Jingle All The Way  by Edible Entertainment
Sweet Heat by Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops

Ras Malai : Revealing the secret to a soft bite

  
I've been indulging in a lot of sweets these days; first because of Navratri, then Dusshera, then Karwachauth, and now the approaching grand Diwali Fest. Ras Malai has always been my favorite out of all other sweets because it is less sugary and more melt-in-the-mouth type. I always used to see my 'Mamiji' prepare this for us and since childhood I wanted to learn at least this one thing, if not others, certainly.

Today, I feel gratified in writing this recipe because it is like a dream-come-true for me. I know making Ras Malai is not a very tough job, and many people are good at it, but what makes me the happiest is the zeal of doing that with full heart n soul.

Generally, it is made with paneer, and no other ingredients are added to it for making the 'gullas', but I have gone a step far and experimented with addition of an extra ingredient that helps in binding it well and also makes the Ras Malai ultra-soft and non-chewy.

RAS MALAI:

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 60 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1. Milk - 1 litre

2. Lime juice/ Vinegar Crystals/Curd for curdling

3. Corn Flour: 2 tbs (optional)

4. Sugar : 1/2 cup

5. Water: 1 and a half cup

For Ras:

1. Milk: 1 litre

2. Saffron strands

3. Cardamom powder

4. Milk powder/ MTR Badam Drink Powder

5. Almonds and pistachio

Method: 

 

For preparing cheese balls: 

1. Take 1 litre milk and boil it. Add 1/2 cup curd to it for curdling. You could also curdle the milk with lemon juice/ diluted vinegar crystals but be sure not to add excess quantities of curd/lemon juice. Add only that much which is sufficient to separate the water from the paneer. 
2. Drain out the water completely. I generally keep it in the sieve for 2 hours and by then all water is almost out. You could also place the paneer in a soft muslin cloth and keep it under a heavy cooker/ pan for an hour or so. Also please note that the paneer should not be old or too dry else the balls will turn out hard and non spongy.
3. Add corn flour to the paneer and blend this with a blender/mixer. Traditionally, one needs to knead this paneer well with the flat of the palm till the ghee separates, and I too prefer doing the same, but blending/mixing is an easier option for those who find this step tough.
4. Take it out and make flat cheese balls with it and keep them aside. The balls should be smooth.
5. Now take a pressure cooker and add 1/2 cup sugar and 1 and a half cups water to it. Boil it and add the cheese balls to the boiling water. Since the cheese balls will double in size, do not overcrowd the cooker with too many balls at a time. I generally do it in two parts. Keep the flame on high while taking the whistle. Take 2 whistles and then simmer for 5 minutes. Let this stand for 15-20 minutes till the steam is all out on its own. 
6. The cheese balls would double in size by now. Allow them to cool.

For preparing milk: 

1. Take 1 litre milk and boil it. Simmer it and let it reduce to half. Keep stirring to avoid sticking at the bottom.
2. Add saffron strands, 3 tablespoons MTR badam feast powder/milk powder, cardamom powder and sugar to it. Simmer for 5 minutes with continuous stirring. 
3. Now take the cheese balls out of the water, squeeze them in between your palms very softly (else they would break) and transfer them to the hot prepared milk. Simmer the milk with the balls for about a minute but do not stir. Let it cool.
4. Refrigerate for 5-6 hours. Dress with almonds, pistachios, saffron strands and serve chilled. 

My terrible experience:

While making Ras Malai, I did a blunder in hurry. I had kept the paneer for draining out the water content, but was so eager to finish the task fast that I took it before time and the result was disastrous: The paneer still had a lot of water in it and on blending, it changed into a very soft paste with which no balls could be made. I lost my mind in that while but then clicked something that saved my dish. Of course, it was my darling microwave again! I microwaved this paste for 2 minutes and to my wonder, the paneer moved into its correct texture on losing the water content (a practical application of how food articles can lose their extra moisture in a microwave). Now I could blend it again and finally prepare my perfect cheese balls.:)

Suggestions:

1. On a general, no one adds corn flour to the paneer while preparing balls, but the paneer balls sometimes scatter on boiling and sometimes they stay a little sticky from within which gives a chewy feel on the tooth after finishing. To rule this out, I added 2 tbs of corn flour to the paneer which helped in binding the balls, as well as the chewy, sticky texture flew off. This is just an additional tip; if you wish to stick to the original recipe, simply do not add corn flour.
2. The correct moisture level of paneer plays vital role in the final soft texture of Ras Malai. In the mind of draining out all water content from the paneer, do not make it over dry, otherwise the balls will stay hard from within.  

Submitting this recipe to:
My event: Cooking Made Easy With Cheese/Paneer
My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts 

Diwali Special Sweets by Tickling Palates,Serve it - Festival Potluck by Krithi's Kitchen,
Diwali Sweet Recipes by Sameena
Diwali Event  by Anu's Kitchen

Layered Vegetable Biryani

Biryanis...Oh I just love them and preparing some has been a thing that I always wanted to do. In the evening, we had been to a grocery store for the weekly veggie stuff and when we returned, I just felt like doing it today, so there was my knife chopping the vegetables on one side and the rice getting cooked on the other, and in an hour the Biryani was all set to land on my table.

Here I'm sharing the simple recipe of this Tri-colored Layered Vegetable Biryani.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Health Meter: Rice is an excellent source of energy, especially energy-giving carbohydrates, which are used in the body for brain performance, physical activity, bodily functions and everyday growth and repair.

Fun Fact: Did you know it takes 5,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of irrigated rice?

Ingredients:

1. Rice : 2 bowls

2. Water: 5 bowls

3. Salt: 1 tbs

4. Saffron Strands: 4-5

5. Milk: 1/4 cup

For the Yellow Layer:

1. Potatoes: 2 (very thin, sliced)

2. Eggplant: 1 (sliced)

3. Onions: 2 ( Take out rings)

4. Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp

5. Red Chilli Powder: 1 tbs

6. Coriander Powder: 2 tbs

7. Garam Masala: 1 tsp

8. Salt: 2 tbs or as per taste

9. Oil: 3 tbs

For the Green layer:

1. Green Peas: 1 cup

2. Green Bell pepper: 1 (finely chopped)

3. Paneer (crumbled/tiny pieces)

4. Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp

5. Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

6. Salt: 1 and 1/2 tbs or as per taste

7. Oil: 2 tbs

For the Red Layer:

1. Tomatoes - 3 (sliced)

2. Turmeric Powder: 1 /4 tsp

3. Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

4. Red Chill Powder: 1/2 tsp

5. Salt: 1and 1/2 tsp or as per taste

6. Oil: 2 tbs

Method:

1. We'll cook the rice first. Cook the rice with the water in an open pan/ cooker. When the rice is almost cooked (check the consistency by pressing some rice in between your fingers and you should find it just a bit granular now), pour out extra water and cover the pan with a lid. Heat for 2 minutes and switch it off. Keep this cooked rice aside.
2. On the other side, when the rice is getting cooked, cut all the vegetables. 
3. Now we'll prepare all the layers one by one.
4. Take oil in a pan and deep fry the onion rings on medium flame. When they turn golden brown, add the potato slices followed by the eggplant. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Now add all the spices and cover the pan for 5 minutes. Be sure that it doesn't get burnt. Check if the potatoes are cooked else add a few drops of water and cover for some more time. Our Yellow Layer is ready.
5. Now take oil in another pan and add oil to it. Heet it. Add capsicum/bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Now add green peas followed by paneer. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add all the spices and cover the pan for 5 minutes. Mix it well. The Green Layer is ready.
6. Now take oil in a pan and heat it. Add tomatoes followed by the spices and cook for 4-5 minutes. The Red Layer is ready.
7. Now we'll layer the Biryani. Take a deeper pan/bowl. First put some cooked rice at the bottom. Layer it next with the Yellow mixture. Then layer it with some rice followed by the Green Mixture. Again layer it with rice and then with the Red Mixture. Lastly layer it with rice.
8. Take the saffron milk and pour over the rice. Cover the pan or bowl and heat for 3-4 minutes on low flame. Switch the heat off and let it stand for 10 minutes so that the aroma sets in well.
9. Serve hot with curd/raita/yogurt and go colorful. :)

Tips:

1. To add an extra spicy flavor, you could use 'khada garam masala' instead of the 'garam masala' available in the market.
2. It's not necessary to use all the vegetables as mentioned in the recipe. You could personalize it with the veggies of your choice. Also, you could replace 'paneer' by 'mushroom'  or something else. The more creative you go, the happier you'll be at last.
3. If you don't have ample time and need a 'quick biryani', simply cook all the vegetables together and mix them with the separately cooked rice; though it would not come in layers, but the looks will still be aesthetic and taste good. :)
4. For making 'Dum Biryani', keep the rice slightly undercooked and place these layers in a rice cooker. Pour 1/2 cup saffron milk instead of 1/4 cup and seal the outer rim of the lid with roti aata/dough and cook for the next 7 minutes on low flame. Turn off the heat and wait for 5 minutes more. The 'dum' created inside will give an altogether different flavor. 

Submitting this recipe to:

Sinful Delights by Vardhini's Kitchen