Butter Paneer

Butter Paneer

  I have made both the Instant Butter Paneer version posted by Chef Vah Re Vah, here, and the traditional version posted by Sindhi Rasoi, here. I dont have a picture of the Vah re Vah version. The picture above is the Sindhi Rasoi Version.
Here is my verdict........(drum roll please)

The Instant Butter Paneer is really that... instant. It just takes time to assemble the items you need.
For the first time in my life I bought fried onions. (Never knew they sell it in the stores here). And was shocked, because the onions were far beyond recognizable. The taste is exactly like the stuff you get in restaurants. But you will get tired of this in one meal.

The Sindhi Rasoi recipe was a long process, with a ton of stuff to soak, grind, fry respectively.

What you need

I did lose patience with the process by the end. Instead of grinding all the fried onions, I just ground half of the onions. Also, I always lightly fry the Paneer before adding to any subji, because that's the way my kids like it. If you like paneer, as it comes from the store, you can add it like that.
The end result was a flavorful dish. The paneer soaked in the masala nicely and was a great accompaniment to our dinner. Please get the step by step instructions from the Sindhi Rasoi blog directly.

Marinated Tofu on a Salad

This was my dinner on Nov 3rd...
I had a block of tofu and made a very simple marinade with
Yogurt, Turmeric powder, Red Chilli Powder, Lemon Juice and Salt.


All you do is to drain the tofu and then cut it in pieces and soak it in the marinade.
In a non stick tawa, put 1 teaspoon oil and spread it around so that the whole pan has little oil in it, and then arrange the tofu and keep the fire on a low medium flame.
In about 10 minutes, use a griddle to carefully turn the tofu around so it gets grilled lightly on the other side.
The tofu is done if it gets a light brown hue on both sides.
Make a salad (any way you like) and put the tofu on it and enjoy!

My kids (especially my daughter) is not a fan of tofu, but she liked it made this way.

How to make Bajji?

I wanted to do this post a long time ago, but whenever I make it, bajjis get over in a second before I can take a picture. So this time, I planned and took step by step pictures....

I don't know why, but in India, whenever it rains we would crave for bajji and Mom would make it for us.... I mentioned this to my kids casually and then one day they both came running from the bus stop and showed their elbows where there was one rain drop and requested me to make bajji!

In our house potato (my son) and onion bajji (my daughter) are very popular, I like the green chili bajji and the indian eggplant bajji, but i dont have pictures of them.

I learnt this recipe from my mom, she never added soda or anything to the bajjis and they were the yummiest...


In chennai, long long ago, when we used to frequent Marina beach, there used to be an old mami who would make the best ever vazhaikai (raw banana) bajji, but now a days there are lots of stalls that sell this but not even close to what she used to make.....
Lets go to the recipe
You need
for the dough
Chick pea flour - 1 cup
Water - 1/2 to 3/4 th cup
Yogurt - 2 to 3 tablespoons
Salt - 1 to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons
Chili powder - 1 teaspoon
Hing - 2 dashes
Oil - 3 cups
desired vegetables
potatoes -- slice in even rounds, not too thick or thin
onions -- slice in even rounds, not too thick or thin
or other options are
Indian eggplant , Raw green banana -- cut lengthwise
Green chillies, Banana pepper --slit
Method
---> Take the chick pea four or besan and the water and add the water slowly to it and mix well so there are no lumps, and add the yogurt to this
---> Add the spices and salt and mix well and keep aside for atleast 5 minutes
---> The dough should be like a thick dosa dough, if you put your finger in and take it out there should be an even coating of the dough on your fingers and the dough should remain on your fingers, if the dough is runny then your bajjis will not have the covering.....
---> In a pan, add the oil, (the pan should be big enough to hold atleast 5 cups, otherwise, once you put your bajjis, it will overflow and make a mess) (the pan should also be deep)
---> Keep the fire on medium flame and let it become hot
--->After a few minutes test the temperature by adding a dollop of the dough, it should immediately bubble and rise up, if it does then it is ready
---> Now insert the veggies one by one and slowly put them in the oil, without burning your fingers
---> The bajjis will rise up and turn them if they are golden brown on one side and take them out of the oil once they are golden all over....



**** Never leave the stove unattended because oil can catch fire if you leave it for tooo long.
**** If you like you may add some food color to make them orange, but I like them the natural color.