PPM Paneer (Panch Puran Masala Paneer) - Cottage Cheese with Indian Spices

 

As I opened my blog to write this post, I realized that it is almost 1 year since I posted something here. I was obviously cooking and clicking all year through. I guess I was just lazy to update it here and keep my personal log updated. I have resolved to be a little more active this year.

A friend of mine told me about Panch Puran Masala. I googled up on it and came to learn that it is a heady mixture of aromatic Indian spices which is used in Bengali cooking. You can check the Wikipedia link here

As the link states, I have reduced the amount of Fenugreek Seeds because I don't like the bitter taste. Instead, I added Caraway Seeds (Ajwain/Omum/Ayamodagam) because I like the distinct flavor it imparts.

 Panch Puran Seasoning – 1-2 tsp 

    (Panch Puran Seasoning is a mix of equal measure of 5 items. You can mix it and store it in an air tight container.) 

 1 tbsp. Mustard Seed

1 tbsp. Cumin Seeds (Jeera)

1 tbsp. Fennel Seeds (Perunjeeragam)

1 tbsp. Nigella Seeds (Kallonjee/ Kala Jeera)

½  tbsp Fenugreek Seeds (Methi/ Vendyam/ Uluva)

 ½ tbsp. Caraway Seeds (Ajwain /Omam/Ayamodagam)

(I found that using 1 tbsp of Methi makes it very bitter and not to my liking, so I used ½ tbsp Methi/Fenugreek/Uluva and ½ tbsp. Caraway Seeds)

Onion Ghee Roast

This hardly calls for a blog post. Yet, me being me, I am posting it :)
All credit for this goes to the ready made batter I bought from the store and the super duper non stick Dosa Pan I recently bought. My only contribution was making the onion roast (lol!)

Beetroot Thoran/Poriyal

I had this huge aversion towards beetroot till I actually started having it. I guess it was something about the color (which is in fact very beautiful) that led me to hate the vegetable despite all its known health benefits. Fortunately or not; I married a man who simply loves the vegetable. He can have beetroot with any meal, any preparation! Thus started my beetroot encounters :P

Beetroot Sambar, Beetroot Thoran, Beetroot Subji for Roti's.... the list is endless.
I make sure we make some beetroot preparation once a week and ensure my little one takes a liking to the vegetable so that she wouldn't have to deal with the change management I had to undergo :)

Rasgulla

I found the recipe on this page. I really couldn't believe that it was such a simple recipe. I looked up on you tube for the video recipes and found that it was almost the same with small variations. So i decided to give it a try. All the recipes called for Full Cream Milk. Full Cream Milk has 6% fat. The day I made this the first time, I could only get milk with 4.5% fat. I still decided to give it a go. It came out really well. Yesterday, I made it again with Full Cream Milk. I prefer the rasgullas that were made with the 4.5% fat. Those were spongier. The one's with the 6% fat milk were slightly creamier and rubbery while chewing. I later read online that if you are using full cream milk, you should remove the fat twice or use cow's milk since it has less fat. I decided that the next time I make this, I would use the 4.5% fat milk. No fuss and very simple.

I made slight variations to the preparation based on various expert advice found online and hence am sharing what I think is the best way to make Rasgullas. Obviously, I am always open to better advice :-)

Ivy Gourd Chutney (Kovakai Chutney)

Ivy Gourd is commonly used in South Indian cooking. We call it Kovakai. I have usually tasted Kovakai Chutney at the Andhra Mess that I normally eat from. We make different dishes from this vegetable, but never the chutney, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I found this recipe online and made slight variations to the original recipe. But I really do not remember whose blog I found this recipe on to actually thank the source.

Chilly Mushroom

Okay, this is now becoming a habit. Husband cooks, I click and update this blog ;-)
Well, on the sunnier side, his culinary attempts spare a lot of time for me on weekends and that is the very reason I get time to update the blog. So, I shouldn't be complaining. And especially since he is turning out to be a master chef almost, I really really am not complaining.

We had a packet of mushroom that would have ended in a Mushroom Kurma or Biryani that my cook normally makes during the weekdays for dinner. But our man suddenly wanted to experiment. And lo behold, his version of the chilly mushroom.

Tomato Pickle

I simply luuuuurrrrveee this one and I can use it to have almost anything. I mix it with plain rice, curd rice, any rice :). Have it with idly, dosa, uthapam and even roti's. It is fairly simple to make and you can store it for a long time. If you refrigerate it, the shelf life will be obviously longer.

It is best that you use ripe tomatoes for this. You can either cut the tomatoes and marinate with vinegar, chilly powder, turmeric and salt, sun dry it and then make this or simply grind the tomatoes and finish quickly. The first method obviously takes time and I made this on a sudden impulse today, so I chose the second method.
The only downside if you grind the tomatoes and then cook is that you will have to bear with the spluttering and will have to spend some time in cleaning your kitchen tiles. Alternatively, you can chop the tomatoes and prepare with out the sun drying etc.

Chicken Ghassi

This is a Sanjeev Kapoor recipe. Thanks to the this channel "Food Food", my husband is hooked to Sanjeev  Kapoor's recipes. And now, he likes trying them out too. So this one was made by my husband. My only contribution other than clicking the picture and posting the recipe here was to eat it. And yes, it is finger licking good. God bless Sanjeev Kapoor and his timeless recipes.

Ripe Mango Curry

 This is a recipe I learnt from my mother in law. It is my husband's favourite, hence I had no choice but to learn it (lol!)

The only downside of this dish is that it can be made only during summer. Ugh, if you want to know why - Ripe Mangoes are available only in Summer!!!

You can make this with all varieties of mangoes, but the best would be the small mangoes which are usually home grown. I used this variety named "Senduram". Don't ask me the English name.

Mutton Masala

I thought I was the only one in the family who liked mutton. The rest of my family avoided it like plague. Red meat is fattening, high on cholesterol and  difficult to digest. My little fussy angel changed it all. She decided that mutton is yummy. So now, no occasion is spared! Whenever I find time, I cook something in mutton for her.

I was chatting with a friend of mine on WhatsApp one day and happened to mention to her that I was searching for mutton curry recipes online. She gave me this simple recipe that she makes for her family. I thought I would give it a shot, when my angel put her fingers together to denote excellent, my day was made :-)

Chilly Chicken

I went to the grocery store and found this packet of Chilly Chicken Masala under the Aachi Masala brand. The pack says the ingredients are Chilly Powder, Corn flour, Garlic, Cassia, Cloves, Edible oil and Salt.

Here is how I made it.

Cottage Cheese Scramble with Spring Onions (Paneer Burji)



Cottage Cheese Scramble

I have an earlier post with "Paneer Burji" as the title and the preparation is no different from this except for a few minor changes. But then these few minor changes make a world of difference in the final output, so I decided to post this as a fresh recipe.