Jeera Murgh is a simple and aromatic cuisine from Uttarpradesh. This cuisine can be termed as modern Mughlai cuisine, since this is a blend of modern and traditional cuisine style. This dish is so aromatic that it pulls people close to it. Jeera Murgh can be seen in the menu card of popular restaurants and hotels. Not much of ingredients in making this and its tastes delicious. Another factor is this recipe can be cooked both on stove and as well as using oven. Basically this is a Uttarpradesh and Delhi recipe and is in a way called Mughlai since it is cooked using fresh cream and butter. It is high in calories but once in a while rich food is ok these days. The important point to be noted in this recipe is that it should be served hot , as soon as it is cooked. Since it tastes not only best when served hot, fresh and just cooked but also is aromatic making it tempting for foodies. I give this 5 stars for colour, aroma and taste, so just read further for the recipe of Jeera Murgh.




Ingredients:
2 1/2 kg (5 lb) Chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cayenne pepper/Red chilli Powder or crushed red chillies
25 g (1 oz) 1/4 cup Flour
50 g (2 oz) 4 Tbs Butter
2 Onions, sliced
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
piece Fresh root ginger, peeled 2 1/2 cm (1 in) and finely chopped
2 tsp Cumin seeds
300 ml (10 fl oz) 1 1/4 cups Yogurt
150 ml (5 fl oz) 5/8 cup Double (heavy) cream
Thinly pared rind of 1 lemon, in one piece.




Method:

1. Put the chicken pieces on a large plate and rub them all over with the lemon juice. Set aside for 20 minutes, then pat dry with kitchen towels.
2. Mix the salt, cayenne and flour together on a second plate and roll the chicken pieces in it, shaking off any excess.
3. Melt the butter in a frying-pan.
   
4. Add the chicken pieces and fry until they are evenly browned. As they brown, transfer the pieces to a plate.
5. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and cumin seeds to the pan and fry until they are golden brown.
6. Stir in the yogurt, cream and lemon rind. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn in the mixture to coat thoroughly.
7. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer the chicken for 1 hour, or until it is cooked through and tender.
8. Uncover the pan for the last 20 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken somewhat.
9. Discard the lemon rind and transfer the chicken and sauce to a warmed serving dish. Serve at once.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day. Best fresh.
Serving Suggestion: Serve hot just when cooked with Naan or Roti.


Note:

• Use fresh Cream while cooking. Double heavy cream is available readymade in stores and is made from skimmed milk. It is much thicker and taste more delicious.
• If you are cooking this cuisine using a oven, then cook it over 650 C and stir it by taking in out after every 20 minutes after adding the yoghurt and cream.
• Dont forget to remove the lemon rinds.
• Use large peices of chicken for cooking this recipe.
• Fry the jeera in the pan till a slight aroma comes from it and it turns brown, so that the cuisine turns out aromatic and fresh jeera aroma spreads when served.

Click here to know more about Uttar Pradesh foods and recipes - An Introduction To Uttar Pradesh Foods And Recipes.

Dahi bhalla also called as Dahi bhalle is a popular street food which is normally counted among "chaat". Dahi Bhalla is often a special food during the Holi festival too. Dahi bhalle is made of dal pakodas and tangy yoghurt and garnished with tangy and sweet chutneys. This can be widely seen in the streets of big and small cities. Dahi Bhalle is wadas dunked in loads of chilled and seasoned curds and then topped with tamarind chutney and spices. Though usually, dahi bhallas are tastier at the roadside vendor's shop, it is not that possible to bring that yummy taste at home but it can be made at par with them by using roasted cummin powder, chat masala, black salt , tamarind chutney and red chilli powder. I have tasted different variation of this. Some like their curds to be sweet, others like it salty. The Gujarati version has a sweet and spicy flavor and uses liberal amounts of curds. The Punjabi version is salty and the wadas are just submerged in the curds but not floating in it. The dahi wada that I've tasted in Udipi cafes has tempered sweet curds. But for a good yummy taste, it is best to mix up and prepare.



Ingredients:
For The Bhalla:
1 tsp Ginger, julienned


Preparation time: 20 minutes (excluding soaking time).
Cooking time : 30 minutes.
Serves : 4 persons. Makes some 8- 12 wadas.
Shelflife : Best fresh.
Serving suggestion : Serve with chilled dahi and garnishings.




Other Method:

• Make the batter little thin. But not very watter, just enough to be fluffy. Then pour it into hot oil using a spoon and deep fry it till golden brown.

Note:

• Cooking soda can be added to make the wadas spongy and crispy.
• Freeze the wadas for sometime for better taste.
• Use roasted cummin powder for garnishing.
  

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Its monsoons and everyone of us would love to sit at home nearby the windows or at balcony and enjoy garam garam pakoras and enjoy watching the rains in a chilly wet evening. Pakoras are favourite among every indian, being young or old. And everyone loves to have them during monsoons. Punjabi style pakoras are known for their crispy and spicy taste. There are varieties of pakoras like Aloo pakoras, Gobi pakoras, Palak pakoras etc. One such pakoras is Paneer pakora, which is just tempting during chilled evenings. Paneer Pakoras is a well known snack from Punjab and I thought of posting this now since the period of monsoons are just perfect to share this recipe and enjoy them.




Ingredients:
250 grams Paneer (Cottage cheese)
8 tablespoons Gram flour (Besan)
2 tablespoons Corn flour or Rice flour
2 tablespoons Red chilli powder
1 1/2 tablespoons Amchur powder (Dry mango powder)
1 pinch Ajwain (Carom seeds)
1 pinch Hing (Asafoetida)
1/4 teaspoon Cooking soda
Water as per requirement
Oil for frying.



Method:

1. Firstly cut the cheese into thick square pieces.Cut them in size of 3 inches wide and 2 inches broad and height of atleat 1 inch.
2. Sprinkle mango powder and red chilli powder on these pieces.
3. Mix the gram flour,rice or corn flour, red chilli powder,amchur powder, hing, ajwain, soda and salt in a bowl.
4. Add some water to the mixture to make it thick batter.Dont add more water at a start. Add part by part in small quantity to avoid forming lumps , this helps in making smooth batter. Add water only to the consistency to make the batter smooth . Dont add too much of water and end up making its consistency too thin.
5. Dip each piece of the cheese in this batter.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
7. Check whether the oil is hot enough. This can be checked by dropping few drops of the batter into the oil. If it is hot enough to fry the pakoras, then you can see those batter coming up and bubbles surrounding them indicating its ready for frying the pakoras.
   
8. Now put the pieces of cheese in the heated oil one by one.
9. Fry them till they become golden brown.
10. Remove them in a Oil absorbent paper or place a tissue paper at the top of the plate where the pakoras would taken out.
    
11. Paneer Pakoras are ready.
12. Serve the Paneer Pakoras with green chutney or with tomato ketchup.
    

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: Best fresh
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with green chutney or tomato ketchup.


Note:

• Normally, rice or corn flour is not added to the batter. But adding 2tablespoons of corn or rice flour would make the pakoras crispy and crunchy.
• Amchur powder is added to give a tangy taste .
• Sprinkle a pinch of chat masala over the paneer pakoras while serving. It makes them even more tastier.

Click here to know more about Punjabi Foods and Cuisines - An Introduction To Punjabi Foods And Cuisines.

One more green leafy veg recipe to the platter. This recipe is Aloo Palak, again a side dish from Punjab served with rice and chapatis/phulkas. It is cooked using main ingredients potatoes, spinach, tomatoes and few masalas. It is a simple and easy to cook recipe. And it takes hardly few minutes to cook it. Green veggies are good for health and if cooked with pototoes, it makes it intresting . Though green veg recipes are boring, this would not be that boring but tasty.



Ingredients:
2 Bunches palak
2 Potatoes
2 Tomatoes
1 Onion
2 Garlic flakes
1 Ginger
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp Corainder powder
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil for frying.



Method:

1. Wash and clean the palak, chop them and set aside
2. Cut the potatoes into small cubes.
3. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
4. Grind ginger and garlic to make a paste.
5. Chop the onions into small pieces
   
6. Take 2 tablespoons of oil in a kadai, and add the chopped onions. Fry onions till they turn transparent.
7. Add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder to it and saute for a minute.
8. Add ginger garlic paste. Saute them till the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes, so fry them for 1-2 mins.
9. Add the tomatoes and saute till oil leaves the sides of the pan and the tomatoes are tender soft.
10. Now add the potatoes and cook it with closed lid for 5 mins.
11. Add chopped palak and salt and mix well. Cover the kadai with lid and cook for 20 mins on medium flame.
12. Open the lid and check the dish, palak must be well cooked and turned into dark green colour.
13. Aloo palak is ready to serve. Serve hot with rice or chapathis.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes.
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day.
Serving suggestions: Serve hot with rice or chapatis.


Note:

• Cook the dish in its own water. Dont add extra water.
• This dish needs no garnishing. But if needed, decorate it with chopped tomatoes .
• Few like this dish in the form of gravy. In that case, blanch the spinach and grind it to paste.
  

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Aloo Methi is a side dish served with rice , such side dishes are called sabzis in India. Aloo is a cuisine popular among North Indians from the places of Punjab, UP, Bihar and Delhi. It is a dry curry and taste is simple and is good for health. Green vegetables are considered good for people belonging to every age. But green vegetables are considered boring, but with dishes like Aloo Methi, they can be made wonderful. This cuisine looks simple and it is even more simple and esy to cook. It can be served with rice as a side dish or even served with Chapathis.




Ingredients:
Fenugreek leaves -2 cups (cleaned, washed and finely chopped)
Potatoes - 4 -5 nos ( peeled and cut into cubes of small pieces)
Tomato - 1 medium (chopped into small pieces)
Garlic cloves - 1-2 nos (crushed)
Green chillies - 1-2 nos (silted)
Onion - 1 small (chopped)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Whole dry red chillies - 2
Asafoetida - a pinch
Garam masala powder - 2 -3 pinches
Salt -to taste
Oil - 2 tablespoons.




Method:

1. Wash the fenugreek leaves thoroughly several times and chop them fine. Sprinkle some salt over them and keep aside for about half an hour.Sprinkling salt water removes a sour taste which fenugreek leaves have. This step of sprinkling salt water can also be avoided .
2. Heat oil and add crushed garlic and fry till brown. Add cumin seeds , asafoetida, dry red chilies, chopped onions and silted green chillies. Saute them till onions turn golden brown.
3. When cumin seeds crackle and onions and chillies are brown, add turmeric powder, chilli powder and tomatoes. Saute them till tomotes are tender soft.
4. Now add the potatoes and saute them. Add salt and saute them for a minute. Sprinkle some water and close the lid and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes are half done. Even potatoes can be pre-boiled and chopped into cubes. In that case, just add the potatoes and stir for a minute, dont cook for long time .
5. When pototoes are half cooked and the spices gets coated over them, add the methi leaves and cook them on medium flame for 5 minutes or till water is fully absorbed. ( If you are cooking on low flame , cook for 15 minutes). And see to it that all the water is evaporated. This indictes that the methi is well cooked.
   
6. Finally add 2-3 pinches of garam masala to it and stir for a minute.
7. Aloo methi is ready to serve. Serve them hot with steamed rice or chapathis.
   

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes.
Serves: 4 persons.
Shelflife: 1 day.
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with steamed plain rice or Chapatis.



Note:

• This curry is served dry. But those who prefer it as gravy can add 1 glass of water at the end and cook for few minutes.
• As a variation, the potatoes can be boiled first and then cubed. In this case, the fenugreek leaves should be first squeezed of all the salt water and added to the oil seasoned with spices. Cover and cook for a few minutes and then add the boiled potato cubes. Mix well and cook covered for a little while.
• This dish doesnt require any garnishing. But still those who prefer garnish can add few chopped tomatoes pieces on the top and serve it hot.

Click here to know more about Punjabi Foods and Cuisines - An Introduction To Punjabi Foods And Cuisines

Often people avoid green vegetables. And green vegetables are considered boring and tasteless.
But there are few cuisines which are not boring and tastes delicious. Palak Paneer is one such splendid cuisine, which not only looks delightful but also tastes awesome. Palak is the Indian Hindi word for Spinach and Paneer is the Indian version of Cottage Cheese. In most of the foods, be it fast food, or western version , Spinach and Paneer when combined makes the food look beautiful and creates a yummy taste. Palak Paneer is a food fromNorthen states of India like Punjab, UP, Kashmiri and Delhi. And is served with Jeera rice or plain rice. This cuisine is made using main ingredients Spinach, paneer and few spices. It is easy to prepare and can be seen in the menu of special ocassions. Paneer is easily available in stores anywhere be it India or other countries, if not then it can also be prepared at home. I will include a post on making paneer at home. But when you are short of time, buying readymade paneer from store is best option. The creamy texture of spinach with paneer is a very good combination.




Ingredients:
Spinach - 2 Large bunches or frozen spinach 500 grams
Paneer (Cottage Cheese) - 200 grams
Onion - 1
Butter - 3 tablespoons
Bay leaves - 3 -4
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoons
Black pepper powder - 1 2/ teaspoon
Tomatoes - 2 either diced or puree ( I recommend Puree for good gravy)
Ginger- Garlic Paste - 1 tablespoon
Green Chillies - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli powder or caynne powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida - a pinch
Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup
Whole Wheat flour - 2 tablespoons (optional- only if you find the spinach gravy or cream very thin in consistency).
Salt - to taste.






Method:

1. If using frozen spinach thaw and blend it just for a minute so spinach has a creamy texture but without becoming pasty. OR
2. Mix green chilli paste and ginger-garlic paste with spinach. Add little water (if you are using spinach leaves).
   
3. Pressure-cook the above mixture for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove before the first whistle.
4. Cut cheese into small cube shaped pieces. Keep 3 cubes for decoration.
5. Blend the tomatoes to make puree.
6. Mix coriander, turmeric, garam masala, black pepper powder and red chili with tomato puree and set aside.
7. Mix whole-wheat flour with heavy cream and set aside. ( This step is necessary only if you find the spinach puree and cream to be thin in consistency) . Normally green vegetable retains some water to it, so does dairy product. As a result, while cooking they tend to leave more moisture or water , hence adding wheat flour will help it thicken.
8. Cube the paneer in about half inch pieces and deep fry them on medium high heat just for few minutes so paneer become very light gold in color, take paneer out on paper towel so extra oil can be absorbed.
9. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the butter to it and onions to it. Saute till it turns pink.
10. Add hing and cumin seed. After cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree mixture, and let it cook for a few minutes until the tomato puree is about half in volume.
11. Add the spinach, and let it cook on low medium heat for about 10 minutes covered.
12. Add heavy cream mixture and let this cook another four to five minutes.
13. Add paneer and fold it gently with spinach and let it simmer for a 2-3 minutes.
14. Keep the pan or tawa or whichever utensil you are using for cooking palak paneer , closed with a lid or plate to avoid the spinach to splatter and thus leaving you with boils or any mishap. Or to , you can also bake it on oven over 180 degree C for 30 minutes.
    
15. Transfer the spinach to a serving dish and spread the tomato slices over the top, and cover the dish so tomato slices get tender with the steam from the spinach.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day
Serving suggestions : Serve hot with steamed hot rice or jeera rice.


Note:

• You can replace the heavy cream with 1 1/2 cups of milk.
• Keep the pan or tawa or whichever utensil you are using for cooking palak paneer , closed with a lid or plate to avoid the spinach to splatter and thus leaving you with boils or any mishap. Or to , you can also bake it on oven over 180 degree C for 30 minutes.
• Normally green vegetable retains some water to it, so does dairy product. As a result, while cooking they tend to leave more moisture or water , hence adding wheat flour will help it thicken.
• Cream is added to make the taste of Palak paneer intresting and taste. Since most of them dont like the taste of green vegetables especially kids. Adding cream will enhance the taste and make it look delightful.
  

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Panner is a dairy product also known as Cottage Cheese. Kadai Paneer is a Punjabi and Delhi Delicacy and is very popular world wide. This cuisine can be found in the menu cards of every small and big restaurants in India and other parts of the world where Indian food is served. The word "Kadai" is a Hindi word which means a deel bottomed vessel with handles on both sides (see the utensil/vessel in the above pic for reference). Kadai Paneer is spicy side dish which is cooked using the main ingredient Paneer along with capsicum, tomatoes and few spices for taste. It is dish without much gravy but is not even a dry dish. Tomatoes are added to give it a tender fresh gravy like consistency which other spices are added without being grounded to keep the freshness of paneer intact. Kadai Paneer goes well with Pulao, Briyani, Jeera Rice and also Rotis and Naans. It is easy to cook where the Cottage cheese (paneer) is and bell peppers or capsicum is cooked with spicy tomatoes or its gravy.





Ingredients:
Paneer (Cottage Cheese) - 500 grams, cut in cubes or triangles
Red Bell Pepper (Shimla Mirch/Capsicum) - 1 meduim
Green Bell Pepper (shimla mirch/ Capsicum) -1 medium
Tomatoes - 3-4 nos medium, chopped
Red Chilli powder (Cayenne powder) -1 1/2 teaspoons
Coriander seeds (crushed/ powder) - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Onion Sliced -1 medium
Cloves -2
Whole dried chillies - 2
Bay leaves - 2
Cinnamon stick (1 inch stick) -2
Ginger paste - 2 teaspoons
Garlic Paste - 2 pteaspoons
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Green chilli - 1
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1 /2 teaspoon
Oil - 3 tablespoons
Salt - To taste
Freshly chopped Coriander leaves / Dry Kasuri methi - 2 tablespoons.





Method:

1. Cut paneer and bell peppers into ½ inch cubes.
2. Blend the tomatoes, ginger, and green chili to make a puree. ( Even Chopped Tomatoes can be used for this cooking).
3. Heat the oil in frying pan on medium heat and stir fry paneer for about 2 minutes - take them out before paneer starts changing color.
4. Next stir-fry bell pepper until they are tender. Do not over cook the bell pepper. Take them out and drain on a paper towel.
5. Using the same frying pan, Test the oil by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
6. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds.
7. After the cumin seeds crack, add the cloves, cinammon, Bayleaves, dried red chillies and onion. Saute it till onion changes its colour to light brown.
   
8. Add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, fenugreek leaves and cayenne pepper.
9. Cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
10. Tomato mixture will reduce to about half in volume.
11. Add about 2 spoons of water, and the salt.
12. Wait till gravy comes to boil add paneer and bell pepper and let it simmer for about five minutes on low medium heat. Stir gently after adding the paneer to the gravy.
13. Now it is ready to serve. Garnish with coriander leaves or kasuri methi, toss and serve.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: Best fresh and stays for 1 day
Serving Suggestions: Serve hot with Jeera rice, Pulao or Briyani. It can also be served with Roti or Naan.


Note:

• Instead of frying the paneer, we can also put the paneer pieces in a cup of water and heat it in the microwave oven for 1:30 min. then drain the water and use the paneer immediately.
• Tomatoes can be chopped and used too instead of blended puree.
• Dont stir roughly or more after adding the Paneer. Those who are afraid or new to cooking , better use Non-stick kadai.

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Khoya mattar is a Punjabi cuisine which is high in calorie and delicious in taste.

Khoa or khoya or khawa or mawa is a milk food, made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating milk in an open iron pan.It is similar to , but lower in moisture and made from whole milk instead of whey. There are three types of khoya - batti, chickna, and daan-e-daar. Batti, meaning “rock,” has 50% moisture by weight and is the hardest of the three types; it can be grated like cheese. It can be aged for up to a year, during which it develops a unique aroma and a mouldy outer surface. Chickna (“slippery” or “squishy”) khoya has 80% moisture. For daan-e-daar, the milk is coagulated with an acid during the simmering and has moderate moisture content. Different Khoya is used for different preparation. Khoa is used as the base for a wide variety of Indian sweets. Khoa is normally white or pale yellow. Khoa prepared in the winter may be saved for use in the summer and may acquire a green tinge and grainier texture from a surface mould.Khoa is made by simmering milk in an iron karahi for several hours, over a medium fire. The gradual vaporization of its water content leaves coagulated solids in milk, which is khoa. Khoya is used in various types of sweets such as pedha penda in Gujarati), barfi(or burfi) and halwa.

This cuisine is prepared using daanedar khoya and matter(peas) as main ingredients along with few spices for taste and falvour. It goes well with rotis and can be counted among unique dishes for serving guests.

Ingredients:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes.
Serves: 4 persons.
Shelflife: 1 day.
Serving suggestions: Serve hot with Rotis or Naan.


Note: Use daan-e-daar khoya for this recipe. Daan-e-daar khoya looks like granules and is best for cooking this recipe. Dont roast the khoya for long or else, it might get sticky . Just roast slightly on medium or low flame for 2 minutes.



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