Uncle's Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer (Sag Paneer, Spinach Paneer)

This recipe is quoted and the people referenced are not my family.  However, this is a great Palak Paneer recipe.  Enjoy! 

I learned the organized approach to cooking North Indian dishes from Deviji, a kind Punjabi lady, our neighbor in Pittsburgh, when we were living there. She taught me how to cook my favorites, she insisted that I come and see how she prepares in her kitchen so that I won’t forget. She used to say if you see, you won’t forget, particularly cooking. I think that is true. My entire north Indian cooking is her recipes including the paneer post below. Hope you try them and enjoy as much as we do. Here is one…The famous palak paneer

Recipe:

One big bunch of spinach (fresh green ones)
Paneer ~10 to 15 cubes
One medium sized ripe tomato
Green chillies 5, half onion~ chopped finely into small pieces
Half tsp of garlic-ginger-cilantro paste
One tsp of dhania-jeera (coriander-cumin) powder
Quarter cup cashews
Half tsp of salt

Preparation:

Spinach and Green Chillies - Wash the spinach, cut or tear them into big pieces. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a wide skillet. First add green chillies to hot oil, then spinach. Saute until the leaves are wilted. Turn off the heat. Wait few minutes to cool. Add them to a blender and also a pinch of salt - blend to smooth paste. Adding green chillies to spinach puree is very important step; it gives punch to bland spinach.

Tomato- Boil tomato in hot water till the skin break down, remove the skin, mash the tomato to a pulp.

Cashews- Roast cashews lightly, make fine powder of them.

Paneer- Lightly saute paneer cubes in one teaspoon of ghee till they are golden brown. (This is optional, you can add paneer cubes just as they are.)

Now with the curry:

Add one teaspoon of ghee or oil to a wide skillet. When it is hot, fry the onions till translucent. Add ginger-garlic-cilantro paste and dhania-jeera powder, mix them and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

Now add pureed spinach, tomato and cashew powder along with a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste. Mix thoroughly and add water if needed. Do not dilute the curry too much. It should not spread like flooding river when served on a plate.

Cook it covered on low flame for about 5 to 10 minutes. Just before turning off the heat, add the paneer cubes. Mix them with the spinach (palak). Let simmer for 2 or 3 minutes and then turn off the heat.

Serve the curry hot with chapatis (rotis) or with rice. Also for novelty, you can make a Palak Panner Naanini (Split naan into two layers, apply generous potions of palak paneer in-between. Grill or Oven-broil for few minutes and serve with yogurt raita.) Anyway you prefer, palak paneer is truly a guilt free, satisfying, well balanced delicious dish.

Chiles Rellenos De Queso

Chiles Rellenos De Queso-> serves 12
Ingredients:
12 poblono chillies
4 tsp white vinegar
1/2 small onion
2 T oil
1 1/2 tsp ground pepper
6 C grated Jack or Cheddar Cheese
oil for deep frying
kosher salt to taste
4 large ripe tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
6 eggs, separated
1 C flour

Prepare the chilies: Roast and peel the chiles. Make a slit in each one careful not to break it much and remove the seeds and membranes. Soak chilies in water (enough to cover) with 1 T salt and vinegar for 20 minutes. Rinse, drain, and set aside.

Make Sauce (this is the best part): In a blender, combine tomatoes, onion, and garlic; puree and strain. Heat 1T oil in a skillet; add tomato puree and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; add 1 tsp salt, bay leaves, pepper, and cook, covered, 10 minutes, thinning with water if needed to maintain a saucy consistency.

Stuffing: Fill each chili with 1/2 C grated cheese and set aside.

Make Batter: Beat egg whites to stiff peaks, and then add egg yolks one at a time. Spread flour on a plate, coat each stuffed chili in it lightly then dip chilies into beaten eggs to coat completely.

Fry (this will pull the chili together in case it is coming apart): Heat 1/2inch oil in a skillet. When hot, add chilies one or two at a time and fry on each side until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels, then add to tomato sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Serve.

Kiran - from a Mexican Cooking Class :)

Mayuri's Russian Tea Cakes

My cousin Mayuri made this recipe for us one Christmas and it was excellent.  I highly recommend trying it for the next time you are looking for a nice dessert that can be in small portions.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (I put them in the grinder until they are partly ground)
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. I also like to roll mine in the sugar a second time.

Mayuri - Kiran's Cousin :)

Stacy's Tasty Summer Bean Salad

Tasty Summer Bean Salad
INGREDIENTS:
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn kernels
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine beans, bell peppers, frozen corn, and red onion.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce and chili powder.
Pour olive oil dressing over vegetables; mix well. Chill thoroughly, and serve cold.

Madhavi's Cilantro Rice Recipe

Ingredients:
2 Cups Basmathi rice
1 bunch of Coriander (stems and leaves)
4 or 5 greenc hilies
Fresh grated Coconut
Salt to taste
Thalimpu samanulu (a mix of black mustard seeds, dried red chili peppers, followed by a fry of urad dhal and cumin seeds, and finally curry leaves - this is also know as Tarka in the north I believe)
1/2 cup of cashews or mixed nuts
1 lime

Directions: Cook the rice and let it cool. Meanwhile grind together Coriander,Chilies, Salt and Coconut with a little water. In a pan pour 4 tablespoons of oil and after it is heated add all the thalimpu samanulu to it.Then addthe ground paste and fry it till it becomes dry (Podi podi gaavaali which means it should look like a powder). Now mix this with the rice and finally add some lime juice.

Armin's Persian Lentil Soup

I had this Persian Lentil Soup at one of my best friend's cousin's home. She is an amazing cook. I am not sure the recipe is specific enough to make it as good as she does though.

Here is the recipe for something so tasty that you will be smiling:
1/2 cup parsley (dried I think)
1/2 cup basil (dried I think)
3/4 cup ground walnuts (roast a little if you like)
chicken broth
rice
persian lentils brown
red chilli powder
turmeric powder
onion

It's soup so just cook the onion and spices first. Rinse lentils for a while and then just dump everything in and cook it down.

Hard Liquor Secrets from an Eccentric Bar Guy

So, I met this really interesting older guy at Nectar a couple of months ago. He really new his spirits. He was big and had a personality that just projected across the room. We ended up talking at the bar for a while. His knowledge of liquor was impressive. This are some of the secrets shared:

Cascade Gin - Made from real juniper berries from Washington or Oregon. This is probably some of the best Gin you can find. It beats all the commercially popular brands.

Crater Lake Vodka - Another Northwest spirit with a kick

Gosling’s Black Seal Bermuda rum- A very special Rum.

I really would like to try the Gin and the Rum. They both sound like a nice change from the norm.



Adding to this post:
Recently I had a great grain vodka at my friend's wedding.
Also on a camping trip we had some Buffalo Trace Bourbon and it was amazingly smooth.