PANEER /COTTAGE CHEESE

Paneer is a kind of cheese made from cow’s or buffalo milk. It is a favorite in Indian cuisine and fairly easy to make. It is used in many curries and also to make stuffing in various wraps, momos or dumplings. 

Ingredients:-

·       Milk

·       Lemon

Procedure:-

·       Paneer has to be made from split milk. I made this batch when a litre of cow’s milk split in my kitchen. However, to split the milk you need to bring it to a boil and then squeeze some lemon juice into it.

·       Once the milk splits, you need to work fast. Cover the top of any deep utensil with a thin muslin cloth.

·       Drain the milk onto this cloth. The solid contents begin to split from the liquid contents of the milk. The cloth is to drain the liquid part.

·       Keep moving the cloth little by little to drain as much water as possible.

·       After most of the water has been drained, start twisting the paneer in the cloth itself, tying it into a knot. This will release more water from the paneer. You have to get as much water out as possible.

·       After you have drained all the water, tie the cloth into a tight knot and leave it for 3-4 hours.

·       Use this fresh paneer to make desired recipes. 

BANANA CAKE

Ingredients:-

·       2 ripe bananas

·       Half cupful of melted butter (around 50-80gms)

·       1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

·       1 tablespoon baking powder/ baking soda

·       1 cupful of powdered sugar

·       Vanilla essence/ vanilla extract

·       1 egg

·       Milk, if needed

 Procedure:-

·       Melt the butter in a pan. Mash the bananas into this butter. Let it cool.

·       Sift in the flour, sugar and baking soda into this mixture.

·       Break an egg and add the vanilla essence. Fold in the flour. If the batter is too thick, add a tiny amount of milk. The batter should not be too runny though.

·       Butter a cake tin and dust it with flour.

·       Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

·       To check if the cake is done, put a knife through the cake. If no batter sticks to the blade then the cake is done.

·       Let it cool in the oven itself for some time before taking it out. Slice it and serve. 

BAINGAN KA BHARTA/ SPICY EGGPLANT/ AUBERGINE

Ingredients:- 

·       1 large eggplant/aubergine

·       1 medium sized diced onion

·       6-7 cloves of garlic

·       Chopped coriander

·       Mustard seeds

·       Paprika or red chili powder

·       Turmeric powder

·       Salt

·       Oil

Procedure:-

·       Roast the eggplant on an open flame till its skin is crisp and comes of easily. Before roasting it, make small cuts on the side to check if it’s clean inside. Eggplants can be infected with larvae of some insects and hence it’s necessary to make sure they clean before cooking them.

·       Once the eggplant is cooked, take it off the flame and let it cool. Peel off the skin and remove the stalk. Mash the cooked aubergine.

·       Heat about two spoonful of oil in a wok. Once it’s hot enough, add half a spoonful of mustard seeds to the oil and wait till make crackling sounds. Keep the flame low so that the seeds won’t burn.

·       Add chopped garlic to the oil and let them brown slightly.

·       Add the mashed eggplant and a pinch of turmeric, a teaspoon of paprika/ red chili powder and salt to taste. Mix it well.

·       Take it off the burner and add the chopped onion and chopped coriander to the mix.

·       Serve hot with roti or chapattis or any Indian bread  

SABUDANA / SAGO KHEER

Ingredients :-

• 1 cup sago
• 500 ml milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 3-4 cardamom pods
• 1/2 cup cashews, raisins and almonds

Preparation:-

• Soak the sago in lukewarm water. Remove excess water and leave the sago aside to soften.
• Bring the milk to boil. Add sugar and after it dissolves, add the softened sago and all the cashews, raisins and almonds. 
• Crush the cardamom pods and add them to the kheer.
• Keep the kheer on a low flame till it thickens a little. 
• Serve hot as dessert.