Matar Paneer Methi Maar ke !

Winter vegetables give me childhood nostalgia. The crispy Mooli paranthas, aromatic Methi malai, tender Gobhi aloo. Of course now these vegetables are perennial in Bangalore, but their aroma still give me the winter warmth.

Dad gifted me these uber cool storage bags which keep the leaves and fruits fresh for days together! So I wanted to use this Methi for as long as I could.

As my dear friend T was coming home for lunch and I made this!

The major components of the dish were ; home made malai paneer, green peas, methi (fenugreek) leaves.

Serves : 4 

Ingredients:

Onion - 2 big ones

Tomato - 3 big ones

Ginger garlic paste

Fresh/ Dried Methi (fenugreek) leaves

Dry Red Chillies

Set Curd - 3 heaped spoons

Green Peas - 1 cup full

Cottage cheese - 200 gms

Procedure

1. Saute onions till golden brown, add salt, chili powder, turmeric.

Add chopped methi leaves and tomatoes. Cover with a lid and cook til they turn orange-ish. 

 2. Take this off the flame. Use a blender and make this gravy into a coarse paste (this is purely optional).
Add set curd to this and mix to give a smooth creamy texture.

3. Add a little oil to the pressure pan. Temper some red chillies (for that lip-smacking red color) and add cottage cheese to this. Add green peas and the gravy made earlier. 

Close the lid and steam cook for 2 whistles. Your Matar Paneer Methi Maar ke is ready!

 Since I went all the way on the food festivities, I topped it with Ajwain (Carom seeds) puris! 

( A little fun with the dough meanwhile )

Droolicious!

No food shall be wasted!

I'm sure every house has some kid (or fussy adult) who's a waster. I'm not implying anything if my dear husband is reading this post.

So, I was left with 3 paranthas from  Prasad's untouched packed lunch. So Tada, here's the crunchy hot solution to these. Roti ke Pakodey.

Ingredients:
Left-over roti / parantha, cut into small piecesBesan / Gram Flour - 1 cup
1 medium-sized onion chopped
Coriander leaves chopped (optional)
Salt, Chilli, Jeera ( Cumin seeds) to taste
Oil to deep fry

Procedure:
1. Mix the gram flour and all the spices.
2. Start pouring water and churning the mixed gram flour into a batter. It should remain thick enough to be a smooth fluid. Don't fret, in case you dilute it a bit more, you can always add more besan or just add a spoon of ghee to it.
3. Mix the roti , coriander and the chopped onions to the besan batter.
4. Deep fry these on medium flame.

So the same people who disowned this poor Roti will now be begging for more!

Done! Droolicious. 

Hot, Humid, Humble Mangalore

Our lovely little trip to Mangalore had us wiping our foreheads in its scorching 30 degrees.








It was Prasad's father's sixtieth birthday celebration. I wore this for the Satyanarayan Puja. Prasad himself was in the Mund and Shawl (picture that he gladly deleted :( ).

Our ritualistic trip to Village Restaurant kept to its image especially with the Paneer Ghee Roast. Must Try! When the ghee of the previous night had us tossing and turning with guilt all night, Prasad and I headed to the serene beach at Sultan Battery. Its just a 10 minute walk from our home there. The early morning ferry to the beach put a smile on our sleepy faces.

Pabbas helped reduce our gut temperatures for sure. Not just that, Naturals ice cream is now at Mangalore! I could gorge on that Tender coconut flavor shamelessly.

Tonnes of home made food, heat, repeated baths and superior quality clean fresh air; that's what Mangalore is all about. All you people, when you need a breath of fresh air, head to this little town where roads are as small and twisted as the minds of politicians. But, the whiff of coconut shell fumes among palm trees will give you a new lease of  your tired city mind.