Paneer Paratha

Ingredients:
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250 gms Fresh or Frozen paneer
1 tsp Red Chilly Powder
1/2 tsp Chat Masala Powder
Salt as per requirement
2-3 green chillies
1 tsp roasted Cumin Powder
handful of chopped cilantro leaves
handful of fresh Fenugreek leaves chopped
1 1/2 cup of wheat flour.
Oil

Preparation:
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Dough :

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Mix the Dry wheat flour with pinch of salt,oil , chopped fenugreek leaves and water into a soft dough .

Keep this aside for 15-20 mins.

Filling:

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If you use frozen paneer first thaw the paneer, Grate the paneer bar into a wide bowl, Add chopped cilantro,cumin powder ,red chilly powder , Chat masala powder, chopped green chillies  and salt.Mix all the contents together.

Now everytime take small balls of dough roll it into thick roti .

Keep handful of filling in center of roti.

Bring the edges of roti to the center and close the filling so that the edges of roti overlap leaving no space.

press it gently and dust it in rice flour/ wheat flour and roll into parathas.

Fry the parathas into golden brown.

Serve Hot with Curd / Pickle.

Baingan Masala (North Indian Style)

Today i hardly had any vegetables to cook dinner...luckily i found these 5 small brinjals lying in the refrigerator ,somehow i always stock up onions and tomatoes , so i decided to make chapati and baingan masala.I really dont know whether baingan masala exists ,If exists it might be different  but you can try this as my version of baingan masala..and here goes the recipie which is simple yet flavorful.

Ingredients:

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2 large onions,

2 Tomatoes

2 tsp Garam Masala( may vary depending on spice level)

1 tsp Cumin / Jeera Powder

1 tsp Red Chilly powder(may vary depending on spice level)

Salt as per requirement

2 green chillies chopped finely (optional)

3 tbsp oil

5 small brinjals / EggPlants

1 tsp Cumin seeds/ Jeera

3 pods of Garlic peeled and grated finely

1 inch fresh Ginger peeled and grated finely

Preparation:

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Heat a wide bottomed vessel on a low flame.Add 3 tbsps of Oil meanwhile chop onions vertically and dice tomatoes into medium sized cubes ,once the oil is hot add cumin seeds (also you can include green chillies if you want it to be more spicy) ,add grated garlic and ginger(you can add ginger garlic paste which you get in the market but i personally prefer to add fresh ginger and garlic) and fry them till you get this lovely smell of ginger and garlic ,add onions when ginger and garlic turn light golden brown,add tomatoes when onions are done fry for 3 mins with lid open on a medium flame. Now close the lid and cook till tomatoes are done . Add Garam masala , Cumin powder , Red chilly powder and salt and mix well , allow it to cook for sometime.Once done switch off the burner and allow the masala to cool. Wash eggplants and wipe them with a clean dry cloth,Slit them in the centre into 4 parts, stuff this masala slowly into the eggplants without breaking them.Take a saute pan add 2 tbsp oil and roast these stuffed eggplants till they are cooked 50%  i.e., the skin changes color. Transfer these eggplants 3 at a time into a oven safe bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes(depending on the power settings).Now transfer all the eggplants into a  bowl and cover them with masala.Thats it baingan masala is ready and now i am all set to have my dinner.

Dosa

DOSA...its the simplest breakfast that comes to my mind when i feel lazy to cook....Its always handy to have dosa batter in your refrigerator.Whenever i think of dosas it brings back those sweet memories at home.My mom used to prepare these wonderful golden brown crispy dosas and we used to wait( literally fight :D) in the kitchen next to the tava for our turn to have one , when our entire family is together for diwali or some festival , you dont believe dosa session would last till afternoon and by then just 5 of us(kids) would have finished eating. All my aunts would be busy with 2 - 3 tavas making dosas and they would hardly get any chance to taste them ..it used to be fun ,well coming back to the recepie here is how you can make dosa at your home...

For Batter:
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2 Cups of IDLY rice( or sona masoori rice)
1 Cup Urad Dal
1 tbsp Chana Dal
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1 tsp salt

Preparation:
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Soak 2 Cups of idly rice , 1 Cup Urad Dal with Chana and Fenugreek seeds separately overnight.
Grind the rice and Dal separately and mix them, I usually add handful of leftover rice (cooked rice) while grinding so that it helps in fermentation.The secret of making good idly/ dosa is the fermentation part, also at the same you have to ensure that the batter doesn't become sour because most of the time if the batter is kept at room temperature for long without refrigerating it might become sour . Add salt to the batter just before making dosas , also check for consistency ..if the batter is too thick you can add some water. Now heat dosa pan , spread the batter on the pan , sprinkle 1 tsp oil on & around dosa , allow it to roast till it turns golden brown color. Remove dosa from pan gently without breaking the dosa.. thats it Dosa is ready which looks and tastes like the typical restaurant dosa.
Serve with Hot sambar and Peanut Chutney or potato curry.