Eggless Corn and Paneer Pierogi – Desi Pierogi / Momo’s

This recipe is dedicated to my best friend from college – Ania. Her family introduced me to this lovely Polish dish and I fell in love with it instantly. Thanks luv.

Pierogi is a traditional Polish handmade dumpling, typically made with potatoes and cheese. I have created a variation of this dish using corn and paneer with an eggless dough cooked in Indian spices & served with mint chutney.

I used corn for this dish however you can make this with any filling of your choice.

Fried Corn and Paneer Pierogi

Boiled Corn and Paneer Pierogi (Pierogi can be served boiled or Fried)

Ingredients for Corn & Paneer Filling:
1 – 11 oz. can of Chipotle Corn Kernel with Red Bell peppers and Chipotle peppers
1 – 10 oz. packet of Fried Paneer
2 tbs of Oil
¼ tsp of Cumin seeds
½ an Onion – diced
½ a Green Pepper (Capsicum) – diced
1 tsp of Ginger paste
1 tsp of Garlic paste
1 tbs of Margarine (or butter)
2 tbs of Sour Cream
¼ tsp Black pepper Powder
¼ tsp Chili powder
¼ tsp Cumin Powder
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Chaat Masala
2 tbs Lemon Juice
Salt to taste

Method:
In a wok add 2 tbs of oil and cumin seeds.
Let the seeds sputter and add the diced onions.
Fry till translucent.
Add the corn kernels with the chipotle and red peppers (canned item).
Fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the diced green peppers and fry for a couple of minutes
Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook till the raw smells disappears.
Add the butter / margarine and mix well.

Add the salt & spices – red chili powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder.
Cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the fried paneer cubes and mix well.
Cook for a minute.
Add ½ a cup of water cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Add the sour cream to mixture.

The sour cream will make the paneer shred to pieces.
Cook for a couple of minutes, add the chaat masala and lemon juice, cover and cook for another 20 – 30 minutes.

In the meantime make the dough for the pierogi.

For Eggless Dough:
2 cups of all-purpose flour – keep a little extra aside for rolling the dough.
2 tsp sour cream
2 tbs plain yogurt (I used non-fat)
½ tsp of salt
½ a cup of water
1 tsp of oil (optional)

Method:
Mix the ingredients of the dough and add the water slowly.
Knead the dough and sprinkle flour if needed.
Dough will be slightly sticky, sprinkle extra flour to form a nice round shape.
Wrap the dough in a plastic cling wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
Use half the dough.
When ready, sprinkle the rolling pin and board with all-purpose flour and roll the dough to less than ¼ of an inch in thickness.
Use a cookie cutter to make as many circles as you can.
Pull the excess dough up and set aside. – You can use the excess dough again if wanted.
Repeat the process with the other half of the dough that was set-aside at the beginning of the process.

Once the circles have been made, use your fingers to stretch the dough out a bit more into a larger circle. (This will make it close to 1/8 of an inch in thickness).
Add 1 teaspoon of the paneer corn mixture and place in the center of the circle.
Fold the circle in half and press down on the edges.
Use a fork to make lines on the edges of the pierogi.

Boil a pot with water and a ½ tsp of salt.
Add the uncooked pierogi to the boiling water.
Once the pierogi starts to float you know that it is cooked and ready.
Remove the pierogi and place in a colander to drain excess water.
You can serve the pierogi as is (boiled) or fry them in a little bit of oil, margarine or butter.

You can freeze the remaining pierogi for later.

Serve with mint chutney or spicy tomato sauce.

Choley / Chana Masala

Ingredients:
1 Can Garbanzo beans
1 Red onion – diced
3 Medium sized tomatoes – diced
1 Jalapeno – chopped
½ tsp Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Ginger Paste
½ tsp Garlic Paste
½ tsp Red Chili Powder
¼ tsp Cumin Powder
½ tsp Coriander Powder
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbs Chana Masala Powder
1 tbs Lemon juice
¼ tsp Mango Powder – Aamchur Powder
Handful of Cilantro Leaves
2 cups of water
2 tbs of Oil
1 tbs of Butter to Garnish

Method:
Rinse the garbanzo beans well till all the frothiness disappears and keep aside.
In a wok add the oil and cumin seeds and let it sputter.
Add the onions and fry till translucent.
Add the tomatoes and jalapeno and cook till tomatoes become soft.
Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook till raw smell disappears.

Add garbanzo beans and coat well with the tomatoes.
Add the red chili powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder and mix well.
Add the cilantro leaves and mix well.
Add 2 cups of water and cook for 20 minutes or till you can crush the garbanzo bean with two fingers.
Now add the chana masala powder, this will make the mixture froth up a bit.
Cook till all the frothiness disappears.
Add the lemon juice and mango powder.
Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes or till a desired consistency is reached.

Garnish with a tablespoon of butter.
Serve hot with roti, naan or rice.

In case you want to be brave or cannot find Chana masala powder and have the time to grind your own here is a good link: http://nishamadhulika.com/en/334-chana-masala-powder-recipe.html

Rava Kesari – Sooji ka halwa (Semolina Dessert)

Ingredients:
½ tbs of butter
2 tbs of Ghee
5 – 6 almonds crushed (you can use more)
Handful of raisins (you can use more)
2 cups of Rava (Sooji – Semolina)
2 cups of sugar (or as per taste)
4-1/4 cups of water

Method:
In a non-stick pan add the butter and ghee and let it melt.
Add the crushed almonds and raisins and cook till raisins balloon up.

Add the sooji and roast till a nice aroma emits and it turns lightly brown.
Add the sugar and mix it well.

Once the sugar and sooji has been mixed well add the water to it and stir continuously.
Add saffron mixed with a few tablespoons of water and mix it well.
You can add kesari color to the sooji/rava halwa as well.

Mix well and cook till all the water dries up.
Cover and keep for a few minutes.
It’s best to let it cool down in the container you wish for it to be served as it will solidify and form the shape of the container.
Serve hot!

Enjoy! ☺

Paneer and Dill Pulao

Ingredients:
1 – 8 oz. Packet of Fried Paneer
1 Cup Rice
2 Cups Water
2 – 3 tbs of Oil
¼ tsp of Fennel Seeds
¼ tsp of Cumin Seeds
Whole Garam Masala: 

• ½ Small Cinnamon stick

• 2 Cloves

• 4 – 5 Whole Black Peppercorns

• 2 Bay Leaves
2 small Onions – diced
3 small Tomatoes – diced
2 Small Green Chilies – chopped

1 tsp of Chopped Cilantro leaves

1 tbs of Dill leaves – (I only had the dried leaves at home, fresh is better so if you are using fresh dill leaves: use ½ a cup of finely chopped dill leaves)
1 tsp Ginger Paste

1 tsp Garlic Paste


For Paneer Marinade:
1 tbs Mint Chutney
2 tbs Yogurt
1 tbs of M.D.H Shahi Paneer Masala
1 tbs of Shan Beef Biryani (or any other Biryani Mix you have – this is optional)
¼ tsp of Black Pepper
¼ tsp of Red Chili Powder
¼ tsp of Cumin Powder
½ tsp of Coriander Powder

Method:
In a separate bowl marinade the paneer pieces with the above ingredients and set aside for 20 minutes.
Soak the rice in water and set aside for 20 minutes as well.

In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and add the fennel seeds, cumin seeds and the whole garam masala spices and let it sputter.
Add the onions and fry till translucent.
Add the tomatoes and green chili and fry till tomatoes are soft.
Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook till the raw smell disappears.
Add the Cilantro leaves and the dill leaves and cook for a minute.
Add the marinated paneer and fry for a few minutes. Be careful not to break the paneer pieces.

Drain the water from the rice and add the wet rice to the paneer mixture.
Carefully mix well for a minute or two.
Add the water and cover the pressure cooker with the weight on it.
Let it cook for 2 whistles and lower the heat for another whistle.
Turn off heat after 5 minutes and let the steam escape on its own.
Once all the steam has been released, you can open the pressure cooker and mix well.

Serve with raita and Dal Makhani https://desipalate.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/dal-makhani-creamy-black-lentils/.

Happy Eating ☺

Spinach & Beef Egg Rolls – Saag Keema Egg Rolls

Those of you who know me, I love, love, love spinach! I pretty much add it to anything and everything I cook (yes even in my rice).

So, Thursday morning I was switching channels on my TV (which I never do early in the morning) and suddenly I heard of a Spinach festival in town. I was excited to just go check it out but voila their website mentioned there would be a Recipe Contest…

How could I resist – I had two days to decide whether or not I was going to participate as this would be my first competition and if so what was I going to make!??

The day off the competition as I was getting ready to prep the food… I injured my toe badly… I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it… but the Spinach was calling, lol.

So I iced up my toe for an hour and got ready to cook! with 3 hours to the competition.

In a couple of hours I was done with the cooking but sadly completely forgot to take the final picture of the rolls. The festival folks however did take a picture and I will post it once I have it.

The good news though… I won!!! I came in first in the Appetizer Category. So exciting. I loved it. Hope to participate again next year 🙂

So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 pound Lean Beef – I used 95% lean beef
1- 10 oz packet of Frozen Spinach
1 Red Onion – diced
2 Small Tomatoes – diced
2 Small Green Chilies – chopped
1 tsp of Chopped Cilantro leaves
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garlic Paste
Whole Garam Masala:
• 1 Small Cinnamon stick
• 2 Cloves
• 4 Whole Black Peppercorns
• 2 Bay Leaves
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Red Chili powder
¼ tsp Turmeric powder
¼ tsp Coriander powder
¼ tsp Cumin powder
¼ tsp Black Pepper Powder
A pinch of Garam Masala
Salt to taste
2 tbs of Shan Spice Mix for Keema Curry
2 tbs of Oil
1 Packet of Egg Roll wraps – I used the All natural Nasoya Egg Roll Wraps
(Note: if you have leftover keema you can use it to eat with Rice or Roti (Bread) or just make more rolls – you will need 2 packets in this case)
Oil for frying

Method:
In a heavy wok add the Oil, Cumin Seeds, Whole Garam Masala and let it sputter.
Add the onions and the cook till golden brown.
Add tomatoes & Green Chilies.
Add the Ginger and Garlic Paste.
Cook till the raw smell of the Ginger and Garlic paste disappears.
Add the minced meat.
Cook for a few minutes.
Add the remaining spices and salt except for the Shan spice mix.

Add the Cilantro leaves.
Add ½ a cup of Water.
Cook well for at least 15 minutes.
In the meantime defrost the spinach in the microwave for 3 minutes.
Add the warm spinach to the minced meat.
Mix well.
Add the Shan spice mix.
Cook for another 30 minutes or till all the water has dried up.
Turn the heat up to medium- high and swiftly cook the meat while mixing. continuously so it doesn’t burn.
Your dish is ready.

Now let it cool down a bit.
Place 2tsp of the mixture at the edge of the egg wrap and roll it as per desired shape.
(Note: Avoid picking up any of the large pieces of the Garam masala (Cinnamon stick, Black Peppercorn, Cloves & Bay Leaves) while placing the meat and spinach mixture on the wrap.)
Use a a mixture of all-purpose flour and water to seal the wrap.

Fry till golden brown.

Serve with Mint or Tamarind Chutney.

Happy Snacking 🙂

Link to their website: http://www.lenexa.com/parks/festivals_spinach.html

Zucchini Sambar Rice – Zucchini Vegetarian Stew Rice

Ingredients:
1 cup washed and soaked Toor Daal (or ½ cup unwashed Daal) – Yellow Pigeon Peas
1 tsp Chana daal – Chick Pea without shell
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Red Chili Powder
¼ tsp Cumin Powder
¼ tsp Coriander Powder
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Mustard Seeds
3 tbs of Oil
1 tsp of Ginger Paste
1 tsp of Garlic Paste
1 cup Vegetable Stock (this is the key ingredient)
1 Small Onion – diced
3 Small Tomatoes – diced
2 Green Chilies – slit
1 stem of Curry Leaves
1 large Zucchini – chopped into cubes
1 handful of chopped or sliced carrots
2 tsp of Sambar Powder
1 cup of raw rice – cooked and kept aside
1 tbs of Ghee (optional)
1 tsp Lemon Juice (optional – you can even substitute this with Tamarind Paste, however you will need to add water to the Tamarind Paste to reduce the concentration and then add it to your mixture prior to closing the Pressure Cooker in this preparation of mine I did not use either).

Method:
Note: You can cook the rice in the ghee and keep it aside. Or use a day old rice.
In a large wok or a pressure cooker add the oil and the Cumin & Mustard seeds.
Let it splutter.
Add the Chana daal and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the Onions and fry till golden brown.
Add the Curry Leaves.
Add the Tomatoes and Green Chilies and fry till soft and start’s to leave oil.
Add the Ginger and Garlic paste and fry till the raw smell is gone.

Add the chopped Zucchini and Carrots.
Mix well.
Add the washed Toor Daal and Sambar Powder and mix well.
Add the remaining spices
Add 1 cup of Vegetable Stock
Add 2 cups of Water and Salt
Bring the mixture to boil. – (At this point if you are using a pressure cooker close the lid before the mixture comes to a boil and let it cook for 2 whistles).
If you are NOT using a pressure cooker it will take a much longer time.
I did not use a pressure cooker, as I wanted my daal to be visible and not crushed.
However this could take close to an hour to cook.
Once the daal pieces are soft you are done.
Make sure you dry the mixture to your desired consistency.
Add the cooked rice with Ghee.
Mix well and serve with Papad.

Happy Cooking ☺

Here is a good link on how to make Sambar powder if necessary: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sambar-Powder