Diwali Wishes and a sweet dish- Kalakand!

Hi Friends,

At the very outset my heartiest belated wishes to you for Diwali! Hope you a had a good time and enjoyed a lot! Actually, I was planning to post this dish on the diwali day but could manage time to do so. Anyways, better late than never! I had made it specially for Diwali. I had referred the recipe from a small booklet of 'Milkmaid'. I have incorporated a few simple changes to the recipe. It tended to be a bit crumbly in the beginning but once properly set it was fine. That's why, you can see that all the pieces of the sweet are not uniform in shapes. But that does not lower the taste. Hope you would like it too..

Before going into the recipe, I would like to say something about this illuminating festival. Diwali is a festival which celebrates the victory of good over evil. As per the Hindus, it is the day when

Lord Rama returned to his kingdom, Ayodhya after 14 years of exile, after putting an end to the demon Ravana of Lanka. In Ayodhya, the people welcomed them by lighting rows of clay lamps. So, it is an occasion in honor of Rama's victory over Ravana; of truth's victory over evil. But, we Jains have a totally different occasion of celebrating this festival. It is the festival of jubilation to commemorate the Moksha attained by our 24^th Tirthankar Lord Mahavira on Amaavashya of Kartika in Pavapuri,India. According to our Holy Scriptures many Gods and Demi-Gods were present on that occasion, illuminating the darkness of Amaavashya. To symbolically keep the light of Lord Mahavira's knowledge alive, ordinary people also illuminated their homes. Hence the name of the festival - Deepawali.

Sweets and Lights are a very important part of this occassion. So, lets see how I made this Kalakand. Kalakand when normally made from milk takes a lot of time. Since I used condensed milk it was considerably quicker!

 Makes 16 peice.
 Ingredients:

1 tin milk maid.

2 cups full fat milk.

2-3 tbsp curd.

1 tsp lime juice.

2 cardamom pods crushed finely.

Few strands of saffron.

Pistachios and almond flakes to garnish.

Process:

Heat a non stick pan. Add milk and boil on a high flame. When it comes to a boil add the curd and take it off thegas for a moment. Give it a good stir. The milk will curdle. Now put it back on heat and add the condensed milk and give it a good stir. Add the lime juice  and stir. It will curdle too. Now add the crushed cardamom pods and saffron threads. At this moment if you want to add a little more sugar to your taste you can. Keep stirring and heating the curdled milk till it dries up. It will take about 25- 30 minutes.

Set it in a lined square tin and garnish it with pistachios and almonds. Let it cool down and then using it pizza cutter cut it into square size. Keep it in refrigerator.

Serve cold!
Sendin g this sweet to PJ's ongoing event- Lets Celebrate-Bengali Sweets,This event is the brain child of Nivedita And also sending it to Mina's Event CMT-Sweets started by Jagruti

Belated Diwali Wishes again! Wish you a very joyous, prosperous year ahead!

A Special Occasion and a special Dish - Navratan Korma

Time flies! Today, its 2 years since I got married. For this special occassion, I prepared my hubby's favourite- Navratan Korma. This delicious Mughlai dish gets its name from the diffrent veggies, fruits and nuts used in it ( I may have used more than nine). This prepartion varies from person to person. We like it in a rich white korma sauce. 

Now coming back to the recipe of today post..

Navratan Korma:

Chilli Paneer Wraps

I do not need to profess my love for paneer again. You can check my earlier paneer recipes here. Today I have a wrap with a spicy paneer mixture filling. This one goes to the event- Global Kadai started by Cilantro and this month being hosted by Divya with the theme - Indian flavoured Burrito/Wraps.

Toasted Paneer Sandwich

Paneer is an all time favourite for most vegetarians. I have some preparation of paneer in some form or other every week. This 'Paneer Sandwich' are mostly made for breakfast but recently, I made them for our dinner. We had it with a bowl full of 'Tomato Black Eyed Beans Soup' (recipe in next post!). It was a hearty meal.

Matar Paneer

When I saw 'Family Favourite Food Event' at Shama's Easy2cook Recipes, I was at a loss in deciding what to send for the event. There are always some dishes in every house which are welcomed by the whole family wholeheartedly. I was glad that she had allowed to send multiple entries. I hope that I will be able to send more than one entry for this event.
Paneer is one item which never hears a 'no' in my household. Today, I am sharing the recipe of 'Matar Paneer'

Paneer Tikka Masala

When ever we go for a meal to a restraunt, one dish that is compulsory in our menu is "Paneer". Myself and my husband are totally crazy about paneer dishes. I had tried this one,"Paneer Tikka Masala" for the first time at home. It was an instant hit with my Hubby. We loved it. Still, I think this one should be a one in a blue moon dish as its gravy is very rich. Robbing it of its richness will reduce its charm.
I would also like to share a simple tip:
- Always boil the veggies before churning it in the mixer to make a puree or paste. Otherwise, the gravy will leave water from the sides when it is cold.
Now, here is the recipe of "Paneer Tikka Masala" for all Paneer lovers!

Paneer Methi Malai

Paneer Methi Malai:

Paneer Chunks in a rich creamy cashew gravy with fenugreek leaves, for that extra nice and appetizing flavor.

This recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

250 gm paneer.
2 medium side onions
¾ cup cashew nuts.
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves.
½ tbsp grated ginger.
1 green chilli chopped finely or to taste.
½ tsp cumin seeds.
2 tbsp ghee.
¼ cup fresh cream.
½ cup milk.
1 tsp salt or to taste.
1 tsp sugar.


Process:
Chop the onion in big chunks and microwave it for 4 mins. Make a paste of the boiled onions. Soak cashew for ½ an hour and grind it to a paste. Cut the paneer in small cubes.

Heat a pan and add ghee. When the ghee is heated add cumin seeds such that they crack right away. Now add the chopped green chilies and grated ginger. Sauté for a minute. Then add the onion paste. Fry it for 2 minutes and then add the cashew gravy. Stir it in nicely and heat for 5 minutes. Add the fenugreek leaves. Mix nicely for a minute and stir in the fresh cream and milk. Heat for another 3 minutes. Add salt, sugar and paneer cubes. Heat for another 2 minutes and keep stirring. Turn off the gas and take the pan off gas. Transfer in a serving bowl and serve hot with naan or paratha.

Kadai Paneer

Kadai Paneer:


Paneer chunks with chopped onion, bell pepper, tomatoes with added spices. One of the favorite dishes from Punjab.


This recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

250 gms paneer.
4 tomatoes.
1 large onion.
1 cup bell pepper cut in thin slices.
1 green chilli chopped finely or as per taste.
½ tsp grated ginger.
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves.
½ tsp cumin seeds.
½ tsp coriander seeds crushed slightly.
½ tsp turmeric powder.
1 tsp mango powder.
1 tsp red chilli powder.
2 tsp coriander powder.
½ tsp garam masala.
1 tsp chaat masala.
1 tsp salt or as per taste.
2 tbsp oil.
Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.



Process:

Cut the paneer into small cubes and sprinkle chaat masala over it and set aside. Now heat a frying pan and add in it. When heated add cumin seeds, while cracking add crushed coriander seeds, chopped chilies, grated ginger, fenugreek leaves and sauté for 1 minute. Deseed and chop 2 tomatoes finely and add it to the pan. Heat for 5-6 mins till it melts. Stir it nicely and add onions, sliced pepper and sauté for 2-3 mins. Deseed and cut the other 2 tomatoes in big slices and add it to the pan. Add all the spices and stir such that it is evenly mixed. Now add the paneer (one can use fried paneer but I used it without frying) and mix so that all the spices are evenly coated on the paneer. Heat for 2 mins. Take the pan off the gas. Transfer it in a serving bowl. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve it hot with naan or simply serve it as a starter.

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer:
Cottage cheese cubes in spinach and tomato gravy spiced with Indian spices and a generous scoop of whipped cream

.

This recipe serves 2-3 people.

Ingredients:

100 gm fresh baby spinach leaves.
100 gm cottage cheese (paneer) cut into small cubes.
½ onion chopped finely
2 tomatoes.
½ cup whipped cream.
1 green chilli deseeded and chopped finely
½ tsp grated ginger.
1 tbsp of oil.
½ tsp turmeric powder.
2 heap tsp coriander powder.
½ tsp red chilli powder.
½ tsp garam masala.
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt or to taste.
1 tsp sugar.
1 cup water


Procedure:

Microwave the spinach and tomatoes with 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Blend the spinach and tomatoes into a fine puree. Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp of oil. When heated add the cumin seeds, if they crack right away the oil is ready. Add the chopped chilies and grated ginger. Then add the finely chopped onion and sauté the onion till they are translucent. Add all the spices and heat for another 2 minutes. Then add the tomato and spinach gravy. Heat for another 5 minutes. Added the whipped cream and sugar and give a good stir. Now add the cottage cheese cubes and heat for 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot with paratha, naan or rice.