Friday, August 15, 2008

Chilly Paneer Strudel



Chilly Paneer (cottage chesse) Strudel:

This is also an inspiration from one of the episodes on food network and I tried making my own version of the recipe that was shown in the show. Paneer i.e. is cottage chesse is one of the favorites that is included in our meals on a regular basis and this dish is a very light snack which is baked in the oven and is a twist in the various options of snacks that we can make for parties or dinner outings.

Ingredients:

8 phyllo dough sheets (these are thin and flaky phyllo sheets and turns out to be very crispy when baked).
2 cups cubed paneer
4-5 green chilies (finely chopped)
3-4 spring onions (finely chopped with the greens)
8-10 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 spoonfuls of red capsicum (finely chopped)
1 tsp corn starch.
2 table spoons oil for shallow frying the paneer.
2 tsp oil for cooking and 2 tsp for coating the phyllo sheets before baking
Salt to taste
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice.
2 table spoons soy sauce.

Recipe:
• Take the paneer pieces in a bowl and sprinkle some salt over it and mix well. Sprinkle the corn starch over the paneer pieces and just toss them over with your hands so that they are well coated with corn starch. Heat 2 tsp oil in the pan and shallow fry the paneer pieces. Take care of not over frying the paneer as they might turn hard.
• Take another frying pan and add oil to it. Once the oil is hot add the chopped green chilies and garlic to the pan and sauté till the garlic gets a nice golden color. Add the red capsicum and spring onions to the pan and mix well. Keep aside some spring onion greens for garnish.
• Add the paneer pieces to the pan along with salt, black pepper, soy sauce and lemon juice and mix all the ingredients well. Be cautious of the amount of salt you add as soy sauce also has salt and we had added some salt to the paneer as well.
• Once all the ingredients are mixed well, let it cook for another 5 mins on a medium flame.
• Phyllo dough is usually found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Please remove the phyllo sheets from the fridge and let them stand for around 40 – 45 minutes to remove the chill from the sheets and it also helps the sheets to roll in a better manner.
• Grease the baking tray and line the first phyllo sheet to the tray. Apply some oil to the phyllo sheet and then place the 2nd sheet and like wise line 4 sheets on to the baking tray. Add the paneer and capsicum filling to the phyllo sheet.
• Carefully roll the sheet into a cylindrical form so that the filling is rolled in between the sheets. Make incisions/cuts on the roll so as to let the steam of them. Repeat the process with the remaining 4 phyllo sheets and keep aside.
• Apply a coat of oil to the filling roll and bake it in a 350 degree F or around 200 degree Celsius oven for around 15- 20 mins till the role has a golden color.

A quick and easy snack which will be hot favorite at your place!!!!!!!!!!

Penne Pasta Salad


Penne Pasta Salad

We had a Potluck in the office the other day and one of my colleagues had made this amazing pasta salad and I was totally glued to it. I did ask her the recipe and just rushed to the grocery store to gather the ingredients that I needed to get on to making an amazing pasta salad myself.

The have a little changes to the original recipe that my dear friend gave me but hey none the less it did turn out to be amazing.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 cups penne pasta
1 table spoon Marinara Sauce (the original recipe calls use of Pesto sauce, but the store did not have pesto)
3-4 Spring onions (finely chopped along with the greens)
2 spoonfuls of red capsicum (finely chopped)
Italian Vinaigrette – according to taste
Garlic Salt – according to taste.
Basil leaves – finely chopped.
Boiled Corn – 2 spoonfuls.

Recipe:
This recipe actually does not follow any particular measurements and you can add or remove ingredients as per your taste and liking.

Making pesto is very simple:

Grind together basil leaves, pine cuts, garlic, olive oil and salt to taste. Pine nuts could be substituted by walnuts as well. In case you don’t have basil, coriander or parsley could be used as well.

In a large pan, bring water to a boil. Once the water starts boil add the pasta to it. Also add some salt to add the salty flavor to the pasta. Stir well and let it cook till the pasta is al-dente.

Drain the pasta and keep aside in a bowl. Add the marinara (or pesto sauce), garlic salt, chopped spring onions, basil leaves (chopped), red capsicum (finely chopped), Italian vinaigrette and corn to the pasta and mix all the ingredients well. The salad could be served as it is or you can refrigerate in the fridge for 30 mins before serving.

I am sure this recipe will be a refreshing change for all of you.