Chanar Jalebi

Are you a huge fan of gulab jamun?

Well if you are, Chanar Jalebi is a dessert for you. It's basically gulab jamun, but instead of round balls, the pastries are shaped like pretzels. The pastries is made from cheese, but it's fried and put into syrup.

You fry the pastries and then place them in a simple syrup to soak. Store in syrup in fridge.  

Preparation time: 1 hour

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

• 1 cup powdered milk (you may need a few tsps. more)
• 1/2 cup wheat flour (set aside 2 tsps. of flour in case)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 4 cups of sugar
• 4 cups of oil for frying (try something without a lot of flavor) 
• 4 cups of water
• 10-12 pods of cardamom

Directions:

Make the dough:

1. In a large bowl, mix the wheat flour, powdered milk and baking powder thoroughly. 
2. Slowly add the heavy cream into the mixture and store constantly.
3. Mix until the dough is soft with a smooth texture. If you need to add more milk or flour to get it to the right consistency, do so. 
4. Set aside the dough and let it rest while you make the syrup.

Make the syrup:

1. In a large pot, add the 4 cups of water, 4 cups of sugar and cardamom pods. Stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Heat until it boils and boil for 5 minutes. 
3. Then turn off the heat and let the syrup continue to cool in the pot.

Back to the dough:

1. Divide the dough into 2 halves. Then into half again. Divide a third time. Divide again. You should 16 balls of dough.
2. To create the pretzel shape, roll the dough ball in between your palms. You want a string of dough about 8 inches long. 
3. Fold the dough into a pretzel by bringing first side over to the center than connect it. Repeat with the other side. 
4. Repeat with all the remaining dough balls.
5. In another large pot, heat the 4 cups of oil until you see it sizzle by putting a small bit of dough into it.
6. Fry the jalebis 4 at a time. Flip when one side is dark brown. They should be dark brown on both sides.
7. Once it's fried, drain them and directly add to syrup water in the other pot. 
8. The jalebis will soak up the syrup as they cool.

Recipe adapted from Bengali home cooking.com.

Coconut Spinach Curry with Paneer and Peas

This is one of those original recipes - something I decided to create based off some flavors I truly enjoy - coconut, curry and spinach.

If you like Saag Paneer and Thai food you'll like this. The spice of the dish is tamed by the sweet of the coconut.


Ingredients:

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 bag of spinach
• 1 cup of onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp of garlic-ginger paste
• 1 cup of peas
• 1 bag of frozen paneer cheese
• 1 tsp. of garam masala
• 1/2 tsp of chili powder
• 1 heaping tsp. of curry paste
• 1 tbsp of oil
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. Heat up oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic-ginger paste and saute.
2. When onions are translucent, add tomatoes and saute. Add spinach and allow it to wilt.
3. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, chili powder and garam masala. 
4. When all ingredients are mixed well, add it to a food processor and pulse until it is blended.
5. In a separate pan, add paneer and a bit of oil and allow it to brown on sides.
6. In the pot, add coconut milk and blended spinach dish and curry paste. Stir.
7. When paneer cubes are brown add them, some more salt and peas. 

Serve with rice.

Dining Out - Desi Style

Growing up, my father and grandmother (my mom's mom) cooked Indian meals at home. My mom was practically scared to enter the kitchen, other than to clean, during that time because they would always cook.

We did go out and eat sometimes, but after my father passed away - we ate out a lot more. Most Indian cuisine in restaurants are north and south Indian and not a lot of it is cuisine from where my family is from in Calcutta.

The other day I went with a friend to dinner at Dhaba, a restaurant off Lexington Ave in New York City. I was surprised to see that this restaurant had cuisine my family would be familiar with, stuff I grew up on and stuff they snacked on from street cars.

According to the Web site, the restaurant is a part of a chain, each restaurant with different names, located in Westport and Greenwich, Conn., Lee, Mass., Elmford and Brewster, NY and two other locations in New York City.

We ordered keema, a ground lamb dish, and navarathan korma, cauliflower, vegetables and paneer in korma, a sweet cream-based sauce. We also got a mango lassi, a mango milkshake, shared garlic naan and mehti pakoras, or fried fenugreek.

Keema is something I regularly grew up on - probably because it was easy to make and could be eaten with already prepared breads.

Here's a recipe for Keema. The ground meat can be chicken, beef, lamb or turkey. Also the one we had in the restaurant had chopped boiled egg in it as well. There are a lot of spices - but it tastes incredible at the end.

Lamb Keema
serves 6, Prep: 20 min., Cook: 30 min.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp of cooking oil
  
• 1.5 cups of finely chopped onions (preferably ground):  
• 2 tbsp of minced garlic
• 1 inch of finely minced ginger
  
• 2 serrano peppers, chopped
  
• 1.5 pound of ground lamb
• 1/4 tsp. of turmeric powder 
• 1 tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half 
• 6 cloves
  
• 3 black cardamons, crushed
  
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
  
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 cup of tomato puree
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of frozen peas
  
• 2 tbsp of cilantro, chopped
  
• 2 eggs, boiled then chopped, if desired.

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add onions and sauté onions till clear about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and serrano pepper. Continue sauteing for about 90 seconds.
2. Add ground lamb. Over medium heat break up lamb and cook until browned.
   
3. Grind whole spices in coffee grinder. Add all spices to the lamb and saute.
   
4. Add tomato puree and mix through.
   Add water and bring it to a near boil. Turn the heat down to low. Cover and simmer covered for 15 minutes, then uncover and cook until most of the water is evaporated.
   
5. When meat is tender, stir in baby peas. Shut off heat. Do NOT cook peas for long time, they loose color and become mushy. If desired add in chopped boiled egg.
   Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
   

Serve with paratha, puri (puffed bread) or naan.


We also drank mango lassi. It is so easy to make. You can also use peaches, strawberries or pears

Mango Lassi
4 to 8 servings, Prep: 15 min., no cook time

Ingredients:

• A can of mango puree (for four people you need 8 oz. for eight people you need 16 oz.).
• 16 oz. of yogurt (8 oz. for 4 servings, 16 oz. for 8 servings)
• 1 bottle of rose water (found in Indian grocery stores).
  

Directions:

1. In a blender, add desirable amount of mango puree. 
2. Add equal amount of yogurt
3. Add four to six drops of rose water.
4. Blend and serve over ice.
   

A real Indian Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving like most holidays in my family are fusion feasts. Well, fusion may not be the correct term - but we serve both Indian and American cuisines. It makes sense for us, because almost all the children in my family are American born and some of our family has married into other cultures. So some people only eat Indian food, some eat both types, and some only American. (when I mean American, I mean not Indian or spicy, but Italian, etc. counts)

So anyway each year, we end up at my uncle and aunt's in New Jersey for Thanksgiving, where on top of the regular Thanksgiving feast, we have fried rice, and Indian dishes and desserts.

This year my uncle made Chicken Malai Curry and Paneer Kabliwala, which is a mixture of veggies, cheese and curries.

Paneer Kabilwala

serves 6, Prep: 30 min, Cook: 35 min.
*created by my uncle, Dibyendu.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. of paneer, cut in small cube
• 2 8 oz. cans of chick peas, drained
  
• 1.5 tbsp Fresh Ginger, crushed
• 1.5 tbsp Fresh garlic cloves, crushed,
• 2 medium white/yellow onions, chopped
  
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
  
• 10 to 12 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1.5 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 to 2 tsp. Vindaloo paste (it's spicy so, make sure you add it in small amounts and taste)
  
• 1 tsp. salt (to taste)
  
• 2 tbsp. cooking oil (olive oil will be good)

PREPARATION:

1. In a container place the paneer cubes and sprinkle some 1/2 of turmeric powder and 1/4 of salt salt and mix.
2. Place a frying on stove top on medium heat and add 1 tbsp. oil. Start frying the paneer cubes few at a time till they lightly brown. Place all the fried paneer cubes in separate container.
3. Place a fairly large pot on stove top on medium heat and add 1 tbsp. oil. (coat bottom of pot, add more if necessary)
   
4. Add onions, crushed ginger and garlic and start stirring. 
5. Once the onion gets tender, add mushrooms, tomatoes, red peppers and green peppers. Lower the heat.
6. Add cumin powder, coriander powder and the rest of the turmeric powder as to your taste. Continue stirring. 
7. When the vegetable start getting tender, add drained chick peas and continue stirring for ten minutes. 
8. Add paneer cubes and stir.
9. Once all the ingredients are all thoroughly mixed, add Vindaloo paste and salt to your taste. After stirring occasionally for 10 minutes on low heat the dish will be ready for serving.

NOTE: This dish can be served with plain rice, Nan bread or chapattis.

Chicken recipe to follow in upcoming post.

Saag Paneer (Spinach with cheese)

So one of the most popular dishes at Indian restaurants across the country is saag panner, a curry-creamed spinach dish with cheese.

It's one of my family's favorites as well, and although my family has made this meal over the years, I find it turns out different based on the types of ingredients used each time. Frozen spinach makes it more watery versus fresh, while if the fresh spinach is blended it's creamier versus when the spinach is cooked down and cream is added.

I recently made saag paneer and apparently I did a good job, because my mom tried it and said so.

Saag Paneer
serves 6, Prep: 35 min., Cook: 35 min.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp of oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. of crushed fresh ginger
• 1 tsp. of fresh chopped garlic
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 tsp. of salt
• 1/2 tsp of pepper
• 2 tsp. of curry powder **
• 1 pkg. of paneer, Indian cheese, cubed
• 2 pkgs. of fresh baby spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup of half and half

** Indian curry powder is not made from curry leaves. It actually is a blend of spices. Here's a basic recipe. You can save the extra in a small tupperware container for 6 months.

Curry Powder:

• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 2 dried red chiles, broken in pieces, seeds discarded
• 1 tablespoon turmeric

blend the ingredients in a small coffee grinder.

Directions:

1. Heat a medium pot over medium heat. When warm add 1 tbsp of oil to pot.
2. When oil is heated, but before smoking, add onions and saute until translucent.
3. Add garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute.
4. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and saute until tomatoes slightly melt.
5. Add spinach to the pot and cook until wilted. Add curry mixture.
6. In a separate saucepan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat.
7. Add cubes of paneer and try to brown on each side over medium heat.
8. Once the spinach mixture is cooked, take half of the mixture and puree in blender with half and half.
9. Add puree mixture back into the original spinach mixture.
10. Once paneer is browned add that to the spinach mixture and fold into dish.
11. Check for seasoning and add salt if necessary. If you want it spicier you can break up a green chili and add it to the dish, or add crushed red peppers.

Serve with naan.